Five great female mystery writers ban together in a fictional murder solving club. They want to show they can hold their own compared to the male contemporaries. The group including Agatha Christie select a small case of a young nurse that the press is saying died of a drug overdose. I’ve actually read books from three of the authors in the group so I thought the premise was fun.

As the women try and solve the case one is threatened with exposure of her own secrets. The women are good at untangling the clues but this part was slower than I expected. I did like attention to how women are marginalized especially in the time period. There was no great rush by the authorities to solve the case and it being after the war women who had been the workforce were expected to passively return to their homes. I enjoyed reading this as a mystery, but didn’t think I got to know the individual authors as much as I’d hoped. (3.5 Stars)

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is an entertaining locked-room whodunit with a clever bent, featuring Mrs. Agatha Christie and her literary peers, c. 1930.
The story is a mystery mixed with fascinating historical fiction involving the legendary Detection Club founded in London by renowned crime writers and led, at this time, by G. K. Chesterton. As it was the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, all members had to swear to abide by the rules of fair play in crafting their mysteries.
However the female authors are frustrated as they are taken less seriously by the Club’s male members, so they decide to form a club within the Detection Club. To up their credibility, they commit to solving a current, real-life crime concerning a murdered nurse. Benedict’s richly imagined profiles of Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy lets their personalities shine and makes them enjoyable to follow. The mystery itself was interesting enough to keep me engaged and, at times, to surprise me.
Benedict writes beautifully descriptive prose and knows how to create a great “picture” of a time and place in history. Her reader here is treated to a wonderful period piece, an enjoyable whodunit featuring strong, smart, legendary queens of mystery writing.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Marie Benedict brings together the grand dames of mystery to solve the real life murder of a young woman. It’s London 1931, acclaimed mystery authors, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Nargery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy, band together to form a secret society - The Queens of Crime. Rebuffed by the all male membership of the Detection Club, the women devise a plan to solve the murder of May Daniels who disappeared and was later found strangled in a park in France. The women will have to put their locked room murder skills to the test. Will the Queens of Crime solve the highly publicized murder at their own peril? Will they succeed in providing that they are equal to the task and earn the men’s respect?

Read The Queens of Crime for the history lesson. Read it for mystery or the nostalgia for the golden age of crime fiction, either way you won’t be disappointed.


Many thanks to the author @AuthorMarieBenedict, @StMartinsPress, and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fun mystery that makes you feel like you're in an Agatha Christie book. However, I realized I was missing a lot of background information because the only one of the Queens I knew about was Christie. Still a good mystery and would recommend to students.

The Queens of Crime AUDIO and print by Marie Benedict is a cozy throwback to the Golden Age of crime writing and featuring women authors from that time: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. They have been treated as second-class citizens by the male members of the legendary Detection Club and they vow that the time has come for that to end. They decide to solve a crime and they select one in which a young woman was murdered, but has been written off by both the English police and the French (English girl, the crime took place in France). Not only are they second-class citizens, but so is this unlucky young woman.

This is a historical novel and is based upon a situation in Sayer’s own life as well as opening up the personalities of theses famous women, beyond their detection skills. They are focused on solving this crime and use all means open to them, which include misrepresentation and downright lying, to get what they need. They also discover that women are discounted as witnesses, gaining valuable information from overlooked women witnesses. It was an ugly crime and the killer must be brought to justice, whatever it takes. Putting police forces and newspaper reporters to shame, they solve the crime, although things end badly. Do they get their recognition?

The reader was Bessie Clark who did an excellent job keeping the women separate, using voices of the young and older as well as using voices of less educated and French women. She was an excellent choice to bring these women to life, years after they are gone.

I was invited to read The Queens of Crime by St Martin’s Press and to listen by MacMillan Audio. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MacMillanAudio #BessieClark #MarieBenedict #TheQueensOfCrime

3.5 Stars

This novel is set in 1931 in London during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Dorothy Sayers, a founding member of the Detection Club, invites Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Emma Orczy to join. Feeling that they are not fully accepted by the men in the club, the women mystery writers, calling themselves the Queens of Crime, set out to prove their worth by solving a real mystery. May Daniels was a young nurse who vanished on a day visit to France. She was last seen walking into a women’s washroom in a train station in Boulogne-sur-Mer; months later her body is found in a nearby wooded area. The five women begin their investigation by tracing May’s last days and interviewing all people with whom she’d had some contact in that time.

As expected from Benedict, the novel is well researched. There’s a great blending of fact and fiction. The Detection Club did exist and four of the women were actual members collectively called the Queens of Crime. Only Emma Orczy’s membership is an added fictional element. Details of the women’s lives, like Christie’s disappearance and her difficult relationship with her sister, are incorporated into the narrative. The blurb even mentions that the book was “inspired by a true story in Sayers’ own life.”

Unfortunately, I found that other than Sayers and Christie, the women remain two-dimensional. Sayers is the narrator so we see more of her personality and learn more about her, including a dark secret, and Christie also has more clearly delineated traits and a more complete backstory. (Of course Benedict did pen a previous book, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, so a more complex development of Christie’s character would be expected.) The others tend to be differentiated with one trait: Emma is the older, prim and proper aristocrat; Ngaio is the unconventional one in both dress and attitude; and Margery is the enthusiastic youngest.

The mystery has the characteristics of a classic whodunit. There’s a locked room mystery, the bungling of dim-witted police, red herrings, and a gathering of suspects at the end. I found much of the plot predictable; there is only a handful of characters so the number of suspects is limited. What irked is how every conversation presents a clue which moves the investigation forward. Unfortunately, there are unanswered questions at the end: How did the writer of the note to Sayers know her secret? What exactly happened to the violinist? Then there are the unrealistic elements: The owner of a cafe knows the contents of an autopsy report? The letter written by May is totally unrealistic. She wants to leave evidence but names no one and leaves it in such a strange location?! I hate such artificial contrivances.

The book emphasizes the challenges the five female writers face in a male-dominated field but also looks at women’s struggles in society. May’s murder is investigated only superficially as if there’s a reluctance to devote time and resources for the death of a woman. To make matters worse, May’s reputation is smeared and she’s even blamed for her own death. Even female witnesses are dismissed by the police. After the end of World War I, women were expected to give back their jobs to returning servicemen and to revert to traditional domestic roles but there was a paucity of marriageable men because so many had been killed. These unmarried women were called “surplus” and were especially scorned if they sought employment to support themselves – though they had no other choice. Women’s reputation could be damaged by any misstep; even a choice of clothes could define a wearer as “loose.” An illegitimate pregnancy would result in damning both the mother and child’s reputations and their ability to earn a living. My objection is not to this theme but to the sometimes heavy-handed way in which it’s developed. Is it really necessary to have Sayers say, “’Never forget that we women aren’t what you call us – witches or crones or madwomen or surplus or nobodies. We are all Queens’”?

I’m certain this book will appeal to many, especially readers of Benedict’s historical fiction and of classic whodunits like those written by the five women featured in this novel. I found it entertaining but not exceptional.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

When several British mystery writers decide to form a Detection Club, the only female they consider for membership is Dorothy Sayers (and that may be because the idea of the Club was hers!). Agatha Christie would also be considered but following her recent disappearance and the subsequent airing of her deeply-held secrets, she has all but disappeared. But Dorothy has other ideas, and at the first gathering, she includes not only Agatha Christie but Baroness Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. The men show such displeasure and disdain for the women authors, they anger the women, who bond together to show them they not only can WRITE detective novels, but they can also SOLVE an actual crime!

Calling themselves the Queens of Crime, they choose a recent case, that of a young English nurse who disappeared on a day trip to France and whose murdered body has just been found. Combining their various talents, connections, and all resources, the women set out to solve this murder that both the French and British police have dismissed.

Through many twists and turns, they DO solve the case and the denouement is everything they could have hoped it was. After that, the Detection Club can only welcome them as equal members and celebrate their accomplishments!!

If you are familiar with these women's books, you will see traces of them in this remarkable book. It was a GREAT read!!

I love how Marie Benedict tells the story of women. This time it is a group of mystery writers trying to be accepted into the male dominated Detection Club by solving an actual crime. The cast of characters include Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie and and they bring the skills from their fictional detectives to solving an actual crime. I enjoyed watching the different mystery writers with very different backgrounds and styles work together to figure it out. The friendship and support system that grew out of it was wonderful. I found myself exploring the different writers in this book and adding books by them to my tbr list. The mystery was a good one and it kept me guessing as I tried to figure it out. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy historical fiction or mysteries.

Agatha Christie’s vanishing for 11 days has remained a mystery. But that is not the mystery that Dorothy Sayers has in mind. However, her true intrigue lies in her plan to assemble five brilliant mystery women writers and form the Detection Club.

Dorothy believes that initiating a murder game will be an ideal way for these five women to bond and get to know each other. Despite their diverse ages, they share a common passion for mystery writing and the camaraderie of a solitary profession for women during that era. This shared interest and the camaraderie of their lonely profession aim to overcome barriers such as age, class, culture, and education.

Thus, the Queens of Crime are born. Dorothy L. Sayers spearheads the club, which also includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. As they embark on their journey, their first case presents itself: May Daniels, found dead, presumably by foul play. The club is promptly called upon to investigate, and these formidable Queens of Crime are determined to solve this perplexing mystery, despite the challenges that lie ahead.

Bessie Carter’s exceptional narration brings the characters, the era, and the crime to life, making it easy for the reader to immerse themselves in the story. Regrettably, the women also face the pervasive misogyny that plagued their lives throughout their endeavors, especially considering their talent. The suspense surrounding the murder is flawlessly delivered, and the inclusion of cameos by other notable historical figures further enhances the book’s appeal.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I realize this is a very popular book, but it was just not for me. The style of narrative was not engaging at all. I felt like I was being TOLD too much, and not shown. And the characters felt like exactly that: characters--cartoonish and stereotypical tropey book characters instead of real people.

Said premise: Dorothy L. Sayers (our narrator) has been the driving force behind the creation of The Detection Club, a real club formed in 1930 by Britain's most prominent mystery and crime writers, for the benefit of their genre. They were tired of being discounted by the literary establishment and wanted to safeguard their chosen form and promote it at the same time. Other members included: Agatha Christie, Baroness Orczy, Anthony Berkeley Cox, and G. K. Chesterton, the first president. (The club also famously wrote up The Fair Play Rules for mystery authors, which I most recently enjoyed a prominent mention of in Benjamin Stevenson's book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.)

Queens of Crime opens when the club is having its initiation, and Sayers and Christie are both very frustrated at the attitude of the male members towards inviting more women than themselves into the club, as they view Sayers and Christie as exceptions to the norms of "womanhood". Your basic sexist bullshit. So Agatha and Dorothy scheme to get more women in, including Ngaio Marsh, the Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), and Margery Allingham. I believe there were liberties taken with the membership history here, but I don't know for sure because the ARC copy didn't have her author's notes. But even as they are successful in getting five women mystery authors into the club, they are treated poorly or dismissed by the men, and determine to show themselves worthy of membership.

Firstly, this approach rankled me. Why must they have to go so far out of their way to prove themselves to these men? It's gross.

Anyway, they hatch a plan to solve the murder of a woman called May Daniels, whose body has just been found after she went missing months before. They choose May because they believe the men running the investigation have discounted many things about the case because they lack the perspective of women, and because the fate of the dead young nurse is one they'd like to address if they can.

This had the bones of a good story, great historical research, compelling characters (in theory), a twisty mystery, and an emotional hook based on these women doing something that men can't to fight for the respect they should have been given automatically. But unfortunately, Benedict's style is very lacking in almost every aspect of the craft that makes stories compelling for me. The characters are wooden, the descriptions and events as they are laid out are very very workmanlike with absolutely no sense of emotional or artistic flair. It is a logic-based approach to story, and it did not work for me at all. The result of all this is a book that feels overall plodding and lifeless, which is an impressive feat, considering the quality of materials the author had to work with. How do you make such vibrant historical women seem so mundane on the page?

I really wouldn't recommend this book. I wish this author would team up with another author with more artistic flair, or that someone else had written a book with this same premise, like happened with Benedict's other book featuring Agatha Christie*.

*The Mystery of Mrs. Christie was published around the same time as The Christie Affair, which was a much, much better book, in my opinion.

Very sad with this outcome, but it is what it is, and I've learned my lesson.

[2.5 stars]

When British “Golden Age of Mystery” greats like Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Baroness Orcszy are all in the same book and will be solving a crime together, I found that well-nigh irresistible. Marie Benedict has established herself among the best historical fiction writers for her focus on women’s history and writing a strong female protagonist. In The Queens of Crime, she takes that to another level with the story of five famous, talented women.



Told from the perspective of Dorothy Sayers, The Queens of Crime begins when Dorothy recruits the shy, reclusive Agatha Christie to help her save their newly formed Detection Club from becoming a males-only establishment. I enjoyed the focus being on this diverse group of five women with their own styles and personal lives. I was only really familiar with Christie’s private life, so I enjoyed getting to know all of them better and seeing the disparate women join in a common cause to solve a murder and become respected friends.



This was my first Marie Benedict book, and I had no trouble sinking into her writing and the glitzy, sometimes gritty, era and its famous writers. The novel had the advantage of being based on part of Dorothy Sayers’ life. I was captivated by the clever mystery wrapped in this character-driven story. If you enjoy real-life characters in your fiction, tag The Queens of Crime for your next read.

Let me start by saying, I love this cover!

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime.

I enjoyed reading about these queens of crime, especially Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Marie Benedict wove a murder mystery that felt just like an Agatha Christie novel…Full of deductions and whodunits!

I love that this story is based on a real crime. Add in these fabulous women and this is a pretty good tale! And no, I did not guess who did it until the author wanted me to!

Need an old timey murder mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. It is completely different than other Benedict books, and for me that is a good thing. Written from the perspective of Dorothy Sayers, it is actually a murder mystery. I have to admit I have never read a Peter Whimsy book, but I must now add it to my list.
Sayers started a Detective writers club, but if course the men took it over. Ironically, when the book ends with the meeting of this club, I recognized none of the men, as the Queens of crime became much more famous.
Agatha Christie (probably the most famous of them all) Emma Orczy, of Scarlet Pimpernel fame, Ngai Marsh and Margery Alligham, all come together to solve a locked room murder. The murder of an English nurse, May Daniel's, was never solved in real life, but Benedict through these mystery writers sets out to solve it.
We learn a lot about the life of each of these writers and have a lot of fun watching them solve the murder.
We also see how the post WWI era was not an especially easy time for single woman, called surplus women because so many men were killed. Their job prospects were limited, and they were expected to have chaperones and behave.
Benedict even manages to incorporate the filming of the Scarlet Pimpernel into the story, which immediately brought Leslie Howard to mind.
I predict this might be Benedict's most popular book. I certainly will be recommending it to all my bookclubs.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the EARC. These are my truthful opinions. I highly recommend this book.

Happy release week to this gem of a novel by @authormariebenedict, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦! It follows five female mystery writers as they endeavor to bring a killer to justice while simultaneously cementing their place within a verifiable boys club. It encapsulates the power and buoyancy of female friendships while also touching on the still all too prevalent realities of, not only being a woman, but a woman in an often male-dominated field. Though these women are written off and underestimated on the basis of their sex and, at times, their age, this novel beautifully highlights how this can be both a detriment and an asset as these women are all too aware of the assumptions made and craftily use the weight of others’ assumptions to their advantage in such a way that it leads to a satisfying conclusion.

Though this is, embarrassingly, the first novel I’ve read by Ms. Benedict, it will not be my last.

A special thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC 👑

#stmartinspress #bookstagram #books #arcreviews #bookworm #mariebenedict #bookrecs #booksbooksbooks

Marie Benedict does not disappoint once again! This book not only shows the author‘s depth of research and her interest in the subject, but it shows her ability to weave many different ideas and stories into one delightful narrative.
The escapades of the protagonist with her four queens in tow is something to behold. They romp through the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer as well as through the English countryside with total abandon. Getting themselves in and out of scrapes to the complete enjoyment of the reader, this book never slows down in action.
Based upon the well researched lives of five leading female mystery writers in the UK, during the early 30s, the Queens of crime comes alive with excitement, hilarity, and “ never a dull moment”. Run don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and indulge yourself. You won’t regret it

The queens of Crime is Marie Benedict"s fascinating new historical novel. Five of England's finest mystery writers ban together to solve a real life mystery. The crime solvers are all women and they are led by Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie. Sayers and Christie are part of the Detection Club, an actual organization formed in 1930. Sayers believes that solving an actual crime will convince the Detection Club members to allow more women to join. The group of five investigates the murder of a London nurse that occurred when she was on a day trip to France. She stepped into a restroom while her friend waited for her and she never exited. The novel is filled with interesting characters and a good mystery-a great combination.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction read, loosely based on a true event! While I felt the pacing at the beginning was slow, with too many descriptions of fashions to distinguish each woman, the book soon takes off. You’ll be rooting for the queens of crime as they seek to cement their most deserved place in the genre. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Marie Benedict for many years now.  I enjoy all of her books, including her latest, The Queens of Crime.
What do you get when you have a group of female crime writers coming together to form a Detection Club?  A group of highly intelligent women who have all the skills and knowledge to solve an actual murder. The group includes well known writers Dorothy L. Sayers (as the lead), Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy.  Together, as The Queens of Crime, will show the world they are just as powerful with or without a pen in hand to solve cases.

Marie Benedict has done a wonderful job bringing together this group of extraordinary women writers and telling a powerful story. She shows the abilities of these women is equal to their male counterparts and can be taken just as seriously. I highly recommend this book!  Especially if you are fan of any of the writers mentioned.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This book starts off in 1930s London where FIVE of the greatest female mystery writers have come together to form their own Detection Club. It’s led by Dorothy L. Sayers who asks Agatha Christie (who has a mystery of her own). They ask three others to join them and they embark to solve an actual murder.
What I loved about this book is that it was a true page turner! You got to see these characters grow as writers and as detectives. I had to keep in mind the era and location. I found myself Googling various places throughout the book as I became intrigued by writers and their own books mentioned throughout.
There were times where the book was slow but i think it added to its character and the pacing. I also think some of the minor characters could have been developed a bot more but other than that I greatly enjoyed it!