A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a murder at Buckingham Palace

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Establishing Queen Elizabeth II in the Nero Wolfe role and positioning Rozie as her Archie Goodwin-like assistant is a great move that allows SJ Bennett to pull off a pretty outlandish setup and render the unlikely scenario of the Queen as a secret supersleuth strangely believable. While the solving of crimes might not tie in with the popular image of a reigning monarch, the fact that the Queen has to fit her sleuthing in among various royal engagements and seemingly endless paperwork does ring true, as does the fact that she is able to achieve so much because people simultaneously underestimate her life experiences and capabilities and overestimate her reserve and reticence. The need to keep up appearances gives rise to a number of funny scenes, particularly the circumstance that leads to the Queen hiding in a cupboard while eavesdropping on some staff and being concerned about the state of her joints. Such vignettes are not the only amusing aspect of the book, as Bennett really seems to capture characters of leading royals such as the Queen and Prince Philip and she uses them to great effect. There are plenty of quips and witty one-liners to enjoy, particularly from Prince Philip, to whom the book is dedicated, as well as amusing asides about royals who don’t actually feature in the story. Sometimes, it’s as interesting to see who isn’t mentioned as it is to read about those who are. It’s also a lot of fun to see how the other, fictional characters interact with the royals. These elements make the story a fairly gentle and humorous read, although the mysteries behind the disappearing painting, the poison pen letters and the death of Mrs Harris are still intriguing and nicely complex. There are certainly plenty of puzzles for readers to solve alongside the Queen. PRAISE FOR THE 'HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES' MYSTERY SERIES: A witty whodunit starring our very own HM The Queen as an amateur sleuth - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

A Three Dog Problem By SJ Bennett | Used | 9781838774820 A Three Dog Problem By SJ Bennett | Used | 9781838774820

So begins the brilliant and clever double plot - not only does the Queen, ably assisted by former-military-officer-turned-Assistant-Private-Secretary Rozie Oshodie, have to solve the mysteries causing her concern around her palaces, but she then has to seed the clues to the officers she's tasked with solving them and act suitably impressed when they finally catch on to the case she's already closed.I read this book completely for pleasure, and that is such a lovely way to experience a book. Not that I’m adverse to books that impart important messages. I just sometimes need a read that entertains me and that’s it. A Three Dog Problem (All the Queen’s Men in the U.S.) is the essence of an entertaining read. Oh, there’s crime and murder and evil going on, but we know that the Queen, in her calm and methodical manner, will get to the bottom of it with her discreet, capable Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi. There’s lots of drama, and the twists and turns are more complex than in The Windsor Knott, but I found the multiple threads in A Three Dog Problem easy to follow and well brought together by the end. There are quite a few names to keep up with, but I didn’t find it disrupting to my reading. And, knowing that a case will be solved in no way takes away from the thrill of events leading up to that solution. Agatha Christie meets The Crown in A THREE DOG PROBLEM, the much-anticipated second book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' mystery series by SJ Bennett - for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin. About This Edition ISBN: 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. I listened to the audiobook narrated, once again, by Jane Copland and her familiar British accent added to my listening experience. The monarch Marple is of course an utterly wonderful idea, and Bennett is such a talented writer and storyteller that the suspension of disbelief is effortless as she draws you into a world that soon moves from seeming all too possible to become delightfully credible.

Top 10 cosy crime novels | Crime fiction | The Guardian

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. 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. During her inquiries, Rozie ventures into an underground tunnel system that connects royal palaces and learns of a 1980s scheme called the Breakages Business, which was carried out by some members of the Queen's staff. It just reminds you of the simple joy of reading a really good book that transports you into another world and makes you see something in a way you've never seen it before. 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.Is it a tragic accident, as the police think? Or is something more sinister going on? As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen's bedroom. But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work - and far too close to home. After all, though the staff and public may not realise it, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Agatha Christie meets The Crown in A THREE DOG PROBLEM, the much-anticipated second book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' mystery series by SJ Bennett - for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin. Something is broken in the palace and it’s up to the Queen and her private secretary, Rozie Oshodi to fix it. Richard Osman used to be a TV celebrity who secretly wrote crime fiction in his spare time. Then The Thursday Murder Club came out and he is now a worldwide publishing phenomenon who makes TV shows. Osman is a very funny writer, a brilliant observer of middle-class mores, who cares about the lives of his protagonists – residents facing their mortality in retirement homes – and it shows. He is also good at killing people all over Kent, and getting his unlikely quartet of detectives to work out why and how. Book two, The Man Who Died Twice, is as good if not better.

A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett | Crime Fiction Lover

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. A Three Dog Problem starts not long after the end of the first book. The Referendum result has divided the nation, Hilary Clinton is battling to beat Donald Trump to the US Presidency and the Queen notices on a routine engagement that a much-loved (but ironically not that good) oil painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia that she last saw hanging outside her bedroom door has seemingly gone walkies into a Royal Navy exhibition. Best Books Set in the 1920s — from Stories That Shimmer with Champagne and Social Change, to Rip-roaring Reads Covering Crime, Colonialism and Beyond. All the Queen's Men" by S.J. Bennett is the second book in the series 'Her Majesty the Queen Investigates'!A missing painting, a spate of poison-pen letters to palace staff and the dead body of the head housekeeper found beside the palace swimming pool. The premise of both books is pleasingly simple and wonderfully well drawn. She might be the modern world's longest-reigning monarch, but that doesn't stop the Queen solving mysteries in her spare time. It all shows and, while undoubtedly not getting to work in the Palace was a wrench for Bennett, the Palace's loss is most definitely readers' gain. But. What if Her Majesty did? As Bennett has written, “If the Queen wanted to, she would make a great detective, with access to any expert she wants and a deep understanding of her world of politics and palaces,” where, of course, all the real crimes take place.

A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett - Goodreads Editions of A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett - Goodreads

For those who follow The Royals, (not me) and those who have avidly watched The Crown series, this is a quite different (and perhaps more favorable) portrait of England’s longest reigning monarch. It is a queen who may be nearing the end of her service but not in her dotage. 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! 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. And in a development that made for a very happy winter weekend curled under a blanket with a glass of Baileys, the sequel A Three Dog Problem has been released in time for Christmas - presumably because, having been sold to publishers in 14 countries and the subject of a seven-figure bidding war in the US, Zaffre Books know they're onto a very good thing.Tijdens haar onderzoek naar de verdwenen kunst stuit Rozie op een gespannen sfeer onder het personeel, ontvangen haatbriefjes en een handel in afgedankte goederen. Er lijken weinig verbanden te zijn, maar na enkele nieuwe ontdekkingen hebben de dames toch weer een spoor te pakken. Rozie voert het onderzoek uit, maakt zichzelf niet overal even populair en begint misschien ook gevaar te lopen, de Queen stuurt haar achter de schermen aan, voert discrete gesprekken en ziet mogelijke verbanden. Kunnen ze deze zaak samen tot een goed einde brengen? It is the Queen who presses the investigation and senses that something more fundamental may be amiss. The Queen with the help of her Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi investigates the mystery behind the painting's disappearance which leads to the discovery of the Breakages Business. Threatening letters start arriving anonymously targeting the Palace staff. With the death of the housekeeper, the issue escalates and the Queen once again sets out to find the murderer. In this, the second book in the series, A Three Dog Problem, Her Majesty investigates the disappearance of a painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia which was gifted to her some decades earlier by Australian artist Vernon Hooker. And, soon after the paintings disappearance has been discovered, the body of a staff member is found beside the Palace swimming pool. And so begins this delightfully charming double plotted mystery.