This was probably the weakest of the series so far for me. I think the older setting was done well and i liked seeing the Queen when she was younger but the modern day books just have a better edge to them. I liked how this introduced a new set of characters and found the story easy to follow. The action was fine but nothing really stood out at me. The writing was also decent but i feel like it just felt weaker than previous books in the series overall as nothing seemed super special.

A wonderful cosy murder mystery set in 1957 with a young Queen Elizabeth II as protagonist. When a young woman in murdered found wearing just a tiara at an exclusive men's club a mile from Buckingjam Palace, the tabloid press are quick to point fingers at the men playing cards downstairs from the incident. Some very important men were at that playing table. The young Queen has a keen eye ans ear for information and finds herself gathering the key facts. The book is fun and entertaining, as well as a great mystery. It perfectly sums up the life and routines of the Palace, as well as the societal interest in a high profile murder mystery. #adeathindiamonds #sjbennett #netgalley #murdermystery #cosymystery #book4

A lovely confident addition to the series, keeping it fresh by changing the tone period, as always combining a good mystery and a respect for real life characters, but with some cheeky winks.

As much as I was excited to read a new SJ Bennett, I worried that I'd miss the 80-something year old Queen, and of course, Rozie, her wonderful APS. I did miss them, but I very quickly fell in love with the thirty year old Queen, and her APS Joan, and loved the mid-1950s setting, as it allowed Bennett to explore the Queen in her early days, in a world still very much recovering from the second world war. A wonderfully twisty-turny plot that gradually pulls together a terrible murder and a series of would-be threats to the Queen kept me turning the pages, racing to try to piece things together and work out who was behind it. Really glad to have read this, and hope that Bennett plans more mysteries for the Queen and Joan to work out together.

This is the second book I've read of these stories and this was just as much fun as the first. It's fun to imagine our late queen being an amateur detective, running about solving crimes. This is so well written, it's a really fun and cosy read, my favourite genre.

I love this series of books and this is just lovely! Now that the Queen is no longer with us, this series also brings back happy memories of her!

The return of the late Queen in young vibrant and detective mode is most welcome. Set in the past this time, it’s 1957. She has young children but also the privilege of staff. She also has an independently minded husband who might just be involved in the latest scandal. As we know the real Queen believed in doing her duty and you can almost believe this might extend to righting wrongs and seeking out the wrongdoers, almost.
After a murder of a young woman and a man in a place known for encounters with prostitutes there is a definite sniff of whitewash and cover up but the Queen’s attention is caught. During her State visit to France the Queen strongly suspects one of her team has tried to sabotage her and it. She shares the front page with the ‘Chelsea Murders ‘and finds that she’s being asked to be Phillip’s alibi on the night they died. She can’t resist trying to get to the bottom of her husband’s late night and possibly the murders themselves.
This novel draws on this heady post war era when society is a little freer and the dark and seedy underbelly of London is oozing into the public consciousness. There is a lot more scope here for the Queen to be more directly involved than previous novels that acknowledged her great age. I like the way this is integral to the plot and the period setting is spot on being the year that we finally moved on from the Deb being presented at Court. It marks the passing of an era. Full of nuggets about society, royal protocol, period detail and general sleaze this is an outlandish and enjoyable fantasy about HM Queen PI which I hope will continue.

I hadn’t read any others in the series but it didn’t matter at all. Such a fun look at the royal family and especially The Queen. This cosy crime story is as fun as it is believable and I’m looking forward to more.

I have enjoyed every book in this series thus far. Incredibly witty and well observed it is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
This time we journey back in time to an early investigation of our detecting Queen. A girl is found dead, a man murdered by being stabbed through the eye, in a house rented by a senior cleric. There is more going on here than meets the eye: seedy escort agencies, gentleman's clubs and the intelligence services. The Queen sets out to disentangle the mess with the help of an APS, somehow not from the usual circles (late of Bletchley Park).
It's a great read, and I'm looking forward to the next installment in this series.

I really enjoyed A death in diamonds! S J Bennett seamlessly take us back in time to 1957 without disappointing fans of this wonderfully enjoyable series. Our young Queen is faced with someone trying to sabotage her royal tour, and she suspects someone in the royal household might be involved. After coming to her rescue after an important speech goes missing, typist Joan becomes her majesty’s new partner in crime!

Love live to this series as it's gets better and better. A well plotted historical mystery, a change of setting and characters that makes everything more exciting.
A solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Loved it, highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Whoddunnit set in late 1950s Britain. Queen Elizabeth's personal assistant is away and Joan is second dedicated from the typing pool to replace her. A murder happens in Chelsea and DI Darbishire is tasked to finding the killers but people are hiding the truth. Meanwhile the Queen suspects that someone is trying to sabotage her foreign visits and a link begins to form. Can Joan and the Queen solve the mystery?
This is so clever the way fact and fiction intertwine. The characterisation is spot on.

I love these books written as though the late Queen solved mysteries/murders.
She only just ascended the throne but things keep going wrong on her tours. And then there’s a double murder in a flat where Prince Phillip might have been. And the woman is wearing a royal diamond tiara. Luckily she has Joan McGraw ex of Bletchley Park to help her put the clues together.

This is the second book in this series that I have read, a wonderful respectful homage to our beloved late Queen. Set in the 1950's when the Queen was young she gets involved in a murder of a call girl found dead wearing a diamond crown !! I really enjoyed this book , the characters were delightful and I liked the new character Joan very much .Interesting twisty good story and I didn't guess the murderer .I look forward to reading the next book in the series .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Young Queen Elizabeth II is finding her way in a challenging world as the United Kingdom must adjust to having neither an empire nor a set place in post-war Europe.. There is also the question of a murder case, with which she finds herself connected...

The story is full of men in moustaches and their sexist behaviours which can grate with the contemporary reader, something one can expect from the period novel, but it conveys a certain charm of the bygone era as well, which many will find charming. The story itself drags a bit, as we also deal with some domestic issues surrounding both main characters, there are some well documented historical events, some real characters and the sub plot which I hope will continue in the next book. As in this book we go back to 1957, the series will hopefully continue for a while. I am definitely waiting for the next instalment.

Another series which probably fits that cosy type of traditional murder is this by S.J.Bennett. Don’t be alarmed that the main protagonist in these novels is the late Queen Elizabeth II. This time we are going back in time to 1957, very early on in the reign and where we perhaps first start to see the Queen’s passing interest in what is really going around her. And more importantly what she is or isn’t being told by the ‘the men in moustaches’ that surround her every day.

When a call girl is found dead, wearing a Tiara that is well known in a number of circles and when there seems to be a connection to the Palace as well. It is of course something which is going to interest the Queen. But what can she do, step forward Joan, a war spent at Bletchley and with an interest in unpicking riddles, she seems to be able to assist the Queen quite ably, much to the annoyance of all the men around her.

Of course it doesn’t all go smoothly, and it seems that Joan could be in danger. But will the answer be as obvious as we all think? 

What more of a tribute to the late Queen than to feature her in a cosy mystery series! I am sure she would have loved it.

In the fourth book of the series, we move back in time to 1957, and young Queen Elizabeth. The murder of a call girl and her presumed client in a mews house rented by a bishop comes to the Queens attention and she begins to investigate. She is also aware of a plot within the palace to undermined her both at home and on foreign visits and we are introduced to the wonderful Joan McGraw, who becomes the Queens eyes and ears in areas that she cannot visit. I once again loved this book and the detailed research that must have been done in order to write it. The details and mood of the time are caught just right. Not just an cosy murder mystery but also a book that highlights the discrimination of women in society but also the role of class and the lack of acceptance by certain parts of society. I. Was delighted by Joan’s successes despite all the obstacles placed in her way.Although the fourth in the series, this can be read to as a standalone and I am looking forward to the next in the series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this novel.

Well S. J.Bennett and has done it again, with another fab book in this cosy mystery series with the Queen as a sort of Sherlock Holmes.
This fourth book is set 1957 as the young Queen is on an official visit to Paris with Prince Philip, and her entourage, otherwise known as in the book as ‘the men in moustaches’.
This mystery centres around the mysterious deaths of a young woman and older man found dead in a mews flat in London. As the above synopsis mentions the young Queen is rather worried that someone very close to her is involved, so needs help to look into for her, just like in the previous books. Enter Joan McGraw a new temporary secretary who the Queen recruits into helping her discover exactly what happened on the night of that high society card game.
As well as Joan’s inquiries which I really enjoyed, there is the official police investigation led by Inspector Darbishire which was very interesting, although rather slow, hampered by official channels. I didn’t have a clue who the murderer was, and rather enjoyed the big reveal when it came.
I loved the way S.J.Bennett has taken us back in time with this mystery, as I do enjoy historical crime fiction. Joan is a wonderful new assistant and I’m already looking forward to finding out more about her in the next book.
Highly recommended if you enjoy cosy mysteries or books connected to the Royal Family.

My thanks to Bonnier Books U.K. Zaffre for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘A Death in Diamonds’ by S.J. Bennett.

This is Book 4 in Bennett’s Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series of cosy mysteries. I have read and enjoyed all of the earlier books.

While the first three books in the series were roughly contemporary set in 2016-17, here S.J. Bennett moves backwards in time to 1957. She also introduces a new assistant to the Queen - Joan McGraw, a former Bletchley codebreaker. Joan comes to the position as a temporary replacement for the Queen’s assistant private secretary, who has taken leave.

The mystery involves the murder of a young woman in a Chelsea mews house. She was found clad only in silk undies and wearing a valuable diamond tiara. An older man is also discovered nearby, garrotted and pierced through the eye with a long, sharp implement.

So why does the young Queen discreetly involve herself with the investigation? According to the police, a high society card game was held at the property that night. One of the players surely had committed the murders, though each of them can give the others an alibi. When someone very close to the young Queen is implicated, she is drawn into the investigation, utilising Joan’s discreet assistance.

S.J. Bennett weaves in a number of historical figures and events into the narrative. I was impressed throughout with Bennett’s attention to period detail. This felt a slightly darker whodunnit than the previous books.

The book concludes with a sneak preview of Book 5, due for publication in 2025, that will be set in 1961 and is titled ‘The Queen Who Came in From the Cold’. I can hardly wait!

Overall, I was impressed by ‘A Death in Diamonds’ and am enthusiastically recommending it.

A Death in Diamonds is the fourth in Her Majesty The Queen Investigates. It goes back to her earlier years, rather than the more present of the previous 3.

While the first three where really.enjoyable, I found this harder to get into, you spend the first majority of the book with the other characters with more involvement of the Queen midway through. It didn't have the flow of the previous ones.

It's an enjoyable read, that also be enjoyed as stand alone but I feel the first three were better.