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.... 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 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.... C. C. Benison  is the nom de plume of Doug Whiteway. He worked as a reporter and feature writer for the  Winnipeg Free Press  in the 1980s. As an independent writer, he has contributed to numerous magazines, newspapers, and corporate communications. He also writes award-winning mystery novels and lives in Winnipeg, Canada.