This latest book in ‘Her Majesty the Queen’ Investigates’ series, takes us back to 1957.

Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh are on a State visit to France when two unexpected difficulties occur. All copies of a significant speech to be delivered by the Queen at a banquet are missing; and oysters are served, even though Buckingham Palace had requested shellfish not be included on the menu. The Queen had said on numerous occasions: ‘One simply could not fulfil one’s duties if one was doubled over with stomach cramps.’

On return from France, Her Majesty discovers further problems within her private office and asks Joan McGraw, her trusted assistant private secretary, to make discreet enquiries to find out who is causing these unwanted problems and why.

There are three main suspects. I ended up writing their names on a card and using it as a bookmark. They are all courtiers who the Queen inherited from her father’s time as sovereign. Information disclosed by McGraw as she reports back to the Queen leads us to the probable perpetrator, but the reason for the attempted sabotage surprised me.

Another extracurricular investigation requested by Her Majesty involves a double murder, the Dean of Bath, and the Zellendorf tiara that the Queen Mother had considered buying for Princess Margaret. The Queen’s reason for requesting this investigation is not immediately apparent, but all is clarified as the facts emerge.

The first few chapters of A Death in Diamonds will excite Royalty tragics as the author’s research has unearthed some marvellous minor trivia. Later chapters will excite crime aficionados as McGraw gets down and dirty savouring the underbelly of London’s darker side and relating it back, purged of the more salacious details, to her sovereign.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S J Bennett grew up reading mystery stories and travelling the world as an army child. She became a strategy consultant and wrote several award-winning books for teenagers before turning to adult crime novels with the ‘Her Majesty the Queen Investigates’ series. Her books have been published in over 20 languages, from Japanese to Catalan. She has taught writing with City Lit, City University and the Royal Literary Fund, and lives in South London, where she also runs a writing podcast for aspiring authors called Prepublished.

You can find her on Twitter at @sophiabennett, on Instagram as sophiabennett_writer, and at www.sjbennettbooks.com.