This is the first in a new series, which begins in August 1940. Our main character is the Hon. Edgar Walter Septimus Saxe-Coburg; known to use as Detective Chief Inspector Coburg. His side kick is Sergeant Ted Lampson, who comes from a far less aristocratic background. Coburg went to Eton and fought in WWI and his memories of the trenches are still clear enough that he tells Lampson, a single father and so not in combat, to be grateful that he can continue his work in the police.

It is not only Lampson, though, that is thinking of war. While he kicks his heels in London and wonders how he can volunteer, Londoner’s scan the skies with nervous eyes. There is talk of when, rather than if, German bombers will be seen in the sky and you feel the population is braced. However, of course, life still goes on and, at the Ritz, people still sip tea beneath the palm trees and, oh yes, there is a body in one of the rooms…

Albanian’s King Zog, his retinue, and family, have taken over the third floor of the hotel and nobody seems aware of why someone has been murdered in one of the rooms or who, indeed, he is. Before long, Coburg finds himself warned off from investigating too deeply and finds himself entangled in a mystery featuring gangsters, MI5, Ian Fleming, a mysterious Albanian Count, a beautiful jazz singer and rumours of a fortune, smuggled out of Albania, along with the royal family. An enjoyable mystery, with an interesting setting and a believable historical background. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.