They and my mum-in-law should look away now but it's fair to say with A Three Dog Problem out today, I know what's heading to the top of my Christmas shopping list. The problems besetting the Palace, both architecturally and on the personal level appear steeped in believability. It’s a place of glamour and danger. It houses a lot of the Queen’s (now the King’s) world-class art collection, but needs blast-proof curtains at the windows to catch the glass in case of bombs. It’s guarded by some of the most iconic soldiers in the world, in their scarlet tunics and bearskin hats, but in 1982 a man called Michael Fagan managed to get inside and talk to the Queen in her bedroom for several minutes until she was rescued. You may have seen that visit fictionalised in The Crown. The River Tyburn flows underneath the palace and there are rumours of tunnels that link it to nearby St James’s and Whitehall underground. So it’s an excellent place to set a murder mystery. A Three Dog Problem is tightly plotted with a satisfyingly complex mystery at its heart. But as with Bennett's earlier book the joy is in the details. I loved the humorous elements in the book such as Prince Philip’s petn

A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a murder at

Richard Osman used to be a TV celebrity who secretly wrote crime fiction in his spare time. Then The Thursday Murder Club came out and he is now a worldwide publishing phenomenon who makes TV shows. Osman is a very funny writer, a brilliant observer of middle-class mores, who cares about the lives of his protagonists – residents facing their mortality in retirement homes – and it shows. He is also good at killing people all over Kent, and getting his unlikely quartet of detectives to work out why and how. Book two, The Man Who Died Twice, is as good if not better. Bennett has royal connections through her father, has done extensive on and off-the-record interviews with ex-staff members of the palaces she writes about and, most intriguingly of all, once interviewed for Rozie's job as APS to the Queen. Bennett has created a wonderful cast of characters of courtiers and palace employees around Her Maj, and of course using the built in people too, with Prince Philip and Princess Anne playing roles here. The star of course is Rozie Oshodi, who becomes a more fully rounded person in this second book. We get to see her in her natural habitat when she visits her family and also see her desire for nice things when she goes to the Cotswolds one weekend to interview a former palace functionary. I felt sympathy for the Queen and liked the often whimsical reflections that Bennett has us being party to. I felt sad for the Queen having fewer companions left to reminisce about old times with. (I love the interplay between the Queen and Prince Philip BTW). As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen's bedroom.The premise of both books is pleasingly simple and wonderfully well drawn. She might be the modern world's longest-reigning monarch, but that doesn't stop the Queen solving mysteries in her spare time. Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Mrs Bradley, Nancy Drew and Queen Elizabeth II. While this formidable bunch of women might not commonly be grouped together, they are all united by one particular attribute: they’re all exceptionally talented and prolific amateur sleuths. Yet, although the myriad cases solved by the first four are well known to crime fiction fans, the investigative exploits of the Queen largely passed unnoticed before SJ Bennett decided to chronicle them in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, which began with The Windsor Knot.

A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett | Goodreads A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett | Goodreads

A Three Dog Problem is certain to be one of my favorite reads this year. I highly recommend it to all mystery/crime readers, with a special encouragement to those who are enjoying the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osmand. This novel is primarily written from the perspectives of the Queen of England and Rozie Oshodi. Her Majesty needs no introduction. Oshodi is new to the Royal Staff. She joined as the Queen’s assistant private secretary a few months previous, after a short career in the army and then at a private bank. “She was still relatively young for the role, but so far had performed admirably, including—and perhaps especially—in the more unconventional aspects of it." She writes about the Queen and her wider family with clear affection and warmth and an in-depth knowledge and research of Palace life that shines through every scene. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: The Ultimate Guide to Celebrating Christmas with the Best Drinks Books On The ShelvesIn this, the second book in the series, A Three Dog Problem, Her Majesty investigates the disappearance of a painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia which was gifted to her some decades earlier by Australian artist Vernon Hooker. And, soon after the paintings disappearance has been discovered, the body of a staff member is found beside the Palace swimming pool. And so begins this delightfully charming double plotted mystery. Drie maanden voor deze gebeurtenis zag de Queen één van haar favoriete schilderijen namelijk hangen op een tentoonstelling van maritieme kunst. Een ontdekking waar zij op zijn zachtst gezegd niet verheugd over was en ze wil haar schilderij terug, want het is haar zeer dierbaar. Ze gaf haar assistent-secretaris Rozie de opdracht om uit te zoeken hoe het schilderij daar was terechtgekomen en ervoor te zorgen dat het terugkwam waar het hoorde. Dat was echter makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan, want volgens het ministerie van Defensie is er sprake van een misverstand en móéten er twee versies van de Britannia bestaan. Maar de Queen herkent haar eigendommen toch zeker wel? The Top 25 Christmas Cookbooks for 2023: A Smorgasbord of Inspiration for a Happy Foodie This Christmas

A Three Dog Problem by SJ Bennett | Waterstones

Agatha Christie meets The Crown in A THREE DOG PROBLEM, the much-anticipated second book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' mystery series by SJ Bennett - for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin.

LoveReading Says

and the Queen is a very busy woman. In addition to dealing with red boxes full of paperwork every day, Her Majesty sits for portraits and sculptures, has garment fittings, walks her dogs, visits friends and relatives, and binge watches Murder She Wrote.

A Three Dog Problem - Google Books A Three Dog Problem - Google Books

Not since another authorial Bennett wrote The Uncommon Reader has our reigning monarch been so charmingly and affectionately portrayed in print and S.J. Bennett has surely put herself in the running for an MBE for “services to Royal literary inventiveness.” It is an honest-to-goodness, laugh out loud, wonder of a book filled with regal delight. I’m here to trace a painting,” she explained. “One of Her Majesty’s. We know where it is, but not how it got there. It went missing a while ago.” “Stop!” Hudson raised his hand. “Stop right there. I can assure you it didn’t. We don’t lose things in the Royal Collection.” “I think you do,” Rozie said firmly, meeting his eye. “Sometimes.” “Very occasionally. Hardly ever. I resent the implication that we did.”" It just reminds you of the simple joy of reading a really good book that transports you into another world and makes you see something in a way you've never seen it before.

About SJ Bennett

I'm in two minds over whether to give this 3 stars or round up to 4. I preferred The Windsor Knot more, if I am being completely honest, as there were elements to this story that I didn't warm to at all. This novel was a pleasant surprise. It is evident that Bennett put in the effort to get the details right and her talent with the voices of the primary characters shines through. Along the way, there are some tragic accidents and poison-pen letters keep turning up. Are the two things related? Are these more than accidents? What secrets has Rozie been stirring up? Things are quite tense in the household staff as a refurbishment campaign is coming up. The books are satisfying, comfortable and easy-to-read but not in a disposable way. These can be reread and enjoyed and I wouldn't be surprised if you end up seeing them adapted as TV dramas in the next few years. Also, I wanted to include a link to The Royal Collection Trust, which is such a big part of A Three Dog Problem/All the Queen’s Men. Prince Phillip mentions in the book that there are over 7,000 paintings in the royal collection, and as you explore this link, you can see how much more there is besides that.