Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books for my copy of this book in exchange for and honest review.

A hand is found on a beach in a bag near Sandringham. The police copy the Palace in on the situation and send along a full report including photos. The Queen notices the very distinctive ring on the hand is very familiar and is able to identify it as belonging to a Local family who are family friends who's children used to play with the Charles. This then starts the Queens new investigation. The personal nature of this one means that it seems to take a while to get going as you get alot of background into the relationship between the families. It is also set during Christmas and New Year and so there are also Family dinners and you hear form a few of the minor royals with this one too. The way the family dynamic is written is lovely Bennett does a wonderful job of portraying the Queens love for her family and her sense of duty to her people.

Rosie just keeps getting better and better and I love seeing her relationship with the Queen develop. Sir Simon was a little absent in this one and I missed him.

Love love this series! They are lovely cosy mysteries with enough clues and red herrings to keep you entertained. It is exactly what you think you're gonna get from a mystery solved by HRH.

The fantastic third book in the cosy crime series: The Queen Investigates. Coming in the same year that has seen our beloved Queen pass, this book is a lovely tribute. Set at Sandringham, events spark when a severed hand is found on the estate bearing the ring of the St Cyr family. The Queen instantly recognises that hand as belonging to family friend Edward St Cyr. With a long line of enemies, tracking down the murderer may prove difficult. Christmas is approaching and it is fun to see the interactions of the family members. The atmosphere soon turns more ominous when a second body surfaces and a prominent local lady is almost killed in a hit and run. The Queen is practically an expert in criminal investigation now and with her faithful servant Rozie tracks down the clues to solve the mystery before the murderer encroaches any closer to her her family. A fun and entertaining read. #murdermostroyal #sjbennett

I absolutely adored the third book in the 'Her Majesty Investigates' series by S. J. Bennett. I was a big fan of the first two and the series continues strong, and is especially poignant after the loss of our Queen!

I'm not a big Royalist by any means, so you certainly don't have to be a fan to enjoy these books. I was inspired to pick them up after enjoying The Uncommon Reader which has the Queen as a main character.

In this third book, we're at Sandringham and join the Queen and her brilliant assistant Rozie as they try to solve another mysterious murder. The change of scenary and season with each book really helps keep things fresh and I enjoyed the family saga vibe. The only downside I found with the book is that I really struggled with all the characters! I could have done with a character guide to keep track of everyone!

A rather timely novel published just after the death of real Queen Elizabeth II.
This increasingly moreish series attributes an intelligence and sense of humour to Her Maj that is becoming more apparent in the anecdotes of her family et al following her death.
This time the (fictional) Queen has arrived in Sandringham for the annual family Christmas celebrations when tragedy strikes. Using her guile and local knowledge, alongside her intrepid PA she sets out to solve the murder most royal. A nice, quick read.
Long may the series continue.

Who would have thought that HM Queen Elizabeth II was such a super-sleuth?
This fictional book is set in the past, when both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were still with us.
It is a tale of murder and deceit and is set in the beautiful lands around the Sandringham Estate in north Norfolk.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will look out for more in the series. It was lovely to be taken back to the time when QEII was still around.

A most interesting and unique story of life in the Royal family. When a severed hand is discovered near Sandringham and the Queen learns about it and identifies the victim from a ring on one of its fingers the Queen becomes interested in solving the mystery. Aided and abetted by her loyal APS, a most likable character, the case is solved by her knowledge of the history of the family involved and the gleaning of information via the discrete work of her APS and the judicious manipulation of third parties to influence the police investigation without being directly involved. Fascinating.

This was a funny but realistic look at Royal life. I could not imagine the Queen trying to resolve such a murder but it was very light hearted read that i did enjoy.

These books are so heartwarming. I loved the first two and couldn’t wait to read the third. I think that having sadly lost the Queen this year made this book even more special. The way the author depicts the Queen as this sassy, intelligent, crime solver is so endearing. It’s so clever how the other members of the royal family are referred to and bits of the family in-jokes are also added in. The actually murder mystery is woven in to the royal family life and sort of plays a minor part in the whole book. But, as the other two books, you don’t see the ending coming and the whole plot is quite cleverly complex.
An all round entertaining read.

Another lovely jaunt into this royal world. I’d love to know how accurate this book is. Not enough of Rozie for me, I really like her character. Having said that, I still enjoyed it - good fun!

When a severed hand is found near the Queens estate at Sandringham, it’s Her Majesty who is able to identify who the hand belonged to. Edward St Cyr was an old family acquaintance, and The Queen instantly recognises the signet ring on the hand’s little finger.
As the hand wasn’t actually found on her land The Queen is happy to leave things to the police, but when another man dies and a local woman is a victim of a hit and run, The Queen and her personal assistant Rozie begin to make enquiries.
Although they seem to be making more headway than the police, they still can’t get to the bottom of what happened and with time running out before they have to return to London, they know they will have to work quickly.
Full of twists and turns this is the perfect advert for “cosy crime”

This is the third Her Majesty The Queen Investigates book I have read and although I thought it was the least believable, I think it is still an enjoyable read.

I did feel strange reading about the Queen in a comedic fictional way so soon after her death, but I enjoyed the authors imaginings of the Royal Family behind closed doors.

Murder Most Royal’ by S J Bennett is the third in series of ‘cosy crime’ books featuring HM Queen Elizabeth II involving herself in a crime investigation. I hadn’t read the previous two books, but the books are freestanding and I thoroughly enjoyed this book on a stand alone basis. Although I will definitely read the other two.

‘Murder Most Royal’ opens with the discovery of a hand in a plastic bag washed up onto the beach in North Norfolk just before the Royal Christmas Holidays. A signet ring remains on a finger. There is no sign of a body.

It is 2016 and the Queen and Prince Philip have dreadful colds as they leave for Sandringham and the family Christmas. The royal colds and their travel to Norfolk by helicopter was reported in the press so the book has a nice mix of real and imagined events which adds to the richness of the story.

The Queen is informed about the nearby discovery of the hand and she recognises the ring as belonging to someone who used to visit Sandringham many years ago. The family still lived nearby. The hand becomes a source of royal gossip over the Christmas holidays as older family members reminisce about the ring owner and speculate how he ended up without his hand.

The Queen is irritated by the gossip but intrigued by the mystery and she uses her position to further her curiosity. As both the Queen and an elderly woman she can chat ‘casually’ with everyone and gather the local gossip. But the Queen’s casual questioning is sharply focused and Rozie, her Assistant Private Secretary, is sent out to further investigate where the Queen cannot.

I wondered whether the death of the Queen might influence the way I read the book but it didn’t. She is written as wise, curious, sometimes impatient and often very funny. Her love of countryside and animals comes across vividly as does Philip’s modern approach to conservation. S J Bennet also captures wonderfully the frustration of later life. It’s a village mystery combined with all the intrigues and gossip you can find in a village. As well as a potential murder, the story ranges from drugs, hit and run accidents, the challenges of maintaining old houses to wild swimming. Some are red herrings that frustrates the Queen’s problem solving but it’s all done in a warm, supportive way. In the end the story is wrapped up satisfactorily and the Royals return to their ‘gilded office on the roundabout’.

It was a book I couldn’t put down and I can't express how much I enjoyed it. It is so well written with characters whom we know and who were so well drawn they came alive.

I’m not sure of the future of the series with recent sad events but on the basis of this one, I do hope there are more.

Many thanks to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley UK for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

When I first started reading, I really didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book but actually I really did enjoy it. You could have just imagined some of the conversations in the book happening for real! A good storyline throughout and the non-Royal characters were enjoyable.

It’s Christmas time and, as every year, the Queen and the royal family are planning to spend it at Sandringham. However, right before their arrival, a severed human hand is found on the beach by the Queen’s estate. The Queen recognizes the ring on the hand as belonging to an old family friend, Edward St. Cyr. But where is the rest of the body? And, who is the killer?

The Queen and her energetic assistant Rozie start their own investigation and, with the help of village gossip, they uncover family secrets, resentment, and also money laundering and drug dealings.

Murder Most Royal is the third book in this fantastic series. I haven’t read the previous two novels, but I am excited to catch up soon, because I really enjoyed it. It is fun, gripping, and full of twists and, with the royal family often in my mind in the last couple of months, I loved reading about the Queen and her family, even if in a fictional world. Murder Most Royal is clearly well-researched and S. J. Bennett gives you a great insight into the royal family and their traditions:

“She had been dreaming of it for days. Sandringham was Christmas.”

We see the royal family away from the spotlight, trying to relax and enjoy their Christmas. The murder and the following uncovered crimes add suspense to the story making Murder Most Royal a wonderful and highly recommended novel!

I loved the next edition in the Her Majesty Investigates. It was written well and it had a nice mix of cosy mystery and edge of the seats moments. I liked how it developed all the characters further from the 2nd novel and we got to see a greater glimpse into the history and backstory of the main characters. I liked how the action and drama was mixed together and everything in this was well placed and made sense in relation to the final reveal. This is definitely a series that i can't wait for the next novel!

I’ve not read either of the previous books in this series but the majority of the characters are well known so it’s an easy standalone novel. There’s a poignancy that we no longer have a Queen but as the story is set in 2016 there’s no sense of recent events. I enjoyed and recommend this book and look forward to reading the earlier ones in the series.

Another excellent book in the series. Will be sharing my full review on the blog tour. Thrilled to see there will be another book in the series.

This is such a great book, I loved reading this shortly after we lost our Queen because it does a tremendous job of humanising her; brings to life the lady, rather than the monarch. It's set during the Christmas period, so we see more royals as ordinary folk instead of as figureheads, too.

It's a nice, cosy mystery, with no explicit gore and a minimal amount of police procedure. Think Miss Marple,rather than M W Craven....

A hand is discovered on the beach near to Sandringham and the Queen, aided by members of her staff, set about solving the murder,that lead to the removal of the hand. The places that the Queen visits and the people she talks to may surprise you. I'm headed off to track down the first two books in this delightful series.

A lightweight but charming whodunnit with Queen Elizabeth taking on some amateur sleuthing following the discovery of a severed hand on the coast near Sandringham, where the Queen and Prince Philip are spending Christmas. The characterisation of the Queen is respectful and amusing and, although I am not a royalist or follower of any biographical accounts of the royal family, it felt quite authentic. Not much depth or originality, but plenty of charm.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Murder Most Royal’ by S.J. Bennett.

This is Book 3 in Bennett’s Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series of cosy mysteries. The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II gives it a certain poignancy and the novel is dedicated to her.

I read both of the earlier books, ‘The Windsor Knot’ and ‘A Three Dog Problem’, and have enjoyed both.

So a few plot details: It’s December 2016 and a severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Given that Queen Elizabeth (aka The Boss) is accomplished in discreetly solving murders, she quickly identifies the victim from his distinctive signet ring as 70-year-old Edward St Cyr. Yet identifying his killer is not so straightforward, especially as there is no trace of his body.

St Cyr has led an unconventional, often controversial life, and amassed many enemies providing plenty of suspects. Then a second man is found dead. As the royal family’s Christmas break continues, the Queen and her trusted assistant, Rozie, investigate, nudging the police along when necessary. No further details to avoid spoilers.

‘Murder Most Royal’ was slightly different to the first two books in the series as rather than quietly instructing Rozie, the Queen takes on a more active role in the investigation. Partially this is due to The Boss being on break and away from her royal duties and also because St. Cyr and his family, along with many of the suspects, are well known to the Windsors, as friends and/or neighbours.

Bennett describes herself as a royal watcher and clearly seeks to be as accurate as possible in her depiction of the daily routines of Court as well as behind the scenes. She also gets in a few jabs at the British tabloid press and their obsession with the Royal Family as well as political events of 2016 such as Brexit and Teresa May’s cuddling up to the newly elected USA president.

Overall, an excellent series that is going from strength to strength. It’s bound to be a popular Christmas read.