Her Majesty the Queen Investigates: Book 3
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
Evidence that an aristocrat has gone missing—and was possibly murdered—near Sandringham House sets Queen Elizabeth II on the path to discover unsavory family secrets and much more in this new installment of the series the New York Times Book Review calls “sheer entertainment.”
Queen Elizabeth II is looking forward to a traditional Christmas gathering with her family in Sandringham when a shocking discovery interrupts holiday plans. A severed hand has been found—but even more unsettling, she recognizes the signet ring still attached to a finger. It belongs to a scion of the St Cyr family, her old friends from nearby Ladybridge Hall. Despite the personal connection, the Queen wants to leave the investigation to the police—that is, until newspapers drag her name into the matter.
As reporters speculate about the proximity of the crime to the Crown and the police fail to investigate a suspicious accident on her doorstep, Elizabeth quietly begins to mull over the mystery herself. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, she delves into the interlocking layers of fact and fiction surrounding the high-profile case. Someone in the quiet county of Norfolk seems to have a secret worth killing for, and the Queen is determined to find out who and what that is—even if that means discovering that someone in her close circle is a murderer.
Her Majesty, the Queen, is quite the sleuth, however unintentional her involvement may be. When the Queen identifies a hand that has washed up on the Norfolk coast of nearby Sandringham Estate, she is reluctantly brought into the investigative circle looking for the supposed victim and his murderer.
SJ Bennett’s Murder Most Royal is a British whodunnit involving the highest realms of the British peerage.
When a dismembered human hand is discovered, its only identifying feature is a bloodstone signet ring. The Queen easily recognizes the hand’s owner as a longtime friend of the royal family, Edward St. Cyr. Relaying this information to the local constabulary through her assistant private secretary at Sandringham, Rozie Oshodi, the Queen herself promises not to become involved and let the police do their job.
However, due to her intimate knowledge of the Sandringham area families and their histories, the Queen can’t help but have an inside track in deducing who might be involved and why this happened. Working closely with and getting help from Rozie and the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Caroline Cadwallader, the Queen continues to outpace the local constables, steadily putting the pieces of a murderous jigsaw together.
Set against the backdrop of a royal Christmas and holiday season at Sandringham, visits by royal family members and guests, the reader is carried behind the scenes for an intriguing peek into what the day-to-day life of a royal might look like, including luncheons, dinner parties, shooting and hunting parties, dealing with staff, and how world events are possibly viewed by the royal family.
Never neglecting her duties and diligently maintaining relationships with her family and neighbors, the staff, and her beloved horses and dogs, the Queen stoically carries on with discernment while knowing and coming to learn who can and cannot be trusted.
SJ Bennett deftly brings the reader into the inner world of the royal family at Sandringham during the holidays in Murder Most Royal with vivid descriptions of both settings and the characters. It is easy to picture members of the royal family as they interact with each other along with guests invited to share the holidays with them. At times, the sheer number of names bantered about by royal family members speculating about the murder is unnecessary, bogging the reader down and proving confusing and overwhelming. However, the storyline is entertaining, and the identity of the murderer and their reasons are cleverly concealed until the very end, with the Queen figuring prominently.
Clever and stoic, the Queen is expertly portrayed in Murder Most Royal; even though demurring in her role as a murder investigator, she quietly works behind the scenes to uncover a surprising culprit. 
SJ Bennett wrote several award-winning books for teenagers before turning to adult mysteries. Born in Yorkshire, England, she lives in London and has been a royal watcher for years. The Queen, to the best of her knowledge, does not secretly solve crimes.
