review: the queen's secret by karen harper

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Taking place during World War II, The Queen's Secret focuses on Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. While the plotlines involving the war were quite interesting, Karen Harper tries too hard to make The Queen's Secret a titillating novel. Apparently relying heavily on a book by Lady Colin Campbell, Harper reveals one of the secrets held by the queen was that she and a brother were actually the offspring of the family's cook. Harper makes further scandalous allegations involving the queen and her husband's brother, Edward, who abdicated the throne. Yes, The Queen's Secret is a work of fiction, but as it involves real people, it feels wrong to present such things as fact. Although Harper wants these possibly fictional elements to be the centerpiece of her story, they actually bog down the plot and the distract from what could be an incredible story of how The Queen Mother helped her country during the war.
2/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, William Morrow.