1st book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series
73rd book of 2022
It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.
Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.
CW: Murder, death, hate crime, homophobia, drug use, suicide
Rating
Review
This book is a big meh, for me, neither good nor bad, just a story to read in one setting when you’re bored.
The main protagonist is Her Majesty the Queen, but except for some moments that are about actual political problems, I had more of the feeling of following an old woman who is bored with her life and like to solve mysteries for fun. She is helped by one of her assistants, who do most of the job as she can’t do it by herself, which comes with a lot of telling, not showing moments, which I didn’t appreciate as it broke the book’s pace.
I found the story a little messy; as you follow the Queen’s daily life, you sometimes forget about the investigation. Also, there are many characters, and as you are introduced to them at the beginning in a dumpy characters information piece, I found it difficult to distinguish them. Moreover, you have many different points of view but, sadly, nothing to differentiate them, neither as a visual element nor in the way of speaking.
The resolution of the mystery was I felt like coming from nowhere. I struggled so much to understand that I needed to read it twice to be sure to understand everything. Also, to tell the truth, I didn’t really care about it.
This book wasn’t a DNF, as it was a short and quick book. However, I won’t continue the series.
Liz.
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