Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime is an intriguing and cleverly crafted novel that weaves real-life mystery into a fictionalized narrative. Featuring Agatha Christie as a character, the story is both a tribute to her legacy and a gripping tale in its own right. Benedict skillfully brings Christie to life, blending her iconic brilliance with a touch of vulnerability, making her feel authentic and compelling. The plot, layered with twists and historical intrigue, kept me hooked from start to finish. While some moments felt slightly rushed, the overall pacing and rich characterization made it a satisfying read. Fans of historical fiction and mysteries will find this a delightful homage to the queen of crime herself.

I read Marie Benedict’s “The Mystery of Mrs. Christie” a few years ago and had so much fun with it, so I was excited to read her newest, which involves not just Christie, but also Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy, all golden age mystery writers. The women, wanting to make their mark in a male-dominated world, work to solve an actual murder to prove their mettle. I was mildly disappointed with this, but I also think I set my expectations too high. The writing felt forced, in the sense that this was historical fiction, and in order to write characters in a way that feels familiar to how they were known as people, makes the dialogue feel too on-the-nose and overwrought. I did enjoy the actual mystery of this and I liked the concept. I also don’t really know how else the author could have written it in a way that felt authentic to who these women actually were, but this might be why I struggle with a lot of historical fiction. If the concept sounds interesting to you and you like a golden age mystery, I’d give this one a shot.

The Queens of Crime brings us the amazing crime writers: Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy as they form their own crime fighting group called The Queens of Crime to show. They are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. They decide to solve a real crime and prove their worth. A young nurse named May Daniels has recently been found dead, police say it was a drug overdose, but the Queens of Crime don’t believe that for a second. They decide to ban together to try to solve the crime. The women use their knowledge of crime to find out what really happened to May.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved our cast of characters and I want to read more from the authors. I’m very familiar with Agatha Christie, but I want to read books from the other authors. I liked how all the women brought something different to solve the crime and worked together harmoniously. This is the perfect read for someone who enjoys Agatha Christie, a historical mystery, and some good old fashioned sleuthing.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Historical fiction meets cozy murder mystery at its finest. The women authors of 1930’s crime fiction band together to create a small subgroup of the Detectives Club, and then take on solving a real life murder mystery instead of just writing fictional ones. These queens of crime, as they refer to themselves, go through twists and turns and various literary devices to try to find the murderer before one of their own is threatened. Fans of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers will definitely enjoy this fictional take on their lives.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is a thrilling historical novel about five female authors who write detective novels banding together to show their male counterparts they deserve respect. Dorothy Sayers heads up the group, and they decide to solve the mystery of a murdered woman who news reporters have given up on as a drug addict. Throughout the twists and turns of the investigation, they don’t give up, but what will happen when Dorothy becomes the target?

I enjoyed reading this story, although at times I became frustrated with Dorothy’s inner thoughts. The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing until the end. I would definitely recommend this to those who enjoy historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love all the history Marie Benedict weaves into novels & always want to learn more about the people she has crafted into characters in these stories. This book captures so much backstory of the authors, and the mystery they work to solve is intriguing. The plot is fantastic and I loved working “with” them to get justice for May.
Unusually, didn’t hook me right away, but I knew I would be drawn in soon - and after a couple chapters I was there!
Already awaiting Marie’s next novel!

Marie Benedict's books are often hit or miss for me - and this one, thankfully, was a hit! I often love her ability to use real stories or real historical figures to create an alternate reality for and. by women. In THE QUEENS OF CRIME, she takes five of the greatest women crime writers, like Agatha Christie, and puts them together in a Scooby Doo, Mystery Inc. type gang - with the sole focus of proving that women's stories and lives shouldn't be underestimated. So, together, they work to solve a recent murder of a young woman.

At times I felt the pacing was a bit slow, but I overall loved the cast of characters, so was fine when it was more dialogue heavy. I wasn't as invested in the actual plot and mystery - but loved exploring the characters and how they faced different setbacks and challenges. Overall, this was such a creative thing to base a book in.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for allowing me to read a copy of The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. Marie Benedict is one of the authors that I enjoy reading. This book contained so many genres like historical fiction, mystery, and thriller. This book was set in the 1930s. where 5 female authors come together to solve crimes. This book should be added to you list you will not be disappointed.

I have previously read two books by Marie Benedict and liked one and didn't like the other one. I do appreciate that she writes historical fiction with a strong focus on research and bringing forward some overlooked voices, but I don't always enjoy them. This one was meh for me as I am not as familiar with the female mystery writers she uses as her characters. I think this book would do well for someone who is well versed in classic female mystery writers and who enjoy locked room mysteries.

It was slow for me, but if you are looking for something with short chapters, then this is for you.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

This book is simply delightful. I loved every detail of this throwback mystery by Marie Benedict.
The Queens of Crime are a group of 5 female mystery writers (including the narrator, Dorothy Sayers and the famed Agatha Christie) who band together to solve a real life mysterious disappearance of a young nurse in France. What begins as a lark to prove their worth to a group of male mystery writers becomes a full blown investigation.
The actual detective work is well done as well as the exploration of a woman’s place in 1930s Britain. The ending of the story is well resolved and very suspenseful.
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marie Benedict, renowned for her historical fiction, blends mystery and history in The Queens of Crime. The novel follows five of the greatest female writers of all time as they form a secret society to prove they are just as talented as their male counterparts. To demonstrate their skills, they take on a cold case, determined to solve the unsolved crime. As the mystery unfolds, the book also delves into the lives of these remarkable women in the 1930s, offering readers a glimpse into their histories while they work to crack the case.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this novel!
This novel combines two of my favorite genres...historical fiction and mystery! It takes place mostly in London around the early 1930’s. The Queens of Crime is a group of five well known female authors...Dorothy Sayers, the leader of the group; Agatha Christie; Ngaio Marsh; Margery Allingham; and Baroness Emma Orczy. Together, they set out to prove they are just as good as their fellow male mystery writers by solving the real murder of a young woman, May Daniels, and English nurse murdered while visiting France with a fellow nurse friend. Her murder seems to resemble a locked room mystery. May’s body was discovered on a patch of grass even though her friend was waiting of her outside the restroom. She never saw May come out and there were no other exits. The French seem to have given up ruling her death a possible suicide. So, as the group of female authors gather their clues vising where May was and retracing her steps, they slowly discover clues as to what may have happened. But someone out there isn’t happy with their snooping and attempts to put a stop to it. Dorothy Sayers, the leader of their group, gets attacked one night, then threatened with a letter in the mail. Will the Queens of Crime be able to piece together all the clues before it may be too late?
I’ve always enjoy reading a novel by Marie Benedict and this new one definitely did not disappoint!!! I love the combination of historical fiction and adding a mystery to solve in the midst of it!!! Look for this novel out February 11, 2025!

In this fictional tale, a group of real-life twentieth century female mystery authors vie for respect within a largely male mystery writer’s club by attempting to solve an actual murder.

Though recently inducted into a writer’s club, Dorothy Sayers feels that she and the other female inductees aren’t taken seriously by their male peers. When she learns that the body of a long missing British woman has recently been discovered in France, Sayers recruits her fellow writers and inductees Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Ozczy to solve the crime before the authorities can. The inquisitive women travel between France and England asking all the right questions of the most overlooked individuals in an attempt to bring the murderer to justice.

This was an enjoyable read but was perhaps a little obvious for the crime aficionado. As the ending neared it seemed as though all of the pieces were there and the characters themselves were the only ones not connecting the dots. However, what Benedict lacked in suspense she made up for with the excellent writing and character development I’ve come to expect from her. I also appreciated the solid stance the “Queens” took against the social injustices that women faced during the time period in which the book is set. While this won’t go down as my favorite of her works it was still a worthwhile and entertaining whodunnit.

The woman coming into the tea shop has drastically changed since the last time our narrator (Dorothy L. Sayers) saw her, only five months before. Very quickly we realize that the new arrival is the famous, even notorious, fellow crime writer Agatha Christie, who is still being hounded by the press after her mysterious disappearance years before. That's two Queens of Crime already! They're meeting to discuss the formation of The Detection Club, and how women writer-members are already being 'put in their place' by male writers, even though Dorothy had the idea for the club and got it off the ground.


Sounds familiar to any woman who has ever had a project taken over by a man once she's done the legwork for it.

Dorothy and Agatha have a plan: lure their female crime-writing competitors to set aside past rivalries, stop the snark about each other's plots and characters, and form a cohesive resistance against the male takeover of the Detection Club. Baroness Orczy of Scarlet Pimpernel fame (with many other stories to her name), Ngaio Marsh with her Roderick Alleyn (and later Troy Alleyn) mysteries, Margery Allingham whose gentleman sleuth, Albert Campion, brought a touch of chaotic whimsy to his atmospheric adventures, are all invited to solve a ‘body in the library’ scene... in a real library, thanks to Dorothy's connections.

Nowadays, crime writers' organizations, associations, and sisterhoods take women's membership for granted, but early in the novel there's a lifelike depiction of the first meeting and swearing in of Detection Club members, complete with a skull named Eric to swear on. And some overtly paternalistic and even misogynistic shunning of female members that goes a long way to convincing the other Queens they need to band together. An early sisterhood of crime writers, in fact, foreshadowing (a lovely mystery fiction concept!) the work of Sisters In Crime so many decades later.

Does it work? Well, that's part the story of how these amazing crime writers end up collaborating to solve a real-life murder.

The author shows her knowledge of Dorothy L Sayers' personality and passions in both overt and subtle ways. One, early on, occurs when Dorothy is extolling the general benefits of women crime writers gathering together to support each other, and another when she notices a reporter referring to body of the murdered woman as 'it' rather than as 'she'. The author of Gaudy Night, that feminist exploration of women's higher education disguised as a mystery novel, could do no less. In fact, the dehumanization of the victim by the male-dominated police and press forms a large part of what drives the collaborating Queens to investigate the disappearance and death of a young woman on a day trip to France. There are similar nods to the known personalities, public quotes, and styles of the other Queens, but Dorothy's personal life forms the backdrop, showing an early modern variant of a double-career household.

The prose itself is solid and practical with occasional flights of fancy, but does not attempt to ape the styles of any of the Golden Age Queens in its dialogue or overall style. Descriptions are focused on the detecting, as they should be. Our narrator even reflects at times on the differences between detecting as portrayed in her novels and the processes - including the psychological and emotional - of detecting in real life, with a real person as the victim.

Overall a very enjoyable read with quality crime-solving and convincing characters.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is a story loosely based on true events of Agatha Christie. The Queens of Crime in this book are a group of the greatest female crime authors of the early 20th century that band together to solve a murder.

I love Marie Benedict's work and have thoroughly enjoyed her art of historical fiction. Her books Lady Clementine and The Other Einstein were five star reads for me!! I was so excited to receive this ARC and I thought this premise was so interesting, but this one unfortunately fell pretty flat for me.

I thought the pace was incredibly slow and I wasn't particularly invested or interested in any of the characters. The characters all seemed interchangeable and I had a hard time imagining or picturing what was going on. This was just a miss for me! I think maybe breaking it into different character POV chapters, or adding a bit more interaction of the characters, may have helped?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love the set up where the famous authors, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy group together to form a club and they call themselves the Queens of Crime and set out to solve a real life murder mystery in the 1930s. Mystery in a historical setting? Count me in!

The mystery targets how a young English woman vanishes and is ultimately found strangled in a French park. The fascinating twisty tale is equal to the sharp minds of the five top female mystery writers. Pages turn as the fate of May Davies, a young nurse unravels on the hunt for the killer.

The delight of the book is of course the real life research done and folded in brining these five tremendous women writers to life.

A must read for mystery and historical lovers both.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advance reading copy.

This historical mystery - "loosely" based upon a real investigation that author Dorothy Sayers undertook - follows five female writers in the Golden Age of mysteries in 1930s London, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. The group's investigation is charming, and the setting and time period is immersive. I appreciated the feminist themes, both in the perception of victims and the investigators, though I felt the discussions and internal monologues on the subject were sometimes a bit on-the-nose.

As for the mystery itself - some of the initial discoveries were engaging and the ladies' tactics and ideas were amusing and clever, but things took a little bit of a turn for me as they started to actually identify and pursue suspects. It felt like there was a long lag between the ladies identifying suspects and actually getting to speak to them, for some reason, and what "suspense" there was felt fairly forced to me. I'd say I really enjoyed about the first two-thirds, and then struggled with the conclusion.

3.5 stars, rounded up for the setting/vibes and for the LOVELY audiobook narration!

‘The Queens of Crime’ by Marie Benedict is another wonderful story by a gifted and talented author. Unbeknownst to me “The Queens of Crime” was a real group. They were a subgroup of the Detection Club which Dorothy Sayers was one of the founding members. The Queens of Crime were the five greatest female Golden Age mystery novelists: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. These women were members of the Detection Club, which still exists today.

The story by Ms. Benedict is inspired by a true story in Dorothy Sayer’s own life. The setting is London 1931. The Queens were treated rather poorly by the club's men due to the belief that women couldn’t possibly be good mystery writers. In other words these men were sexist. The Queens decide to use their mystery writing skills to solve a real case in the hopes of proving their worth as mystery writers. The case unexpectedly reveals itself to the Queens. The murder case of May Daniels, a young English nurse, whose body was found in a park in France. The investigation takes the Queens back to four months earlier when the yound Nurse seemed to vanish into thin air.

As the women uncover details, they follow in May’s footsteps in the order they believe which May traveled. There are perplexing clues but The Queens are good at untangling them. All of their sleuthing turns against Dorothy Sayer when the killer targets her, threatening to expose a secret which she’d prefer to keep hidden.

This is a fast paced story with a delightful narrative among The Queens. Having read many books about the individual members of the Queens of Crime, Ms. Benedict gives them their own unique voice and does it beautifully. When Agatha speaks you feel that Ms. Benedict has done her homework. The same can be said for the other four writers.

Ms. Benedict takes a step away from her prior novels and writes a plot driven story. Most of her other novels are character driven. I feel that Ms. Benedict has proven she can write both types of literature. While I would have preferred to have the usual depth of character used in her other novels, I feel these novel is delightful and enlightening.

I felt the story was insightful regarding how women writers were not taken seriously and how they felt they had to advance themselves to be taken seriously. The settings were well done. You actually feel you are in Cousin Ivy’s living room or on the Ferry or in the theater with the Queens. Ms. Benedict has done it for me again. Another “I can’t put it down book”. As I have said before: I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

I would like to thank Marie Benedict, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this work of historical fiction based somewhat on true events. The Queens of Crime, led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, and includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy work tirelessly and sometimes regardless of their own personal safety to solve the murder of May Daniels. The police and most reporters (all of whom are male) have chalked up the murder to Daniels' questionable (according to them ) character. The Queens spend the book traveling around England and France trying to disprove that.

Fast paced and with great characters, I recommend this book for anyone looking for a murder mystery reminiscent of the novels by the authors highlighted in this book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book for my honest opinion.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie - a thrilling story of the five greatest women writers of the Golden Age of Mystery and their bid to solve a real-life murder.

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. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment.

May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they're stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.

Inspired by a true story in Sayers' own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels."

Personally, Dorothy L. Sayers can go hang, but I am SO happy to see Baroness Emma Orczy included. Here Lady Molly of Scotland Yard is fabulous.