As a fan of both historical fiction and mystery genres, I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book where the five most prominent women detective series writers were actually going to solve an actual crime themselves! The introduction and descriptions of the five authors were a fun addition to the historical aspect of learning about the styles of these writers. "The Queens" decided to solve a crime to show the male members of the Detective Club, who were very hesitant to add women authors to their club, that they were more than authors. They were determined that by solving their own crime, the males in that Club would be more accepting of them and at the same time - they wanted to "show them up". The personalities of the five women did clash at times, but when they found themselves in danger, they all banded together to protect their own. They chose to solve the murder of a young woman who had gone missing and was then found dead. The fact that this young woman was being disparaged and her murder overlooked, made the Queens more determined to find out what happened to her. The details, teamwork, and steps taken to solve the murder of a young woman made this a very interesting read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheQueensofCrime

Part homage to the classic mystery novel, part ode to the determination of 20th century women who fought to be recognized as capable writers, investigators, and leaders, THE QUEENS OF CRIME creatively brings to life Dorothy L. Sayers, Nagio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. Benedict captures the essence of each of these great women, their writing styles and oeuvre into a captivating mystery. I loved how Benedict used each of their personalities as they not only worked to solve a murder but to also ensure their male counterparts had no choice but to take them seriously. The story felt a bit slow at times, but overall kept me engaged.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley, and the author for early access to a digital copy of this work.

Who could turn down a book about the REAL "Queens of Crime", the women who wrote mysteries during the golden age of detection? I was really excited to read this book. It was ok. It felt contrived. I mean, I guess it WAS contrived as it mashed together all of the real-life people and tried to put each of their voices (although mainly Dorothy L. Sayers') into the novel. It got better about 1/3 of the way into the book, but never soared. I do like the author and can tell she put a lot into this one. Solidly 3 stars, maybe 3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC #sponsored

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 2/11
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Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy come together to create the Queens of Crime and they set out to solve a murder of a young nurse.
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Five of the best mystery writers of their time coming together to solve a murder just makes for an interesting premise. It was so fun to get to know each of these writers and follow them as they try to solve this murder, picking out the red herrings and numerous plot twists.
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I was captivated right form the start, the mystery itself was a doozy and I loved the twists and the ending of this one. These women were all empowering and clever. I really wish I would have known them. This is a steady to fast paced read!!
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I listened to this one on audio while reading my eARC. The audio was narrated by Bessie Carter - absolutely phenomenal. She had the perfect voice for this performance. I highly recommend!
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Overall, most definitely worth the read! Fantastic for a historical fiction! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Marie Benedict, MacMillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the author's take on Agatha Christie's disappearance so wanted to give this one a try. I was not disappointed. I loved how these female writers got together and solved a murder of a young girl that the press and police had written off as a drug overdose. It was great that Mac was supportive of her career which was unusual for the times. Can't wait for the next historical fiction story she writes.

Marie Benedict again totally immerses herself in the character (s) she writes about. One actually believes the book is written by Dorothy Sayers and that you are with the Queens. Benedict again shows how versatile she is. Yes, will wholeheartedly recommend the book. Evokes Anthony Horowitz of today. Will make a great Masterpiece Theater series.

This book was utterly delightful! It highlighted five amazing female mystery writers that I knew nothing about. Benedict showcased how these authors struggled to be recognized by their male counterparts. In their bid to be acknowledged for their abilities, the five woman take on a mystery that the police just want to wash their hands of. The discovery and unraveling of clues was well thought out. The author provided just enough of the personality of each writer for the reader to get a feel for their uniqueness. A true who done it wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end.

The Queens of Crime follows legendary mystery writers Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and a few other iconic female authors as they team up together to solve a real-life murder. A young English nurse vanishes while visiting a French town with a friend, only to turn up dead months later. The cause of death? Strangulation. But someone wants to throw off the investigators - placing a used syringe near her body to lead them in the wrong direction.

Most might have fallen for the deception, but not the Queens of Crime. These women know a red herring when they see one. As they chase down clues across England, unraveling secrets and uncovering buried truths, they realize the case might be far more dangerous than they imagined. And the more they dig, the more they risk becoming the next target themselves.

I loved watching these five women bring the detective skills of their fictional characters to life! Their dynamic - full of wit, intelligence, and unexpected friendship - made this such a fun and unique read. By the end, I felt like I knew each of them better, and now I need to read more of their books (that they wrote in real life). Marie Benedict has a way of making history come alive, and this cozy mystery was no exception! It was clever, well-written, and such a page-turner! Overall, I gave it 4 stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Whether you are a fan of Agatha Christie and other classic detective stories or not, this book is a gem. Narrated by fellow author Dorothy Sayers, Agatha, Dorothy, and 3 other female writers of detective stories are struggling to be accepted by the men in the newly formed Detection Club. To prove they are as worthy as the men, they set out to solve a real life murder. I'd say it isn't as easy as they make it appear in their books, but these women talk about their writing styles and difficulties they have with their books and the many missed deadlines, so writing isn't so easy either. None the less, these women are up to the task that the police and male reporters have failed at. There is a locked room mystery, some red herrings, and there is danger along the way, but don't doubt these women for an instant. I loved the interaction of the women, their descriptions of how they write their books, and their process for solving the murder. This book in a win on all fronts, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ecopy. My opinion is my own.

Fun book - real authors solve murder

This book was a lot of fun. If you have read any of these authors, the book is even more fun! Five female authors from the 1930's band together and solve a real murder to show up their male compatriots. I loved one of these authors (Baroness Orczy) so much when I was a teenager. I really enjoyed reading about these authors, mind you, of course, fictionalized, and will be interested in seeing how much of each of the author's past is real vs made-up. The murder itself is a challenging locked-room style plot. Shades of current events, the women are totally disrespected by police, authorities and other men, as are the victims. I will be looking for other books by Ms Benedict.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

Another fabulous historical fiction novel by Marie Benedict! I always love her writing style and she's done it again in a fascinating story about five female authors in London who get together to help solve the case of a missing young woman. The woman's body later appears in the French town she visited with a friend.
Partly through the story, I started googling the backgrounds of all of the women authors, since I was only familiar with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. The story mostly delves into Sayers' life story and it is obvious that Benedict has done her research. I love how she gave a glimpse into each of the authors' writing styles and how they would each solve the crimes in their own novels. And the camaraderie among the women through their conversations was what made the story come to life. I could imagine how much they would rely on each other as women in the very male-dominated publishing world. I appreciate how she brought these women authors to life. I would be thrilled if this became a series.
My advanced copy did not include any author's notes or acknowledgements but I will search out Benedict's comments about the book. I love when a historical fiction acquaints me with people or a period of time that I do not know well. This novel certainly does that. Marie Benedict is becoming a must-read author for me in her solo writing and co-writing publications.

Many thanks to #StMartinsPress for an early copy of the digital book in exchange for my honest review.

I am not entirely sure why, but I just couldn’t engage with this novel. I love Agatha Christie and have only just begun to enjoy Dorothy Sayers. I also enjoy the thought that these ladies banded together to solve real life crimes. However, I just couldn’t connect with the internal thoughts of Dorothy, or feel the same feelings.

I also wonder if Benedict spent more time with Dorothy and none of the other 4 ladies. This felt a little off kilter for me. I would want to know what/how Margery was useful in a scheme but would only get a “telling” of what happened.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

Marie Benedict does a great job combining historical fiction, women’s fiction, mystery. This was loosely based upon an event in author Dorothy sayers’ life.

See my full review at http://michelleardillo.com/2025/02/17/book-review-the-queens-of-crime-by-marie-benedict/

This seemed a bit different for Marie Benedict, but very enjoyable. I didn’t know all of the women in the Queens of Crime were real. It was fun to watch them try to solve a murder. While the mystery aspect is a different turn, I very much enjoyed it. I liked how Benedict kept her feminist protagonists strong. While the book is set in the 1930s, some of the themes are still very relevant to today if one is paying attention. I appreciated her social commentary in that aspect.

I do wish the book had an author’s note, but I received an advance copy thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. Perhaps the author’s note will be included in the final version.

It was a very interesting book about how these 5 famous mystery writers. We're trying to solve a murder and I like how they were always treated as second class citizens, but the writing is amazing. I like how they went about Solving MAY and her friend were close but. She did not know anything about her friend and they were both nursing students. It started in france when she died unexpectedly and nobody knew why she was there but her friend went there on an excursion from brighton beach. I like how these women solve the different clues and did it very strictly. And everything led to how she was murdered and why she was murdered. This.
Was pretty amazing at that time because they do not have a lot of the technologies we have now but it's just hard knowledge. How one piece of the puzzle would lead to another piece of the puzzle and it was interesting how they got together to figure this out because they were great writers, and they used their knowledge of what they had in their books. The title is great too because solving.This murder was pretty interesting because I had no idea why this woman died how she died but they figured it out and it is a great end and you'll love it

Thank you @netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy of The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. This is a fun read and a very clever idea! It’s 1931 in London, and a group of male detective crime writers is forming a society. They are reluctant to include women, but two of the leading female writer’s of the day kind of force in a core group of 5 writers. Then they decide to solve an actual crime. They work as a team, using their crime writing skills, and solve a crime that the police have given up on. It’s a great idea, putting these real like authors in the story. Good historical fiction read! #thequeensofcrime #mariebenedict #advancereadercopy #netgalley #historicalfiction #lovetoread #booknerd #takeapagefrommybook

Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime brings together five legendary female mystery writers—Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy—as they set out to solve a real-life murder. Set in 1930s London and France, the novel follows this fictionalized version of the Detection Club as they investigate the death of May Daniels, a young nurse whose body turns up months after she vanished. What begins as an effort to prove themselves equal to their male counterparts turns into a dangerous pursuit when Sayers herself becomes a target.

The historical setting is richly drawn, and Benedict’s research shines through, especially in her portrayal of these literary icons. The premise—famous crime novelists solving a mystery—had great potential, but the execution fell a bit flat. The pace was slower than expected, and despite the impressive lineup of detectives, the investigation felt like a solo effort by Sayers rather than a true group endeavor. The character development was weak, making it hard to fully connect with these brilliant women.

That said, the book does a great job evoking the feel of classic detective fiction, and fans of Golden Age mysteries will appreciate the nods to Sayers, Christie, and their peers. The novel reminded me of Maisie Dobbs, with a similar historical mystery feel. Though not as gripping as it could have been, The Queens of Crime is still an enjoyable jaunt into the past. 4 stars

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for comps of the eBook and audiobook. The opinions are my own.

Enjoyed reading about these classic mystery writers from times gone by. Some of whom I wasn't aware of. Good story. I enjoyed how the personalities of the different authors came out in the story and the interplay between them. I liked that not only is there the normal historical fiction that you expect from Marie Benedict, but there's the added bonus of a mystery!

This is a mystery set in 1931 and features 5 real female mystery writers as characters, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, who narrates the story. When the group are dismissed as not up to snuff at a detective writers club for simply being female, they decide to solve a real mystery. This was a fun story, and I really enjoyed it, as will I think anyone who loves the classic mysteries of that era. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reading copy. 4/5