This book is the second of the series I’ve read. I liked the previous enough to give this a shot when I saw the format in which it was available.

In this story, the King is ill more often than not but the Queen is still her regular self. They are to go to Scotland for the season and just before their arrival, a hand is found. The Queen is the first to identify who the hand might belong to, and with that information comes a vested interest in trying to figure out how the crime was committed and even what the crime was in the first place.

There are a few repeating characters from the previous book. As a citizen of a former colony, I obviously approached this book with some caution, but for the most part the viewpoint of the Queen is done in an entertaining and believable fashion, skirting around any too controversial topics. Given the genre, that makes sense.

The mystery itself was a study in parts. We begin with some form of understanding of what the issues might be but are later led down explanations that we couldn’t have fathomed before. Rozie spends some time trying to figure her life out and watching the Queen work things out helps her along.

I found the mystery itself to be the highlight of this book. The smaller pieces are all separate and distinct but once the sequence of events start to fall together it makes good sense.

It was satisfying to listen to the conclusions as they came around. I would recommend this series to fans of the genre and even more to people fond of the British royalty.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

Her Maj or THE BOSS as she is known does it again in a lovely twisty cosy murder mystery story when the severed hand of a distant relative washes up at the estate just in time for the Christmas festivities. With charming conversations between the lady herself and staff members, not forgetting references to her dear husband, the appeal of this series can only have increased since her sad demise and I do hope there will me more in her memory. The narration by Ms Bond was a real pleasure to hear too.

It's December 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at her estate in Sandringham. A severed hand is found washed up on a beach next to the estate, and Elizabeth quickly identifies the victim as 70-year-old Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring. Although the queen has become quite good at solving these mysteries, this one was not easy. St Cyr led an unconventional, often controversial life, making many enemies along the way. In small communities, it seems everyone knows everyone else's business and this give lots of clues and information to check out. Then there is a second dead body found and an attempted murder on a prominent local woman. With time quickly moving and the Queen and her trusted assistant Rozie having to return to London, they are scrambling to quickly solve the case.

Once again, S.J. Bennett has penned a fun cozy mystery featuring Queen Elizabeth as the sleuth working through her assistant. This mystery centres around a local aristocratic family, whom the Queen knew, so there is a personal connection as well as being privy to information about the victim and family. The mystery was tricky and with all the clues and red herrings, I had no idea who the murderer really was. I love the dialogue and banter in these books, as it makes the royal family seem real and accessible. There is a scene where the queen is in danger as the reveal occurs which had me a bit worried about her Majesty. I have been enjoying these books and wonder if this series will continue now. If you enjoy a good cozy mystery, one that is a bit different than others in this genre, then I recommend you pick up this book and series. Each can be read as a standalone. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration by Samantha Bond. She does a good job with the voices, expression and tone of the story.

This series is so cute. The Queen just pottering about trying to solve all the things. these are very well written and I am always shaken at every reveal throughout. I am usually pretty good at guessing the ending of these, but this author keeps me on my toes and distracts me with random palace facts... If you enjoyed the first two you will enjoy these. If you like a cosy mystery then jump on in.

This is the 3rd book in the series. I read the first book. Skipped the second one. Felt the audio book worked better as the narration was really good. A cozy mystery. Amusing in places. Will go back and read the second book soon.

Samantha Bond is the perfect narrator for this book, I really enjoyed listening to it. But plot-wise, somehow I didn't get into it. Maybe it was the timing, I listened to this quite soon after the Queen's death, which didn't really affect me, but maybe it affected how I experienced a story about her solving murders? I don't really know, I just know that I enjoyed The Windsor Knot, but just found this ok,

I'm still looking forward to reading 'A Three Dog Problem', but I just couldn't get into this one, despite really liking the Sandringham and Christmas setting, the characters didn't really feel that alive to me, mentions of Harry and Philip felt a bit flat, but again, I'd seen them quite a lot in the media around the same time, so perhaps the suspension of disbelief was more tricky.

I'll probably give it another go at some point, and maybe revise this if I find I like it better, but it wasn't as entertaining to me as the first.

This is a standalone mystery, so can be read without having read the other two books first.

Beautifully read by Samantha Bond, I really enjoyed the story. The Queen was involved just enough, exercising her 'little grey cells' while enjoying Sandringham. I thought this all might be a bit twee and have the Queen grubbing about getting her hands dirty. Fortunately not, I shall look forward to finding the other books in this series. Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio.

Firstly thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are all my own.

I’m not a royalist in the slightest but I don’t dislike the royal family either. I thought the premise of this book could be entertaining. A crime novel from the perspective of the amateur sleuth the Queen. Well……it is definitely different. And all the royals are mentioned in the book with personalities quite as we have grown to suspect is accurate for each of them. But…there was nothing enigmatic about HRH. She was boring, uncharismatic and flat. I felt this book lacked humour - humour I would have actually expected from Prince Philip. But alas, there was none.

The plus points…the actual crime and the solving of it was actually quite good. The plot twist was interesting and the ending significantly improved my overall view of the book.

Ultimately this was probably a 2.5 rounded up for me. A shame but definitely a different concept if nothing else.

I enjoyed the first 2 books in the series and jumped at the chance to listen to the third. Excellent murder mystery starring HRH the Queen! Excellently narrated and very enjoyable to listen to.

A funny and entertaining read, can't wait for the next book of this adorable series.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

A love a cosy crime novel and this series features Queen Elizabeth II secretly solving the mysteries! I was intrigued but a little sceptical about how well it would pull the premise off. I listened to the audiobook of this title not long after the death of the queen so it was especially poignant. The representation of the Queen and the Royal Family felt spot on while making them relatable and human. There were so many hilarious touches that made me chuckle, as well as heartwarming ones. The story kept me guessing with complex characters who had carefully guarded secrets. The resolution was satisfying and I’ve been enjoying recommending the series to people who are looking for a new read in the cosy crime genre. The narrator was excellent which added to my listening pleasure. I hadn’t read any of the previous books in the series and found this wasn’t an issue for anyone considering whether to pick it up.

Did you realise the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was adept at solving murders? No me neither! inventive series looks at royal life in a world where she is such a super sleuth. A big jump in the portrayal of real people in fiction but a world in which the author can have some fun. I was certainly intrigued before starting and pleasantly surprised as it works.

What sort of sleuth would the Queen be. Well in 2016 when the novel is set, she would be ninety so hardly going to be buzzing around. I would imagine most readers would be put in mind of Miss Marple or even Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote, but the Queen can’t be a busybody nosily poking around in other people’s business. I thought her quite like Spymaster George Smiley, marshalling the known facts and astutely making the connections others miss.

The narration of the audiobook is by Samantha Bond, who is probably best known for playing Miss Moneypenny to Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond, an excellent choice. Ms Bond is perfect for the upper-class accents and does a great impression of someone doing an impression of the Queen.

The plot centres around family, reputations, and succession. We all like to think we are well thought of and have good standing in our community; but even more so the upper classes who are desperate to avoid reputational ruin. Most important of all to them is primogeniture, where their property, estates and titles are passed on to the first-born male heir within wedlock. I won’t be a spoiler but will say a thoroughly modern situation rubs up against these rules and causes friction.

The pacing is gentle and steady, almost stately, as befits a Monarch Detective of ninety years. This pacing allows for a behind the scenes look at Christmas at Sandringham, the estate and life there, the Queen’s love of nature, and in particular racehorses and racing pigeons. The reader gets a sense of the protocol and tradition that binds them together and to the state, restricting them as well as how ‘commoners’ interact with them. How accurate this glimpse is hardly matters, its lovely escapism. There is some jeopardy towards the end but its not going to stop granny nodding off after the King’s Speech (another change we need to get used to.)

The author certainly portrays the Queen with great affection. She manages to capture all the traits than were described in the many fine obituaries of her, her diligence, loyalty, empathy, sense of duty and care are all there. The late Prince Philip is portrayed as a bit crusty but astute, and probably toned down a little from the real thing. The wider Royal Family members get bit parts too as part of the background.

Life for the Royal Family will change in the months and years ahead and a nod towards modernity can be found in Rozie the Assistant Personal Secretary. Rozie is a cracking character in her own right and is probably more prominent than HRH. A young black woman from inner city London, who served in the forces is just the sort to bring a dose of reality to proceedings. Add to this she is the embodiment of what a modern woman should be, confident, courageous, forthright, and liberated she is just the sort of character to drive any covert investigation forward. It is Rosie that adds a bit of zip to proceedings and is engaging for the reader as she settles into the job.

If you are a fan of cosy crime then check out Murder Most Royal, its fun and rather endearing.

Another absolutely fabulous listen, Samantha Bond is perfect as the narrator and like the other books in the series this continues the backstory of more characters while being a new location (palace) and crime.
Lots of lovely Christmas traditions and royal gossip as well as a new learning about pigeons.
Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Another stunning book about the queen solving a murder with the help of her aide.
Funny jokes and expertly written
5 out of 5 stars

I gave Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett 3 stars.

I haven't read the two first books in the series, but I felt this could be read as a standalone.
I liked the narrator and the story was okay. Nothing special, just okay and entertaining for the moment.
There were some fun characters and I think I might pick up the other two books in the series in the future.

This audiobook was a fun listen, as preposterous as the premise is. Samantha Bond is the perfect narrator for it, and the Norfolk setting reminded me of the Dr Ruth Galloway mysteries.

I haven't read any of the previous Royal books but i was intrigued by the blurb surrounding this novel and unfortunately it fell flat for me, Samantha Bond did an okay job with the narration but i wanted the queen much more involved in the drama, it just seemed a bit of a gimic to use the queen and i was disapointed with the outcome, which was a shame.

I’m so glad that I went for this one. It’s a joy. Although it’s the third book in the series, I was blissfully unaware of the previous two books until I came to write up this review so don’t worry if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading the other books – neither have I. Yet.

Set in 2016, the Queen is a battling a head cold as she and Prince Philip travel to Sandringham for the usual Christmas festivities. I loved the little additions, like the Queen’s chat with the PM. In fact, Bennett’s writing is enormously clever – she manages to avoid pinning the Queen down to any strong political opinion, which is entirely realistic. But neither does Her Majesty come across as too wishy-washy either. The only moment when I wasn’t completely happy with the depiction of the Queen is when she chooses to go wandering across the field, when the sensible option would be to stay in the Range Rover. But that is a minor niggle set against the rest of the book. In addition to the Queen, I loved Prince Philip’s character and the staff. I thought the relationship between the Queen and the royal household was very well done, particularly Rozie Oshodi, her Assistant Private Secretary.

As for the murder mystery, it’s a slow burn affair that throws out all sorts of puzzling details which at once stage had me wondering how the murder mystery was going to be wrapped up. I needn’t have worried. Bennett is clearly an experienced and able writer, who delivers a thoroughly enjoyable denouement. There were times when I listened to this with a lump in my throat for the loss of the amazing lady who ruled over us for a whole generation. Highly recommended for fans of quirky murder mysteries that is also well researched with a wealth of historical detail. I’m looking forward to tracking down the previous two books. While I obtained an audiobook arc of Murder Most Royal from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

A severed hand is found in a bag, they know who it belongs to but they cannot find the body. It will be down to her Majesty the Queen to put the clues together and solve the case.

This was a great cozy crime novel with a clever narrative following the main characters of the royal family. I had to be aware that this was a work of fiction as this is not how I imagined the Royal family to be, but once I had gotten my head around this I very much enjoyed this novel.

This was one with family drama and secrets with different twists that I didn't see coming, this is part of a series and I love to find out more about the character of Rosie, who was my favorite character, and I am sure Bennett will go into deeper throughout the series.

Overall this was a great novel that I could easily pick up the series and get lost in.

SJ Bennett has done it again. I absolutely adore this series. It is fun and quirky. This book was pretty much more of the same, which is definitely a good thing. The characters are great and humorous. I also thought the narrator was spot on and suited this book perfectly.