4 days ago
Queen to star in crime thriller about killer inside the Palace
The Queen is to star in a new crime novel alongside her favourite fictional detective.
Peter James 's latest Detective Superintendent Roy Grace thriller centres on a race to stop a killer at Buckingham Palace.
Camilla is depicted travelling aboard the royal train when it derails and a trusted aide is shot by a sniper, leading to Grace heading to the palace to investigate.
The Queen, 77, is understood to have been aware of the book which draws on James's extensive research inside the palace.
In the publicity for the novel, publisher Pan Macmillan describes James as the 'creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla's favourite fictional detective'.
Outlining the plot, it says: 'A tragic accident or a planned attack?... Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced the Queen was the intended target ... Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the palace will strike again.'
A publishing source told the Daily Mail: 'Opening with a cinematic derailment of the royal train, The Hawk Is Dead takes Roy Grace deep into the heart of Buckingham Palace, where he is called upon to solve a murder and what looks to be a royal assassination attempt.
'Queen Camilla, a well-known book-lover and reading champion through her charity, The Queen's Reading Room, has always been one of the first people to receive each Grace novel and is excited to have a starring role, alongside His Majesty King Charles, in Peter's latest thriller.'
The King also features in The Hawk Is Dead: A Killer In The Palace, which is due out in October.
The Queen, a voracious reader and passionate supporter of a number of literary charities, previously recommended James's blockbusters as part her Reading Room book club.
In 2021, she visited the set of Grace – ITV's adaptation of James's books starring John Simm as the troubled but methodical detective – and joked about asking for a cameo role.
She told James: 'I love your books. I've read them all, cover to cover.'
James said: 'The Queen asked me when I might set a Roy Grace novel in London … and the seed was sown. Where better in London than Buckingham Palace?'
