I love this series, it is a proper cosy mystery series that you can sink your teeth into.. it is a precise mystery with the Queen solving the mystery.

This was a charming read (or rather an audiobook listen, beautifully narrated by Samantha Bond). It was a little bittersweet to hear an imagined story which involved the Queen, this time in a novel role for her - a detective. The action takes place around Sandringham so it felt quite local for me, living in Norfolk. An entertaining and imaginative whodunnit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange of an impartial and honest review.

Murder Most Royal is the third book in SJ Bennett's "Her Majesty The Queen Investigates" series. Starting in December 2016, the book starts with the Royal Family heading to Sandringham for their traditional Christmas, however Her Majesty is suffering from a cold and the Duke of Edinburgh is feeling even worse!
When a severed hand is washed up on nearby Snettersham beach, the Queen’s private secretary & right-hand-woman, Rozie, knows that “the boss” needs to know. What she doesn’t expect is that Her Majesty will recognise the signet ring on the hand as that of a local minor aristocrat Ned St Cyr. The St Cyr family have been neighbours and the previous generation were friends of the Royal Family.
The complicated family relationships of the St Cyr family are unravelled and when a local woman is the victim of a hit & run accident, things step up a notch. The true “sleuth” in the story is, of course, Her Majesty (though it wouldn’t be seemly for the Queen to be seen to be doing the police’s work so the way that she & Rozie do some of their own detective work, dropping hints as necessary to the chief of Norfolk police so they can “solve” the case is a fun idea).
The story is relatively believable and was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I requested this book out of interest on reading the Queen was the investigator albeit detached,. S J Bennett has done a good job in producing a believable story. The story is set in Norfolk and the Queen’s Christmas holiday and begins the finding of a severed hand together with an interesting signet ring which Her Majesty immediately recognises as belonging to an old family who happen to be her neighbours. This starts her off on her investigation together with her APS Rosie. It was very interesting how Ms Bennett involved different characters in the villages and her own household and estate workers, she obviously has some insider knowledge on how it fits together. All I all she has produced a real cosy detective novel which I must confess I found difficult to put down. I recommend, if you have not read her books you try one yourself, I don’t think you will disappointed.

I have read the other books in this series and was glad to be accepted for the next instalment. Really fun reads

Always loved a murder mystery and this was a bit of a fun read too. Loved the royal aspect too!

It’ll keep you guessing all the way through. Lovely book.

A good introduction for those not into murder mysteries too.

When a severed hand is found on the beach at Sandringham, the Queen is naturally interested. With help from her assistant private secretary, Rozie, she tours the area, making subtle enquiries of her acquaintances and staff.

Murder Most Royal is a good, engaging story, with an intriguing mystery. I'm not sure how I feel about the Queen getting involved in a murder! That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.

I really enjoyed this book which puts our late Queen into the guise of amatuer sleuth, It follows the lines typical of the cosy mystery genre with the Queen more ordering the troops than doing the actual sleuthing. In addition it provides a great characterisation of the Royal family using what is known and adding a little flair. Will definitely read more in the series.

This is the third book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' and unfortunately this was my least favourite of the three. Whilst the others I devoured and loved every little bit of it down to the humour shared between the Queen and Philip in the smaller moments, this book really lacked any connection for me. The plot was drawn out with the conclusion seeming rushed. Overall I expected and needed more from this.

S J Bennett continues her cosy crime series featuring Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II with another immensely enjoyable installment: Murder Most Royal.

In December 2016, Elizabeth has become a dab hand at solving complex murders that had baffled some of Scotland Yard’s most experienced police officers. When a severed hand is found on a beach next to her estate in Sandringham, Elizabeth immediately recognises the signet ring on the victim’s finger and identifies him as the unconventional and eccentric, Edward St Cyr. A man who marched to the beat of his own drum, St Cyr has raised plenty of eyebrows and been the subject of plenty of gossip in this quiet corner of rural Norfolk. As the police begin their investigation, the Queen, alongside her assistant Rozie, cannot resist doing some sleuthing of her own – even if this case takes a sinister turn when another man is found dead and a prominent member of the community is almost killed in a hit and run accident.

With the festive season about to come to an end, the Queen and Rozie must work hard and leave no stone unturned in their quest to find out whodunnit. With time not on their side and plenty of dead ends and red herrings, will this redoubtable duo manage to unmask the killer before more bodies are found? Or will the next victim be found far too close to home?

With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, I initially wasn’t sure how I would feel reading S J Bennett’s Murder Most Royal, however, S J Bennett paid wonderful homage to this strong, inspirational and formidable woman in the best possible way in this fun, engaging and hugely enjoyable cosy mystery.

Full of twists and turns readers won’t see coming, wry humour and a terrific joie de vivre that cannot fail to raise a smile, Murder Most Royal is another sparkling crime caper from S J Bennett.

The third book to feature the late Queen Elizabeth II as a Nero Wolfe-style sleuth, Murder Most Royal is an entertaining and engaging crime novel featuring an admirable number of twists and turns that need unpicking. It’s an excellent example of the gentle/cosy mystery genre, and it should particularly appeal to fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Mystery Club and The Man Who Died Twice.

This was exactly as expected from the blurb and the genre of cosy crime, albeit royal in this case. It was the first of the series I have read, but it could easily be read as a one-off. Within the genre, it was pretty evenly paced, if rather ambling at the beginning, needing other characters to help Her Majesty solve the mystery with personal family connections, and eventually the crime. It had some of the charm associated with the late Queen, though it felt rather odd to be reading it soon after her death. I'm not sure how well these mysteries will go down in future episodes of this series, but it was a slightly above average cosy crime novel with a very special investigator at its heart.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I was absolutely hooked from the first page. The characters are very believable and the storyline develops at a good pace. An easy read which combines humour and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of the authors books.

Fantastic third instalment with HRH as super sleuth extraordinaire. Really enjoyable book throughout and lovely to have it set at Sandringham. Would be love to have this series continue despite the passing of HRH. Great read and an asset to the series.

Thank you Netgalley

I have read the three books from the series now and looking forward to the fourth one.
In this one the Queen is at Sandringham for Christmas when a severed hand is found on a beach and the owner of the hand is recognised by the ring it is wearing and so starts the investigation.

The Queen is looking forward to celebrating Christmas at Sandringham and despite both her and Philip being under the weather is doesn’t stop her getting Rozie involved in a murder and trying to solve it. I always think the Queen was sharp and this isn’t beyond the realms of possibility and always makes me smile thinking of a crime solving monarch.

A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's estate at Sandringham.

Elizabeth has become quite accustomed to solving even the most complex of murders. And though she quickly identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring, the search for his killer is not so straightforward.

When a second man is found dead, and a prominent local woman is nearly killed in a hit-and-run, the mystery takes an even darker turn.

With the Christmas break coming to an end, the Queen and her trusted assistant Rozie must race to discover how the pieces of the puzzle fit together...

I really enjoy this series, it's warm and cosy and heartwarming, and I enjoyed the festive feel to this story. I don't think the plot itself was the strongest, especially when compared to the previous two books - there were a lot of characters to get to grips with and I lost track of who was who a few times, so I felt like some of the plot went over my head but I loved being back with the Queen and Rozie, it was really lovely, and I will still always recommend these books and continue to read the series.

When a severed hand is discovered near Sandringham and the Queen is the one to identify the victim, she is soon drawn into an investigation to discover what happened to him.

I loved this brilliantly original take on a murder mystery.

It did feel surreal to be reading about the Queen solving crimes with the help of her team, but it really worked! At times it was laugh-out-loud funny and I enjoyed seeing a lighter side to the Royal Family.

The mix of real and imaginary characters were so well woven together. It feels like a lot of research has gone into making the characters as genuine as possible. I loved SJ Bennett's writing style and how she painted the picture of a quaint English setting.

Pick this up for a fun read that is the very definition of cosy crime.

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

It’s quite remarkable that a person can be identified by only one body part but this is what happens in the latest murder mystery featuring the late Queen Elizabeth. Reading this book has taken on a rather poignant and reflective air but I think she would be pleased and flattered by the representation here. Poirot was Belgian Miss Marple was quaint but the Queen seen as enduring and stalwart must be the ultimate to take on the role of Gentle detective. This and her starring role in the Paddington short film will make many remember a heightened version of the real thing.
Set just before Christmas 2016 both the Queen and Prince Phillip are under the weather and they retreat to Sandringham to recover. There's no peace at Christmas and goodwill to all men when the hand a of a local member of the aristocracy. The Queen is soon embroiled in finding out the truth. There's no time to be ill.
Once again the Queen will discover the murderer and with her assistant private secretary Rozie Oshodi will make sure they pay for their crime. As before it’s the little details of conversations she has with Prince Phillip and others that make us part of that small intimate world. It humanises the role she took and make us feel involved.
Obviously this is a fictional version of our late Queen but it’s warm heartedness and apparent inside knowledge makes it endearing and I’ve added this book series to my list of cosy mysteries and feel good reads.

This was a very different read for me as I don’t tend to read many murder mysteries but this one caught my eye and I am so glad it did. Such a great story of the Queen being quite the sleuth. It really keeps you guessing till the end.