A Death in Diamonds

Letter from the author

Hello!

Thank you for picking up A Death in Diamonds.

Four books into the series . . . I’m starting to feel that Queen Elizabeth II really did solve mysteries in her spare time. She’d have been so good at it.

This book started with my research into the year the Queen met Marilyn Monroe. I was going to set it in 1956, but the more I looked into the period, the more the following year reminded me of the times we’re living in now. The UK was living through a period of austerity, was questioning its place in Europe, and was sending out the royals on bridge-building visits abroad. I realised it was the year the Queen visited Paris and New York – and the die was cast.

It may be book four, but A Death in Diamonds is part of the origin story of my fictional sleuth. It’s not the first time Elizabeth has solved a crime, but it’s the first time she’s recruited an assistant private secretary to help her – the role I once interviewed for myself. I know many readers love this idea of a secret club of female sleuthing sidekicks, ending with Captain Rozie Oshodi in 2016, and this is where that club started: with Joan McGraw.

Joan is based in part on my grandmothers: Joan Price, formerly McGrath, née Cuthbert; and Jessie Pett, née Adamson. Joan grew up in Urmston, Manchester, left school at 16 and worked as a secretary before marrying and moving south. Jessie grew up on a farm in Aberdeenshire, in the days when the land was still worked with horses, became nanny to the children of a wealthy Scottish family, and eventually married my Grandad, whom she met where he worked, at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Both were strong, multi-talented, capable women, whom I miss very much. Neither got to work at Bletchley Park, but each of them, I think, would have taken it in her stride.

Another thing regular readers know, is that all the official events in the books are based on fact. The Queen really did travel to all those places, really was presented with the Mona Lisa in an impromptu display, and really did have a friendship with Daphne du Maurier. Only the murder bits are made up. Those, and the dastardly sabotage plot. To the best of my knowledge, nobody tried to put itching powder in the royal Elizabeth Arden face cream. With Bobo Macdonald looking after her, I pity any man who would try.

If you would like to know more about the background to the books and future publications, then visit bit.ly/SJBennett where you can sign up to receive Royal Correspondence about the series. It only takes a few moments to join, and there are no catches or costs.

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And if you would like to get involved in a wider conversation about this book, please review A Death in Diamonds on Amazon, on Goodreads, or wherever else you share your thoughts online, or talk about it in real life with friends, family or reader groups! If you’ve already done so, I send you a heartfelt thank you.

With warmest wishes, S. J. Bennett

www.sjbennettbooks.com