Publication: 10th November 2022 – Zaffre
December 2016.
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.
St Cyr led an unconventional, often controversial life, making many enemies along the way in the quiet, rural world of North Norfolk, where everyone knows each other’s business.
But 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. Or the next victim may be found even closer to home.
Today, I am thrilled to take part in the blog tour for Murder Most Royal, the new novel by S. J. Bennett in the Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series.
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!
A huge thank you to Tracy and Zaffre for inviting me to join the blog tour and providing me with a proof of the novel.
Follow the rest of the blog tour:
S.J. Bennett holds a PhD in Italian Literature from the University of Cambridge and was a strategy consultant and startup manager before turning to writing. She has published ten books for teenagers, winning The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2009 and the RoNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2017. The Windsor Knot is her first novel for adults. She lives in London.
You can find her at SJBennettBooks.com and on Twitter @sophiabennett and @SJBennettbooks
Book After Book 