{"id":31709,"date":"2025-02-19T10:36:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=31709"},"modified":"2025-02-19T10:36:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:36:33","slug":"review-a-death-in-diamonds-by-s-j-bennett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/19\/review-a-death-in-diamonds-by-s-j-bennett\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \ud83d\udd0d A Death in Diamonds by S.J. Bennett"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-31709\" data-postid=\"31709\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-31709 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_k5r2989 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_mmp4989 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_ycot989 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"961\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=640%2C961&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-31710\" title=\"a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\" alt=\"a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?w=999&amp;ssl=1 999w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=682%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 682w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=768%2C1153&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_vvgf989 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><span class=\"a-text-bold\">1957, England.<\/span>\u00a0Young Queen Elizabeth II is finding her way in postwar Europe, trying to repair friendships with foreign governments. Advised by her father&#8217;s old courtiers, the Queen suspects that they may not have her best interests at heart. One of them is trying to sabotage her public appearances: that much she is sure of.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">When two bodies turn up in Chelsea, the Queen finds herself unwillingly used as the alibi for somebody very close to her. With the reputation of the monarchy at stake,\u00a0Elizabeth knows she can&#8217;t face these challenges alone. She needs support from someone she can trust. Therefore, she enlists the help of an ex-code breaker, Joan McGraw, to uncover the truth.\u00a0<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">But as Elizabeth and Joan are uncovering secrets from the past, the clock is ticking, and they are in more danger than they know.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_g8wr989 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ne18989  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25881 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png?resize=296%2C72\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jan 21, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Her Majesty the Queen Investigates<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>4<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Crooked Lane Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $14.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is the fourth book in the <em>Her Majesty the Queen Investigates<\/em>. I\u2019ve only read one other, but this would work well as a standalone because it takes a step back in time to 1957 for this story, while the prior books in the series took place much later in her monarchy. In <strong>A Death in Diamonds<\/strong>, <strong>Queen Elizabeth<\/strong> has a keen interest in the case of a young woman wearing a diamond tiara and an older man brutally killed in a house just a mile from the palace. Elizabeth is very busy with several post-WWII official royal visits around the world, but can\u2019t get this investigation out of her mind.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I love seeing young Elizabeth finding her way to be the best leader she can be, balancing that in her life as a wife and mother. The story does a great job of blending actual historical events with fictional ones. While reading the book, I was moved to do some additional research of my own to read more about Elizabeth\u2019s visit to the United States, and it was fun seeing the photos of the real visit that are described as part of this story. Queen Elizabeth wasn\u2019t actually an amateur sleuth, but the author does a great job of making you think she could have been!<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This book introduces a delightful new character to the series. <strong>Joan McGraw<\/strong> moves up from being one of the typists to the assistant private secretary to the Queen. Joan gains new confidence as she becomes a trusted confidant for Elizabeth, helping her investigate a sensitive matter that could be tied to the murders. The scenes with Joan or Elizabeth investigating are fun to read. There is a detective officially assigned to the case, but the chapters told from his point of view move more slowly and didn&#8217;t hold my interest as much. The pace of the story really picks up towards the end, and I was eager to find out all the details of who was behind the murders. I don\u2019t know if future books will remain in this timeframe or not, but if so, I would enjoy spending more time with Joan and Elizabeth.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_8blm989 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3X6IXzI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/431TiR5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\/1145542987?ean=9798892420914\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-death-in-diamonds-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/SJ_Bennett_A_Death_in_Diamonds?id=7s8FEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1957, England.\u00a0Young Queen Elizabeth II is finding her way in postwar Europe, trying to repair friendships with foreign governments. Advised by her father&#8217;s old courtiers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,91,48],"tags":[152,223,303,367],"class_list":["post-31709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christine","category-crooked-lane-books","category-reviews","tag-4-stars","tag-cozy-mystery","tag-historical-cozy","tag-mystery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \ud83d\udd0d A Death in Diamonds by S.J. 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Bennett"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","name":"Smitten by Books","description":"Where HEAs are guaranteed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Smitten by Books","url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/cropped-smittenlogo-2017.png?fit=281%2C265&ssl=1","width":281,"height":265,"caption":"Smitten by Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?fit=999%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<img src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg\" title=\"a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\" alt=\"a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?w=999&amp;ssl=1 999w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=682%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 682w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=768%2C1153&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett.jpg?resize=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">1957, England.\u00a0Young Queen Elizabeth II is finding her way in postwar Europe, trying to repair friendships with foreign governments. Advised by her father's old courtiers, the Queen suspects that they may not have her best interests at heart. One of them is trying to sabotage her public appearances: that much she is sure of.<br \/><br \/>When two bodies turn up in Chelsea, the Queen finds herself unwillingly used as the alibi for somebody very close to her. With the reputation of the monarchy at stake,\u00a0Elizabeth knows she can't face these challenges alone. She needs support from someone she can trust. Therefore, she enlists the help of an ex-code breaker, Joan McGraw, to uncover the truth.\u00a0<br \/><br \/>But as Elizabeth and Joan are uncovering secrets from the past, the clock is ticking, and they are in more danger than they know.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jan 21, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Her Majesty the Queen Investigates<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>4<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Crooked Lane Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $14.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is the fourth book in the <em>Her Majesty the Queen Investigates<\/em>. I\u2019ve only read one other, but this would work well as a standalone because it takes a step back in time to 1957 for this story, while the prior books in the series took place much later in her monarchy. In <strong>A Death in Diamonds<\/strong>, <strong>Queen Elizabeth<\/strong> has a keen interest in the case of a young woman wearing a diamond tiara and an older man brutally killed in a house just a mile from the palace. Elizabeth is very busy with several post-WWII official royal visits around the world, but can\u2019t get this investigation out of her mind.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I love seeing young Elizabeth finding her way to be the best leader she can be, balancing that in her life as a wife and mother. The story does a great job of blending actual historical events with fictional ones. While reading the book, I was moved to do some additional research of my own to read more about Elizabeth\u2019s visit to the United States, and it was fun seeing the photos of the real visit that are described as part of this story. Queen Elizabeth wasn\u2019t actually an amateur sleuth, but the author does a great job of making you think she could have been!<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This book introduces a delightful new character to the series. <strong>Joan McGraw<\/strong> moves up from being one of the typists to the assistant private secretary to the Queen. Joan gains new confidence as she becomes a trusted confidant for Elizabeth, helping her investigate a sensitive matter that could be tied to the murders. The scenes with Joan or Elizabeth investigating are fun to read. There is a detective officially assigned to the case, but the chapters told from his point of view move more slowly and didn't hold my interest as much. The pace of the story really picks up towards the end, and I was eager to find out all the details of who was behind the murders. I don\u2019t know if future books will remain in this timeframe or not, but if so, I would enjoy spending more time with Joan and Elizabeth.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3X6IXzI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/431TiR5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-death-in-diamonds-sj-bennett\/1145542987?ean=9798892420914\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-death-in-diamonds-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/SJ_Bennett_A_Death_in_Diamonds?id=7s8FEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31709"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31714,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31709\/revisions\/31714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}