Flora went to live with her grandfather when she was three, after her mother died. Though she thought he must be the king when she first saw him, Hutchins was instead the devoted butler at Gossinger Hall - the only things to which he was more devoted were silver (cleaned with polish made to his own recipe) and the Queen. Flora has been instilled with an awareness of appropriate behaviour for her station, but was given free reign to scamper around Gossinger Hall, at least until Sir Henry Gossinger suddenly married later in life. Now twenty-two, Flora flushes with attraction whenever she sees Gossinger nephew Vivian but has an otherwise staid life, until her grandfather's body is found in the old water closet. Though she doesn't know it, Sir Henry had only recently told his nephew, wife and aunt (who managed to move in by dint of not repacking her cases after the wedding five years ago) that he was going to change his will and leave Gossinger Hall to Hutchins. Was he murdered? And what secrets are being hidden?
This is a welcome return to Cannell, whose novels I revelled in over a decade ago. Her characters are vivid and lively, her plots interesting and original, and the setting is archetypally British. Somehow Cannell has managed to create a timelessness, so that God Save the Queen! could be set anytime in the last fifty years or more, which I found refreshing. The only quibble I had was the references to 'serviette' that occurred at several points in the novel - in the circles God Save the Queen! is set, 'napkin' would be the only possible term used.
I'm looking forward to continuing to renew my acquaintance with the divine Ms Cannell. - Alex
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