Imagine what 5 female "golden age" mystery writers can accomplish when they set about to solve a real life locked room murder. A wonderful look at British life and women's emergence.

DNF 11% (through Ch. 7) - I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I could not finish this book. A murder mystery solved by famous female detective novelists is a fanatic premise. Unfortunately, the liberties taken with certain historical elements rubbed me the wrong way.

As a woman, I encounter sexism periodically even in our current "more enlightened" age. A century ago, women battled constantly to get us where we are today. That does not mean that every club of the time was a boys club, not every man of the time inclined to snub women simply for her gender. The raucous pounding of the girl-power drum overpowered anything clever or interesting the book had to offer.

If it was an invented club of imaginary women, I may have stuck around. This book traded on the title of The Queens Of Crime and made the Detection Club into a boys club they needed to infiltrate. Those women were warriors against sexism, and most of them built that club! I can not pretend that they would be unwelcome, nor that they would be so inept at throwing their weight around if it came to it. The world they lived in was built to keep women in a box. They were devoted to breaking out of that box.

I enjoy books with powerful women, women who stand together and for one another. This was not that book for me.

Marie Benedict always gives us a great story as she highlights real people in her historical fiction. The Queen’s of Crime is really about five female authors in Great Britain finagling how to get all five into a group of mystery writers. Two of the authors are Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Dorothy spearheads their cause. She suggests they solve an actual crime, and so they do. It’s a great story with mystery and a presentation of how men then underestimated women, as they continue to do today.

Queens of crime is a fictionalized account of 5 famous female crime writers of the Golden Age of Mysteries solving an actual murder. Like most Marie Benedict novels, it uses the real life names of the characters but the story is fictionalized. Agatha Christie is the most famous of the writers. It is interesting how they are developed as characters. I am not familiar enough with all of them and their work to judge how accurately they are portrayed.

I found it slow going at first, partly because i am not familiar with the male mystery writers who appear as characters in the book. However, once the women started investigating a real murder, I did find it very engrossing. It was especially interesting how differently the women viewed the case compared to the police and journalists who were all male at the time.

One editorial note:

At Location 814, Dorothy says “ I purposely did not single her out by name” referring to Ngaio Marsh. However, she did mention her detective Inspector Alleyn along with the detectives of the other writers

I enjoyed so much about this book. A murder mystery solved by five famous female mystery writers. It was so much fun and I honestly want to do research on them and read some of their books now. I didn’t love the way the story wrapped up, but overall it was fun and intriguing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book set in the 1930s about a group of women detective story writers, including Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie, who band together to solve the murder of 19 year old May Daniels. They initially started out with the plan to solve the mystery, so that the men in the Detective Club would take them seriously, but in their quest to solve the murder, they began to truly feel a need to vindicate May Daniels. This book definitely kept me curious and wanting to find time to read more. Bravo, Marie Benedict! You have written another great historical fiction novel.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher for my honest opinion.

When the legendary Detection Club was formed in London in 1930 it included the four greatest female mystery writers of the Golden Age. Dorothy Sayers, Margary Allingham, Agatha Christie and Baroness Emma Orczy known as "the queens of crime". However despite their popularity and strong sales their male counterparts were disdainful and patronizing to the queens annoyance. The formidable literary sleuths determined to rectify matters by solving a real life murder. May Daniels, a young English nurse on holiday in France disappeared from a ferry terminal moments before departure. Months later her body was found in a secluded park. Retracing her steps and interviewing those close to her reveals some surprising truths which the cops missed . When Sayers is attacked it becomes clear the queens are getting too close to the culprit. I have read some of Benedict's other works. She has a unique knack of bringing historical figures to life on the page. I was thrilled to discover that her new book pertained to four of my favorite authors and included a murder mystery as well as the biographical insights. I was disappointed. The four have very different personality styles and creative processes. The interactions between them as they get to know and understand each other during the course of the narrative was engaging and realistic. A well researched, well written narrative rich in historical and biographical detail. Recommend highly.

The Queens of Crime
By Marie Benedict

The story here is an interesting concept. It is set in the 1830s – the Victorian era. At the time, while women were most certainly writing murder mysteries, they were not well accepted by their male counterparts. In addition, these kinds of books – no matter the author – were not considered good literature.

The book begins with the formation of the Detection Club, whose purpose is to raise the standing for these kinds of books above pulp fiction. One of the founders is none other than Dorothy Sayers, creator of Lord Peter Wimsey. She is determined to see more female mystery writers included in the Detection Club. To that end, she conspires with Agatha Christie to include Baroness Emma Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel); Ngaio Marsh (Inspector Alleyn); and Margery Allingham (Albert Campion).

When the men in the club are not accepting of this influx of women writers, the ladies decide that they must solve a real-life murder mystery to increase their credibility. Thus the game begins.

This group of women sometimes seem to confuse themselves with their detective characters – and indeed put themselves in harm's way. But along with way to solving the murder, the women give us much of their own personal back-stories. This makes for some interesting reading – and a better understanding of women's struggles against the conventions of Victorian society.

1931, crime-writer, journalist, misogynistic-era, historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-mystery, historical-places-events, historical-research, thriller, suspense, collaborators, colleagues, amateur-sleuth, mystery, women's fiction, murder, murder-investigation, cozy-mystery****

Tired of the misogyny among renowned mystery writers, the women writers who are considered the Grande Dames (or queens) of the art of mystery fiction band together to prove their superiority by solving a current murder of an English nurse in coastal France in 1931. They travel together to do their own investigation, and the first thing they notice are the inconsistencies in the police reports.
With the reader as voyeur, they are able to elicit more information and correctly solve the mystery
I requested and received a temporary review copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you
Pub Date Feb 11 2025 by #MarieBenedict #TheQueensOfCrime #NetGalley

3.5, rounded up.
A fun, quick mystery with just enough history to make it feel slightly literary and give it some gravitas. The only thing that dampened my enthusiasm was that this was the third in a string of books about a ragtag team of amateur detectives coming together to solve a murder/crime (Thursday Murder Club, The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and now this). I'm not sure how I happened to read these three in a row, as they've got very different release dates, but such is life.

Going into this one, all I knew was that I liked Benedict's penchant for exploring the lives of under-the-radar women from history. I have previously read The Christie Affair, which was just okay, so I knew a bit about the famed disappearance of Christie, and I'm glad that this book doesn't really focus on that particular mystery. Yes, it comes into play a bit, but this book is focused on an entirely different case, and is told from the POV of Dorothy Sayers, who was supposedly far more 'type A' than the notoriously shy Christie. I do wish the book had included a brief section that told us about the real-life ladies and which things were drawn from reality, as I had no idea these ladies were indeed members of the London-based Detection Club. I struggled to suspend my disbelief throughout the entire book because the concept of them being involved in a club together felt like such a plot device, so knowing it was true from the start would likely have made it an even more enjoyable read.

Fans of mysteries and historical fiction with a feminist bent will enjoy this.

In a field dominated by men, a legendary group of female writers come together to solve an actual murder in order to gain distinction and prove that they belong in the Detection Club along with the men. Characters Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Marjorie Allingham and Broness Emma Orczy are historical crime writers and this book is based on actual historical events. The story is a delightful mystery that becomes even more compelling when you know that these women were actual real life people. I found myself researching background information about these women and learning so much.
This book kept my attention from beginning to end. The story was very engaging. I have read a number of Marie Benedict’s books and they are always a fascinating perspective on a female historical figure. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a different type of book for my Marie Benedict. She was able use historical figures and a historical framework to create a suspenseful detective story. I enjoyed reading this book. The pacing was good. It definitely read a lot faster than most of her other books. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the subject matter.

I received a free ARC ebook of <i>The Queens of Crime</i> from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Marie Benedict is a prolific writer of historical fiction featuring women. Here, she highlights authors of detective series, especially Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Both women and the other "queens" are experienced in creating and solving mysteries, but this time, they tackle a real murder with a very real victim.

Benedict excels at placing her characters in the social norms of the time. This novel takes place in England in the early 1930s when the effects of the Great War are still evident, but fascism has not yet become a threat. Unmarried women are viewed as "surplus" with few opportunities available. Earning a living is obviously a necessity, but independent women were suspect. The victim, a single nurse, is easily discounted when her body is discovered with a syringe nearby. Her death is hardly investigated, and her reputation is destroyed.

Dorothy and the other female authors long to prove their mettle by solving a real murder. Their investigation places Dorothy in danger.

This book was a bit of a slow start for me, but the second half was much faster paced.

Very good read. Five mystery authors come together in search of answers to a young woman’s disappearance and murder. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley. It started off a little slow, but then I got pulled into the story about 5 Queens of Mystery solving a real mystery instead of just writing about it. The locked room mystery aspect was quite appealing. I loved the distinct personalities of the female writers. The newspaper stories and the police jumping on the first possible explanation for May's death was quite appalling, but believable.

I love historical mysteries - the details of life in this time frame are fascinating.
This book was slow to start and then picked up steam. I really enjoyed the interaction between the 5 female mystery authors who came together to solve the mystery.

I received an arc from Netgalley.

The Queens of Crime is a captivating historical fiction novel that brilliantly intertwines real-life mystery writers like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers in a thrilling murder investigation. Benedict masterfully captures the essence of 1930s London, showcasing the strength and camaraderie of these pioneering women as they navigate a male-dominated literary world. With its engaging plot and rich character development, this book is a delightful tribute to the power of female friendship and the art of storytelling.

Thank you to Net galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book.

This one had a premise that attracted me as soon as I saw the blurb. It’s obviously fiction but the author uses real golden age of mystery writers as the main characters and I am here for it.

The main protagonist is Dorothy Sayers. She had the great idea to start a club of detective fiction writers called the Detection Club. The only problem? The men who are part of the club she created are adamant that the only female members should be she and Agatha Christie.
This doesn’t sit well with the two women and Dorothy devises a plan to have them, along with three other female crime fiction writers, solve a real mystery.

A young woman has disappeared with no trace from a train station restroom in France. The bathroom has no exit other than the one door into the very public main station. No window, no air conditioner duct work, nothing to aid her in leaving the room without being seen. A true locked room mystery in a quite busy place.

The five ladies travel to France to see this room for themselves and try to solve this case, not only to find the missing woman, but figure out how the lady got out of the station without being seen. Dorothy has a secret of her own that she wants to keep hidden. That adds a unique component to the story.

Their adventure is undertaken with due seriousness as well as a bit of fun with taking tea and visiting shops to talk to potential witnesses. The plot moves along nicely.

I very much enjoyed the storyline as well as the personalities of the five main characters of whom I’ve read some of their work. Of course, these were fictional imaginings, but the author seemed to capture the spirit of each of the ladies as they appeared to be in life.
An interesting plot that was well-constructed and enjoyable to read. Many moments of the humanity of these women and how they related to each other and their friends and family also fully fleshed out the story. The locked room component was clever as well

A very enjoyable read.

I loved this book. The twists and turns will keep you up reading all night long. Just when you think you know how it will end, the story will take you somewhere else.

Marie Benedict is one of my favs! This was an interesting historical fiction about 5 female mystery writers…who help solve a mystery. I wish I knew a little more about each of the writers going into the book - I actually have MB’s Agatha Christie book on my TBR - but it was still an enjoyable book regardless (I just think it would have made it even better!). As usual, MB’s books are always very well-written with beautiful language and descriptions. I looked forward to reading this every chance I got!