I am so pleased that this second book is continuing the success of the first. After an auspicious beginning to a series, the fate of that series is in a precarious position with the publication of book two. The series has that delightful wit that infuses just the right kind of humor and entertainment. And, I have to retract or clarify part of my statement made in the beginning of the review, as I indicated that this book and this series was pure pleasure reading for me and not one of imparting important messages. That is misleading. Although the book was a pleasure read for me, there is lots of learning to be had here and beyond. From the Royal operations and Royal offices of the Palace to the Queen’s daily schedules to the Baroque art of Artemisia Geniteschi, an Italian 17th century painter. And, if you’re like myself and many other readers I know, you will go down all the rabbit holes of those subjects, some of which I’ve provided links below. Also, the poison pen notes bring up racism and misogyny, as does the choice of the artist Artemisia Geniteschi whose paintings are featured. And, as the Queen is the main character, there is the overriding issue of how older or “old” people are dismissed in their contributions to or understandings of situations. The Queen certainly puts the falsehood of old meaning useless to rest. Rozie examines palace records, consults with past and present royal art curators, speaks to palace staff, and calls a Royal Navy vice admiral, but has trouble tracing the peregrinations of the Britannia painting. A Three Dog Problem is certain to be one of my favorite reads this year. I highly recommend it to all mystery/crime readers, with a special encouragement to those who are enjoying the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osmand. It took me a few chapters to get to grips with the fact that the main character was the present queen, but when I did I was hooked (I could even hear her voice in my head narrating the story!). She goes through all the palace records while consulting with the past and present royal art curators, questions the palace staff; she even calls a Royal Navy admiral but finds it difficult tracing the Britannia painting

Goodreads A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett | Goodreads

When the police investigations start taking an unexpected turn, Elizabeth has to take things into her hands. She doesn’t believe that she hires sleeper agents and decides to start her investigations. Since she can’t go around interviewing people on her own, she asks for help from Rozie Oshodi, her assistant private secretary. I’m here to trace a painting,” she explained. “One of Her Majesty’s. We know where it is, but not how it got there. It went missing a while ago.” “Stop!” Hudson raised his hand. “Stop right there. I can assure you it didn’t. We don’t lose things in the Royal Collection.” “I think you do,” Rozie said firmly, meeting his eye. “Sometimes.” “Very occasionally. Hardly ever. I resent the implication that we did.”"All the Queen's Men doesn't have the revelations of the origin story in The Windsor Knot (2020) which had the extra charm of revealing the REAL Her Majesty's Secret Service, but I can't begrudge that. If anything, S.J. Bennett crafted an even more elaborate story here and again manages to fashion an ending where the Queen maneuvers her somewhat slower witted Palace staff chiefs, managers and police into thinking that they solved the crime on her behalf, when it was actually her hints and prodding that got them there.

Book Series In Order S.J. Bennett - Book Series In Order

Chronologically the story is reasonably up to date makes me wonder where to next for the series. Yet despite all the wonderful, gossipy insights, I found this second in the series not quite as strong as the first. Once again, the Queen involves Rozie in her investigative process, much to Rozie's delight. She genuinely likes her Boss and is even willing to help arrange things so that, once again, the senior men in the household are convinced that they figured it all out. That takes a generosity that I don't think I have, to let someone else take credit for your ideas and footwork. During the undercover investigations, the Queen still carries out her public duties while interacting with her family and controlling the palace’s activities. She also finds time to welcome President Obama and spend time with her corgis and horses. I loved the humorous elements in the book such as Prince Philip’s petname for his wife being Cabbage, the idea of the Queen googling herself on her iPad to find out where she was on a particular date, and that she spent some of her time at Balmoral binge-watching Murder She Wrote.Along the way, there are some tragic accidents and poison-pen letters keep turning up. Are the two things related? Are these more than accidents? What secrets has Rozie been stirring up? Things are quite tense in the household staff as a refurbishment campaign is coming up. Bennett had won several awards for some of her teenage books before she began writing adult crime novels. She also teaches and podcasts on writing. Its 2016, a women is found dead in the Palace swimming pool, other women are being left threatening sexual notes. What is going on? The Queen is missing a personal painting, “Britannia. [It] used to hang outside [her] bedroom.” As Philip puts it, “What, the ghastly little one by the Australian who couldn’t do boats? That.” The Queen asks Rozie to investigate. It seems for some reason the Queen is fond of that small work. Het mysterie zit sterk in elkaar en terwijl je gedurende het boek ook nog wat leert over het beheer van de koninklijke kunstcollectie en de verschillende afdelingen binnen het paleis, moet je goed blijven opletten om alle uitgezette lijntjes te kunnen volgen, totdat ze mooi bij elkaar komen. Hoewel het tempo soms wat inzakt en het eerste boek iets meer humor bevatte, zijn er genoeg wendingen, persoonlijke noten en mysterieuze gebeurtenissen om het verhaal interessant te houden en dit is erg vermakelijke, goed uitgewerkte cosy crime. Een aanrader binnen dit genre!

Books — SJ Bennett Books — SJ Bennett

She guides Rozie using her skills to investigate the case as she is now in the middle of a missing painting of Britannia and a rash of poison-pen letters. Can the poolside death, threat notes and lost art be connected? The only thing I can think of is that this wasn't as fun as the first. The fun didn't exactly hit home for me. I like some of the issues and the characters that this book had (I love Rozie and I did like the Queen, but I like them the most when they were together and that wasn't enough for me in this book), but the fun and wonder of Windsor Knot wasn't here. I wonder if it's because it was trying to do too many things - poison pen letters, murder, stolen paintings. Maybe if one of these elements was removed and the story focused on characters a tad more, maybe it would have worked for me...?A staff member has been found dead beside the palace swimming pool. A favorite painting that hung outside QEII's bedroom door is missing. And now anonymous and threatening letters are mysteriously being distributed in the palace. Cynthia Harris, the murder victim, had received some of the poison pen letters, along with the high-ranking Keeper of the Privy Purse’s secretary and at least one other. Rozie starts receiving the letters, too, ones that are racist and sexist, trying to get her to leave her job. The Keeper’s secretary does leave her job and leaves London. Mrs. Harris is murdered. Rozie doesn’t desire to leave her job or be murdered, so she must persevere in the face of these scare tactics and keep investigating for the Queen to find out who is behind them. The letters, the Queen’s painting, and the nefarious profiteering scheme appear to be connected, but proof is needed. There are suspects, but without the proof, the evidence, of their wrongdoings, it is unwise to approach them and tip the Queen’s hand. In the wake of the Brexit referendum that has divided a country and the US election between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, the Queen just wants some peace and quiet. But, it looks like she's not going to get it as, when on a Royal visit to a Navy exhibitition, she sees a painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia on display. Her painting. And she gave no permission for its display. In fact, she thought it was misplaced in the mid-1980s. Bennett has created a wonderful cast of characters of courtiers and palace employees around Her Maj, and of course using the built in people too, with Prince Philip and Princess Anne playing roles here. The star of course is Rozie Oshodi, who becomes a more fully rounded person in this second book. We get to see her in her natural habitat when she visits her family and also see her desire for nice things when she goes to the Cotswolds one weekend to interview a former palace functionary. This novel is primarily written from the perspectives of the Queen of England and Rozie Oshodi. Her Majesty needs no introduction. Oshodi is new to the Royal Staff. She joined as the Queen’s assistant private secretary a few months previous, after a short career in the army and then at a private bank. “She was still relatively young for the role, but so far had performed admirably, including—and perhaps especially—in the more unconventional aspects of it."