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.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Looking back at my reviews for the previous three books in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, I can see that on each occasion I said the book I was reviewing was my favourite of them all. I'm about to say exactly the same thing about book four, A Death in Diamonds, which I thought was an absolutely brilliant read.

It's possible that what I loved most of all is the fact that this book took me back to 1957 and the beginning of The Queen's (fictional) crime-solving with her Assistant Private Secretary, who in this case is Joan McGraw. I enjoyed the historical elements, the younger Queen and her 'men with moustaches', the stuffy courtiers that Prince Philip disliked so much. The Queen enlists Joan's help to find out who murdered a man and a woman in a mews house in Chelsea, a crime in which the Queen has a vested interest in solving.

The story combines large chunks of fact with smaller chunks of fiction, weaving them together to make for a really charming read that was a true joy to pick up and delve back into. The murder mystery itself is very well-plotted and investigated by DI Fred Darbishire which enables us to see it from a more conventional viewpoint. He has no idea how much his strings are being pulled by the monarch!

It was wonderful to read S.J. Bennett's meticulously researched version of the young Queen and her family, and to follow her on trips to France and the USA. This series has a Miss Marple feel to it but the royal element makes it not only stand out from the rest but also particularly up my street. I know the author has a rich supply of possible further storylines from the Queen's long reign, and I hope that it's not the last we've seen of the younger monarch. I'm excited for more in this captivating series - long may it continue. ( )