The Windsor Knot: A Novel (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates 1), by S. J. Bennett

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I found out about The Windsor Knot soon after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a cozy mystery and the idea of the queen as the amateur sleuth intrigued me. So I borrowed the book from the library (just in time before many others began to request it) and I recently finished reading it.

Preparations for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday are interrupted when a guest is found dead in a bedroom in the castle. Foul play is suspected and the queen secretly investigates in order to lead the authorities in the right direction in solving this mystery. She does so with the help of her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi.

There are many aspects of this book that I love. First and foremost, Queen Elizabeth II makes an amazing amateur sleuth. She is witty and intelligent. She is well-loved by all who know her. She is able to lead the investigation in secret, while still carrying out her royal duties with grace. She is everything I love about amateur sleuths, and more.

The body is found very early in the story, which allows for a twisty mystery to unfold. I appreciate that the book focuses primarily on putting together the pieces of the puzzle. This is my favorite aspect of cozy mysteries - the mystery itself.

If the amateur sleuth is amazing and the mystery is twisty, why then am I only awarding it three mushrooms (a.k.a. stars)? To be clear, my rating is based on how much I enjoyed the book, not necessarily on whether it is a good book or not. Many fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy it despite what I didn't like about it.

The description of the crime scene is more graphic than what I prefer in cozies. And they didn't just talk about it once. It was brought up a few times, especially in the first half of the book. There was also some graphic speculation as to how the murder could have happened. It was uncomfortable for me to read. Also, close to the end of the book contains foul language. These elements are huge turnoffs for me in both books and movies. I read and watch cozies because it's a mostly safe place. Yes, there's a heinous crime that takes place, but most cozies that I've read are not this graphic and do not contain any foul language. If there was foul language earlier in the book I most likely would not have finished reading it. By the time I got to that part, I was at least 70% done. So I decided to see it through.

Apart from the non-cozy aspects, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters. In a way, this is on me because I could have jotted down notes as I was reading. I used to do that when I first started reading cozies, but for the most part, it became unnecessary. It would have helped with this book. I've also seen some cozies where the cast of characters is listed in the front of the book, with a brief note about who they are. The would have helped too.

The mystery got so twisted that I was confused. It did make sense to me when everything was eventually revealed, but it was a tough road for me to reach understanding. When the solution was being revealed, the character took so long to explain it I was wishing they would get to the point faster.

There is a sequel to this book called All the Queen's Men, but I will not be adding it to my to-read list. I do think many people will enjoy The Windsor Knot. It's a solid mystery with a great cast of characters. There are also some laugh out loud moments in it. However, I think I need to move on from this one and go back to ones where the cozy factor is higher.