S.J. Bennett: All the Queen’s Men
I am a devotee of this charming new series, where the detective is the most famous woman on the planet – Queen Elizabeth II. She shares detecting duties (she’s quite busy of course) with Rozie Oshodi, one of her private secretaries, a London born Nigerian. She and Rozie formed a bond in the first novel as they investigated the mysterious death of a young Russian pianist at Buckingham Palace.
There are many things to love about these books. One is the meticulous backstage look at how an enormous household like Buckingham Palace functions. One is the author’s loving portrayal of the queen – a woman who is busy, organized, intelligent and curious. One is the character of Rozie herself, who is almost, but not quite, a superwoman. She’s respected by her colleagues, but Buckingham Palace appears to be very much an old boy’s club in many ways. It’s something the author turns her observant eye on in this novel.
