Death at Windsor Castle: Her Majesty Investigates [Mass Market Paperback]

C.C. Benison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998 | Series: Her Majesty Investigates

Housemaid Jane Bee's summer duties run to dusting the props for a week of pageantry at Windsor Castle, the Queen's favorite haunt. But the Investiture of the new Knights of the Garter ends up combining pomp with a extremely unpleasant circumstance.... Mild-mannered art curator Roger Pettibon is found dead, a ceremonial sword in his back and a Royal Garter around his knee.

The police are quick to arrest moody Court painter Victor Fabiani, at work on a portrait of the regal face that launched a billion postage stamps. But Fabiani's confession--despite its story of art forgery and blackmail--doesn't ring true to Jane. Nor to Her Majesty, who dispatches her on a discreet inquiry among the cream of society gathered for the Ascot races. And, as Jane traces the twisty lineage of more than one family, Windsor's ancient battlements witness a second death--and their second ordeal in five years, by fire and water....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Industrious housemaid Jane Bee is at it again in this third novel in a series featuring Her Majesty the Queen as a very polite inquisitor in deaths that are not what they seem in the various royal houses. C.C. Benison has set up the novels so that Jane Bee, a Canadian college student working for the royal family as a lark, ostensibly serves as Watson to the Queen's Sherlock. However, Jane is much quicker off the mark than Watson ever was, and the Queen, old dear that she is, is not quite as prescient as Holmes; yet, the Font of All Justice is just as believably steely-eyed in the pursuit of truth.

In this instance, Ascot Week at Windsor provides the setting, and Jane sets out to find who was rude enough to slaughter royal curator Roger Pettibon in the Throne Room of Windsor Castle. Strawberries, glamorous hats, and Eton schoolboys all play a role in helping Jane solve the crime. Benison's strength is her ear for Britspeak and the occasional hilarious aside in how the English amuse themselves with the summer onslaught of foreign tourists. (The Queen's footman, whose primary responsibility is looking after the Corgis, admits to one heat-flushed Southerner that a footman, of course, takes care of the royal family's feet.) At times, though, Jane has the grace of a bull in a china shop, or, more accurately, a North American abroad. And, Benison could make better use of minor characters, such as the chip-slinging single mother whose daughter gives Jane the clue she needs to solve the crime. They are often whisked away before the reader can appreciate their subtleties or contradictions. Still, Benison's efforts are solid enough and Death at Windsor Palace makes a nice addition to her series. --K.A. Crouch

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian Jane Bee, royal housemaid and amateur sleuth, accompanies the Queen to Windsor Castle for the annual Garter Ceremony. However, the country outing proves more stressful for everyone, especially Jane, after a body is found in the throne room. Naturally, the Queen asks Jane first to clean up the room and then to find the murderer. Soon, Jane is rushing around London, talking to Scotland Yard detectives, members of the Queen's staff, painters, tabloid journalists and others as she works to solve the murder case. Along the way, she uncovers a sex scandal that the Queen would rather have left buried. As in Jane's previous outings (Death at Buckingham Palace), the details of the royal lifestyle are vivid, but the plot is too tangled and wearisome to hold most readers' attention.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Crimeline (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553574787
• ISBN-13: 978-0553574784
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God Love the Queen!, March 9, 2000

By 

Northeast Texas Reader (Northeast Texas, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death at Windsor Castle: Her Majesty Investigates (Mass Market Paperback)

Jane Bee, a Canadian serving as housemaid in the Royal Household, assists THE QUEEN in solving these terribly inconvenient murders. Jane's father is a cop, so she comes by her detective skills naturally. All three "Death at . . ." books are a hoot. I consider them comic cozies, my favorite mystery genre.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jane's royal antics!, March 17, 1999

By 

Rosalee ([e-mail]) (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death at Windsor Castle: Her Majesty Investigates (Mass Market Paperback)

I read my first adventures of Bee when she was doing her thing at Sandringham and have enjoyed everyone of them. I not only enjoy her, but every character who works "on staff." I am wondering what the Brits think of her, but they would probably dismiss her as a cheeky Canadian! I hope Jane will continue her royal duties for sometime to come. Her adventures couldn't be more fun and more interesting.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder most royal, December 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Death at Windsor Castle: Her Majesty Investigates (Mass Market Paperback)

I love the C.C. Benison stories. For those of you who are royalists or at least interested in the British royal family, you can't beat these tales for an inside scoop of life at court. Whomever Mr/Ms Benison is, he/she knows a lot about the royals and spins her tales with fabulous details and humor.