The Windsor Knot - S.J. Bennett

"She's got an eagle eye, a nose for bullshit and a fabulous memory."

⭐⭐.5

I love a good murder mystery, and I am always on the lookout for a clever spin on the classic genre. Sadly, S. J. Bennett's first Royal investigation fell short of my expectations. While I think this concept could be great, I was disappointed and I can only hope that the subsequent novels fare better.

Only a privileged few know that in addition to her daily duties, Her Majesty the Queen of England has a penchant for detective work. Her sleuthing skills are put to the test the morning after yet another mundane dinner party at Windsor Castle, when one of the guests is discovered dead in his room, in a compromising position. While the Police and the Secret Service go on a wild goose chase for the culprit, the Queen must work quickly with her loyal secretary to solve the murder, protect her household and keep her secret under wraps.

I applaud Bennett for her bravery in this undertaking. It is no mean feat to create and put depth into a character that the whole world already thinks they know. One of the things I like about this book is the portrayal of the Queen. Bennett intentionally contrasts how those around her view the Queen as old and doddery, a fragile woman in need of protection, against the actuality of her as a sharp, observant, capable and commanding woman. She is also shown to have a nurturing and motherly side for those in her employ, which endears the reader to her even further.

In writing this review I must acknowledge that while crime is my favourite genre, I am personally not a fan of mysteries that centre around espionage and this book is full of references to international spy theories. That being said, this isn't the main reason that this novel didn't do it for me. I found the Queen's underlying train of thought in regards to who the culprit was quite difficult to follow, and even during the final wrap-up I still felt slightly out of the loop.

I think the genius of good crime fiction is that every word has the potential to be important to the solve, unfortunately I think this book had a lot of wasted syllables and sadly really didn't live up to my expectations. Fingers crossed the sequels in the 'Her Majesty the Queen investigates' series fare better.

H x