SJ Bennett
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
Author of The Windsor Knot
“The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.
It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.
Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.
SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and most importantly a great judge of character.”
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
Author I draw inspiration from: Agatha Christie
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
Favorite place to read a book: Any sunlit windowseat
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Reginald Jeeves, Bertie Wooster’s gentleman’s gentleman, from the series of books by PG Wodehouse
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: As a child, reading my first Noel Streatfeild novel
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Paperback
The last book I read: Slow Horses by Mick Herron
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
Pen & paper or computer: Pen and paper – any excuse for stationery
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Lizzie Bennet from Pride and Prejudice
Author Interview - SJ Bennett
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Designer or jazz singer (ideally)
Favorite decade in fashion history: New Look – Paris in the 1950s
Place I’d most like to travel: Madagascar
My signature drink: Bellini cocktail (peach juice and Prosecco)
Favorite artist: Matisse
Number one on my bucket list: To meet all the people who’ve helped make my book what it is during lockdown
Find more from the author:
Twitter @sophiabennett
Instagram @sophiabennett_writer
Author Bio: SJ Bennett gained her PhD in Italian Literature from the University of Cambridge and was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co before becoming a professional writer. She has published ten books for teenagers, winning the Times/Chicken House Competition for Threads in 2009 and the Romantic Novel of the Year award for Love Song in 2017.
