The Queen and Mr Dukes : 1

These four tongue-in-cheek stories take place in the make-believe island of Mazita, off the Kenyan coast in the sixties. Our diffident hero, Bob Dukes, is a novice single parent of three adventurous young children and newly appointed Commercial Officer, assistant to the Governor of Mazita. Overwhelmed with the often-conflicting tasks of keeping his children happy and fulfilling his boss's demands, he turns for help and guidance to his mentor and ultimate employer, the Queen. After all, he is Her Man in Mazita. This edition has the addition of the author's background notes to her stories, which is not available in the individual stories in the series, “Our Man in Mazita”.

Beau-ootiful Soo-oop! - Bob Dukes, diffident hero, is a recently appointed and inexperienced diplomat working for Her Majesty's Britannic Government in the early sixties on the island of Mazita off the East African coast. As well as learning his new duties, he is faced with the task of being a single father to his three children. Bob's first official task is to organize a dinner for his boss, the Governor Designate of Mazita, who wishes to establish cordial relations with local bigwigs drawn from the many different cultures. Add to this minefield a reluctant first course and you will see why readers enjoy this story.

Something Spotted - This is the second story featuring Bob Dukes, diffident hero and single parent to his three children, Poppy, Suze and Charlie. Bob is now beginning to find his feet as the newly appointed Commercial Officer and aide to the Governor of Mazita. Life would be sweet if he could just get on with his real job, but every time he sorts out a problem, Sir Phillip comes up with another role to add to his job description. This time it is White Hunter and Bob is instructed to rid the neighborhood of a marauding leopard. Bob has never actually shot anything but a stuffed target during his army service, long ago during World War II. He's not at all happy about having to confront a 'big cat'. But his friends come to his rescue and he gives the situation his best shot, in keeping with the esprit de corps of the Diplomatic Service.

Something Rotten - Bob Dukes lives on the idyllic tropical island of Mazita where he is the single parent of Poppy, Suze and Charlie. His boss, the Governor of this Crown Protectorate on the East African coast, is always calling Bob into his office and giving him some impossible task, well outside his job description as Commercial Officer and Aide. In this quirky tale the future success of the island as an off-shore center is threatened by the strong whiff of corruption. Bob attempts to get to the bottom of things and see the guilty punished while he staves off life threats to the islanders and his family. Money laundering is involved long before the term was even coined!

Christmas in Mazita - In this offbeat Christmas story about Bob Dukes and his family, Bob is called upon to entertain the Royal Navy over the Christmas period. He is annoyed about this as he feels it is outside his remit as Commercial Officer to the Governor of Mazita, an off-shore island on the East African coast. The task proves to be even more challenging than expected especially for Poppy, Suze and Charlie who are called upon to display a compassion and knowledge way beyond their years.