This is the 3rd book in the “Her Majesty the Queen Investigates” series. The idea that Queen Elizabeth spent her spare time investigating murders is just delightful, and these books are fun to read. In this installment, it’s Christmas at Sandringham and two dead bodies have been found and the Queen and her assistant must find the culprit.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In the third installment of SJ Bennett's delightful series, Queen Elizabeth II once again proves her prowess as an adept sleuth, aided by her trusted private secretary, Rozie Oshodi. a warm and immersive journey into the royal household at Sandringham estate during the festive season.

As the Queen and Prince Philip arrive for Christmas with their family, the cozy atmosphere is disrupted when a severed hand is discovered on a nearby Norfolk beach. With the police struggling to make headway, it's the Queen who identifies the victim as a well-known aristocrat from her past. As the investigation unfolds, uncovering secrets and danger, the Queen finds herself drawn into her most challenging inquiry yet.

Bennett masterfully captures the dynamics of the royal family and their relationships, offering a warm and immersive journey into the royal household at Sandringham estate during the holiday season. The evolving relationship between Rozie and the Queen adds depth to the narrative, with Rozie growing more confident in expressing her views, much to the monarch's approval.

Filled with charm, wit, and intrigue, this series uniquely features Queen Elizabeth II as its central protagonist, showcasing her as a wise and astute investigator. Lovers of quirky cozy mysteries are sure to love this witty tale.

Queen Elizabeth II is looking forward to a traditional Christmas gathering with her family in Sandringham when a shocking discovery interrupts holiday plans. A severed hand has been found—but even more unsettling, she recognizes the signet ring still attached to a finger. It belongs to a scion of the St Cyr family, her old friends from nearby Ladybridge Hall. Despite the personal connection, the Queen wants to leave the investigation to the police—that is, until newspapers drag her name into the matter. The third in the series, this outing finds the Queen and her trusted asst. Rozie working quickly to solve the murder before Christmas is ruined. This is such a fun series and I hope there are more.

I love this series (this is #3) and couldn't wait to read about the Queen and Rosie's adventures. This time set at Christmas in Sandringham, the Queen takes a more active role in discovering the murder of an old friend.

I quite love this series and the fictional behind the scenes look at the Royal family. And Rosie's character helping investigate more is always delightful. For those who haven't started the series, it might be beneficial to start from the beginning as this book does take you straight along.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and S. J. Bennett

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

Thanks, NetGalley, this was a quite enjoyable read and not a title I would have been likely to pick up (even at the library) but I was intrigued by the description of the Queen investigating.. I love a British mystery, however, and you can't get much more UK than the Queen nudging the way to a solution. She was quite the puppet master, yet oh-so-proper! and the characters around her were had just enough attention paid to them (by the author) so you kept it all straight. I was especially taken with the Queen's trusted assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi.
I'll go back and try the first two in the series - it's unusual for me to start with anything but the first, yet I believe the hook was set!
I'm about to go on a trip and they'll be nice travel companions.

Adorable, quirky, fun….the most comforting murder mystery I’ve ever read. I liked how it was a cozy, but not really a cozy. I also very much appreciated bringing in the lives of the royal family and what was going on at that point in time. It made it more realistic. And although it’s obviously fiction, the characters still felt like they were the real deal. This book was tons of fun.

The author does a fantastic job of crafting Queen Elizabeth II as a sleuth! I am a huge fan of the Queen, and enjoyed a (even fictional) peak behind the curtains of her life. And adding a Christmas setting was the icing on the cake. The mystery was well-plotted and the characters well-imagined. While I enjoyed the others in the series, this is my favorite. I highly recommend the entire series!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary digital copy. All opinions are my own.

Christmas at Sandringham. Queen Elizabeth, along with her personal secretary Rozie, delve into the mystery of the disappearance and murder of an old family friend after his hand is found washed ashore. Sandringham is a great setting for this, and the holiday time enables cameos by many members of the royal family. It's interesting how the queen can be both seen and unseen when necessary and how royal bloodlines work their way into the eventual solution.

This is my first Her Majesty the Queen Investigates mystery, and it won't be the last. . .this is fun! To hang out with Herself, and cool-as-ever Rozie. . .yeah. I'll be reading more of these. A perfect read between the heavier bits on my list!

Speaking of bits. . .this one starts with bits of a person about who we find out much in the proceedings of this mystery, and that's just about all you'll get from me. . .except for this: 2 of my favorite things are in this tale - Christmas and the Royals, oh, and Sandringham. If you lean into Downton Abbey, The British Baking Show and the Herriot books, my guess is you'll be very at home in this delightful series.

*A sincere thank you to SJ Bennett, William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #MurderMostRoyal #NetGalley

Thank you to Zaffre Publishing and Net Galley for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I hadn’t read any of this series, but loved it. S.J. Bennett does a terrific job of portraying Queen Elizabeth as an amateur sleuth. It is truly believable.

I received this as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley

As the title leads you to believe, there was a murder around the royal family. The Queen recognizes the ring that is found on the beach and knows it is her neighbor. Rosie her assistant is also very helpful in discovering the truth.

It was an enjoyable book, I did find my mind wandering at times.

In the third book of the series, SJ Bennett places Queen Elizabeth II at the heart of another mystery, this one involving a hand washing up at the beach near Sandringham. The hand, as it turns out, belongs to an acquaintance of the Queen’s, Ned St. Cyr, whose body washes up a few days later. The Queen, working with Rozie and the Norfolk police, finds herself occupied by this case and the death of Ned St. Cyr, both of which are more significant than they first appear. Peppered by the thoughts, opinions, and knowledge of others, the Queen becomes heavily invested in the case, and readers will join her in her investigations and deductions. Bennett has created a fascinating case and builds suspense and mystery fantastically, and Bennett handles the changing information and additional confusion magnificently. The locations in this mystery are key, and Bennett describes them in great detail; the whole novel is a masterful study in mystery and detail, and everything is critical, in one way or another. As a third book in a series, Murder Most Royal is a strong continuation of Bennett’s mystery series starring the late Queen Elizabeth II, and fans of the first two novels will certainly enjoy this latest installment.

I know SJ Bennett intends to go back in Queen Elizabeth’s life for future mysteries in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. There’s just something a little sad about Murder Most Royal, though. While this third book is my favorite in the series so far, Queen Elizabeth is ninety and Prince Philip is ninety-five, and they’re planning his retirement and move north. It’s sad to think of a future that never was. However, the Christmas as Sandringham, despite a murder, is the perfect setting for this story. It’s more personal than the other two in the series, since the Queen’s family comes home for the holidays.

But, drat. The Queen has a cold, and Prince Philip is recovering, and the royal doctor won’t let them take the train as they normally do. So, they enjoy the view from the helicopter, including the unexpected sighting of deer on a neighboring estate. They’ll learn all about that because it seems the owner, Edward St. Cyr, is dead. When the Queen’s assistant private secretary, Rozzie Oshodi, points out a newspaper article about a hand found on the beach in a plastic bag, it’s the Boss herself who identifies the hand. She recognizes the signet ring as one in the St. Cyr family. Ned was seventy, and the Queen knows the family well. She has no expectations that they’ll find Ned alive.

The poor Queen. Although her cold turned out to be a full case of the flu, she does try to enjoy Christmas at Sandringham. But, the family continually mentions the deceased while they tell stories and speculate on his fate. It leaves the Queen little choice but to ask Rozie to help her investigate. After all, she knows everyone involved, including a woman who was a victim of a hit-and-run. She just wants to put all the pieces together.

As I said, there’s something a little nostalgic about this mystery. But, Bennett also includes a great deal about wilding, a hands-off approach to land restoration. The details are all interesting. But, as usual, it’s the Queen herself who takes centerstage in this seasonal mystery. Just perfect for the holiday season.

I admit that I chose this title based on the cover and premise and am so glad that I did! This is a delightful book about Queen Elizabeth becoming involved in solving a murder mystery while on Christmas vacation at her estate at Sandringham. The mystery itself is a bit convoluted, but I loved how smart and tough the Queen is portrayed and her interactions with her interactions with several of the characters, most especially her husband, Philip, the teenage daughter of one of her staff, Ivy, and her private secretary, Rozie, who assists her in the mystery. It will be interesting to see where Bennett takes the series, especially after mentioning the Queen's death in the author note at the end. For now, I look forward to reading the other two entries in the series and recommending it to patrons. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion.

Murder Most Royal by S.J. Bennett, is the third entry in the delightful series, Her Majesty the Queen Investigates.
Set at Christmas time, 2016, the royals are looking forward to their family holiday gathering at Sandringham. However, the discovery of a severed human hand—and the Queen’s identification of the owner of said hand—plunges the Queen into a dangerous murder investigation.
The cast of characters is rich—Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip share the warm, slightly pithy banter of a long-married loving couple. The Queen’s assistant Rozie Oshodi returns as her warm, insightful private secretary. The characters are the strength of this series and keep me turning the pages, even when the plot becomes murky.
This is a charming cozy mystery, with familiar strong female characters. I recommend reading the books in the series in order, and I hope there will be more stories to look forward to, even though the Duke and Queen have passed on.

Thank you to William Morrow Scene of the Crime and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

When there is a missing person's case at Sandringham House at Christmas time, Queen Elizabeth takes on the investigation herself!

I wanted to read Murder Most Royal because I'm a mystery fan and a longtime Royal Watcher. I had not read the earlier books in this series, but had no problem enjoying this book as a standalone.

This was a fun read. I loved the setting and the Royal details - and of course, Queen Elizabeth as a detective! I recommend Murder Most Royal for other cozy mystery fans.

The third in the series that brings the Queen herself becomes the true detective to solve the crime of who murders a well known familial relative. This one moved a bit slower for me than the other two, but as always I thoroughly enjoyed the real life references to the Royal family. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

This book is the third in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates mystery series by S.J. Bennett. I am surprised that I haven’t reviewed this series on the blog yet, as I immensely enjoyed books 1 and 2 of this series. So when I had the chance to review this book, I jumped on it. In this book, Queen Elizabeth II, is in Sandringham for the Christmas holiday looking forward to spending the festive season with her children, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and getting some down time. Of course, it is not meant to be. When local police discover a severed hand on the local beach, the Queen is shocked when she recognizes the signet ring on the hand’s finger. The ring is known to be worn by the men in the noble St. Cyr family who are neighbors of the Queen at Sandringham and one of the brothers is now missing.

The Queen tries to quiet her mind and leave the investigation to the police, but she just cannot help herself. People have a tendency to tell her things because she is the Queen and they don’t know that she has solved other murders in the past. She wants to stay out of the investigation, but the villagers surrounding Sandringham know her penchant for solving crimes close to the Crown. Using Rozie to help her along in her investigations, the Queen just might have met her match this time.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous two as it lacked the pace and excitement that its predecessors brought to the series. While this was still a good read, I was hoping for a little more intrigue and mystery in this installment. Overall this is a quirky mystery series featuring Queen Elizabeth II that is different from others in the genre. I highly recommend mystery lovers to check out this series and discover it for yourselves.

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
Author: S.J. Bennett

Series: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #3

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Pages: 292

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

Rosie and the Queen are at it, again, involved in a murder investigation. This time, it might be a person well-known to the Royal family. This is the third book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. I’ve read all three and they just keep getting better and better. While this is the third book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

The Queen is clever, compassionate, sharp, and eager to solve mysteries. While she’s the monarch of the British Commonwealth, used to luxury, she’s really a down-to-earth person who enjoys simple things, like farming and animals.

Rosie is a former member of the military with a background in banking. She’s the Queen’s assistant personal secretary, and the Queen’s go to person when mysteries pop onto the radar. She’s willing to do whatever the Queen asks of her, and she’s good at doing the legwork. She doesn’t hesitate to question Her Majesty’s assumptions when necessary, and she protects the Queen’s participation in these investigations. It wouldn’t do for the Queen to get involved.

I love this series! These are cozy mysterious that are interesting and humorous. This one does involve an implied rape, if that’s something that might be important to you. There isn’t anything explicit described, just a general situation. There’s also an instance of suicide.

I’m delighted to learn, as mentioned in the author’s note in the book, that there will be more books in this series to follow. I was concerned that the series might end with the Queen’s death. I look forward to the next book in this series. They’re so engaging and entertaining. I highly recommend all of them.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all concerned for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.