Queen to appear in favourite author's new crime thriller about killer in Palace
Camilla is depicted travelling aboard the Royal Train when disaster strikes and it derails, and a trusted aide is shot by a sniper, leading Grace to head to the Palace to investigate, the Daily Mail revealed.
The Queen is understood to have been aware of the book.
James – one of Camilla's favourite authors – is said to have carried out extensive research about the famous royal residence.
In the publicity for the novel, publisher Pan Macmillan describes James as the 'Creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla's favourite fictional detective'.
It says of the plot: '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.'
The also King 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 television adaptation of James's books which stars 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.'
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'It will be autobiographical, but will be filled with things I've learned in my recovery.' As the car didn't belong to the person driving at the time of the incident, police were never able to charge him. For some, the injustice would be almost too much to bear. But James, who is now waiting to have more surgery on his arm and face, takes a vastly different approach and says the crash was one of the 'best things' to have happened to him. 'I feel sorry for him, really,' he says. 'I'm not saying that anyone should have to nearly die to feel this way, but honestly, it's one of the best things that's happened to me because now I've learned the true aspect of life. 'Life is so precious and it's completely opened my eyes - especially to how we should treat one another. 'I'm not angry towards him anymore, it's just one of those things you have to get over. 'He was obviously going through a time where he felt it was OK to leave me. I've not got hatred for the guy.'
