Another oldie from the personal library shelves. I love this one. It's almost purely a satire of the English aristocracy and gentry, with a couple of mysteries and a romance thrown in too.

If you've never read Dorothy Cannell, she is a cozy mystery author, primarily known for her Ellie Haskel series. She's an excellent writer and crafts a great mystery. God Save the Queen! is one of her stand-alone books. From the summary:

At gloomy Gossinger Hall, where the chill of centuries calls for three sweaters, Sir Henry Gossinger has just dropped a bombshell. He has announced to his unwitting relatives that he has written a new will...bequeathing everything to his devoted butler, Hutchins. Not since roguish Sir Rowland Gossinger was accused of stealing the queen's silver tea strainer, has such a scandal threatened the family honor. But worse is yet to come.

For Hutchins is missing, and is soon found head down in the principle fixture of the twelfth-century privy. He may have been the victim of foul play. And what could Hutchins have meant by his dying words, "God save the Queen"?

Our MC, Flora is Hutchins' grand-daughter, raised by him from the age of 3 at Gossinger Hall. Upon his death Lady Gossinger offers Flora her family's old flat above an abandoned shop on Wishbone street in London, free for one year. Sir Henry's nephew follows Flora to London to try to tell her his suspicions concerning her grandfather's death, but things keep getting in the way.

The romance is a sweet one. Maybe just this side of being too sweet; I think the humour helps though. The murder mystery, as well as the mystery surrounding the silver tea strainer, take a backseat during the middle part of the book, as Flora moves to London and settles in, but the last third of the book is focussed on the resolution of both mysteries, with a rather hilarious denouement at the end.

This is Jeeves kind of funny and the book always promises me a good time when I pick it up. If you like this sort of thing in your book and you see this one somewhere, grab it and give it a go. ( )

A fun book. Sir Henry announces to his family that he is going to leave the Gossinger estate to his butler who then is found dead in strange circumstances. Why did Sir Henry want to change his will? Was Hutchins death murder? Is his granddaughter in danger? I may read anther book by Cannell since I found this one to be above average even with the mystery not being very mysterious.

A British mystery that I've had in hand for many years. The blurbs on the cover tell me this author is extraordinarily funny. I found some chuckles and smiles, but one one "laugh out loud" moment. The story, and the murder, take place in frosty-cold Gossinger Hall where the butler leads a household staff including a cook/housekeeper, a stableman, and hid granddaughter. The house is open for tours, and it is on one such day that the murder takes place and the story begins.

The good: Cannell develops her characters beautifully. Although some end up as caricatures, it does add humor. Mrs. Most, whose passion for cleanliness causes her to take down the centuries-old tapestries, is one example. Flora and Vivian, the main characters, prove to be thoughtful, clever, warm, and endearing.

The not so good: the story rambled a bit and the mystery became clear to me fairly early on in the story. the ending seemed a bit rushed in its attempt to tie up the loose ends of Flora's future.

The inexplicable: page 88 in my copy was a mirror image. I have never run into this error before in a published work, and even tried to divine whether it was purposeful and meant to move the plot forward in some way. Alas, it was just a mistake.

Not sure I would seek out this author again, but the story did not warrant its long period of being ignored at my house either. ( )

A butler's granddaughter comes clost to inheriting the grand home she grew up in. Her Grandfather, the butlre, is murdered and all suspicions go to the Lady of the house who is acting strange. A tea strainer has been missing for over 200 years and the Queen's life become a major part of the story. ( )

Fun story, not part of her Ellie Haskell series. ( )