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!

(3.5) I’m always excited to see which female in history Marie Benedict decides to write about. This time around, she’s writing about a group of women, namely Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Emma Orczy.

When a young woman (May Daniels) is found dead, this team of five authors find themselves investigating her case, using their skills as mystery writers to track down her killer.

This book felt different from other Marie Benedict novels I’ve read and I enjoyed it. I might have enjoyed it a bit more with fewer main characters (though the emphasis is on Dorothy Sayers), but it felt like a nice homage to these ‘Queens of Crime’. I also enjoyed the camaraderie between these female writers who had to band together in a male-dominated industry.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of the book!

Thank you to the publishers and @netgalley for this freeARC in exchange for a fair review. I have always been a huge fan of Marie Benedict and jumped on the chance to read her newest book. It had all of the elements of a story I love. Strong female protagonist, great imagery, and a good and compelling mystery. I see this being a huge hit once it is released. The balance between girl power and a serious mystery was a masterful, as is the Marie Benedict way!

This was a great murder mystery about a young nurse that goes missing and is found several moths later dead

The story kept you on your toes
It was a great read and would recommend
Thank you for letting me read an early copy

Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for providing this #ARC Advance Reading Copy. The expected publication date is February 11, 2025

#OUABC 2024 Reading Challenge: 40 Prompts (27. A book about best friends) • 4 Stars

"The Queens of Crime" by Marie Benedict is a historical fiction set in 1930s London, where five renowned women mystery writers secretly form the Queens of Crime to solve an actual murder mystery, inspired by real events. The group, including Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie, tackles the case of May Daniels, a nurse found dead under mysterious circumstances in France. Their quest intertwines their fictional detective skills with real-life investigation, aiming to prove their mettle against the male-dominated Detection Club. The story explores themes of female empowerment, camaraderie, and the fight for recognition in a patriarchal society.

#TheQueensOfCrime #MarieBenedict #Bookstagram

I enjoyed this one about a detection club featuring Agatha Christie and Dorothy sayers among others and takes you into their minds and lives . Benedict is a master at historical fiction
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review your book

Marie Benedict's The Queens of Crime deviates from her usual style and feels somewhat forced. While she is known for her engaging historical fiction that brings lesser-known figures to life, this novel attempts to tackle a murder mystery featuring iconic mystery writers from the 1930s, like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Unfortunately, it often reads like a series of name drops rather than a cohesive narrative.

The dialogue among characters lacks depth, making it tedious to read. Additionally, the relentless internal questioning leaves little room for readers to form their own thoughts or draw conclusions about the characters. The mystery itself is straightforward and lacks suspense, which diminishes the overall experience.

Another drawback is the frequent use of untranslated French dialogue, which can alienate readers who aren’t fluent. While some might appreciate the cozy murder mystery elements, I found the pacing drawn out and the plot unengaging. Overall, this was a disappointing departure from Benedict's typical storytelling.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict tells the story of Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy all mystery writers in London 1930. They are part of the detection club but are shunned by the male members. So the ladies decide to solve the murder of May Daniels.

I really loved this book. The characters were great and so was the dialogue. The female relationships were very well portrayed. The reader got to see how authors think and write their murder stories.

I highly recommend this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.0. I like Marie Benedict but I don’t love her books as I like some but not all as I find them inconsistent. I really did like this one which focused on five women mystery writers in the early 1930s, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy, who take it upon themselves to use their talents as the writers of fictional sleuths to investigate a real crime to show their male counterparts in the newly formed and legendary Detective Club that women mystery writers are on a par if not better than the men at their craft... The women come and work together to investigate a high profile crime of a British woman on French soil, where for various reasons the authorities failed to thoroughly investigate the case, and as a group these women all bring their particular strengths to the case It’s a historical novel where we find out about the personal lives of these mystery writers which I found very interesting. . As with all her works, this one was well researched. It’s fun and interesting reading and I highly recommend even for those who do not read mystery novels. Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased and candid review

Five of the great female mystery writers join together to become part of a larger group of male authors. When they are distanced by the group, the women decide to solve a real mystery. The story has a lot of back and forth, and is based on this group trying to determine who killed a young nurse. A mention of another young woman (violinist) who had also disappeared is brought into the storyline. In the end, the murderer confesses and justice is served for the nurse. However, the violinist is never brought back up other than the confession that she was also killed. I wish there had been a tie in that her family found out that she had not run away, but was murdered as well . The book was ok, not one that I found I "loved". It's a quick read. Thanks to NetGalley, Ms Benedict and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars - Enjoyed this title a lot!! I had previously read the authors "Mystery of Mrs. Christie" so this new title seemed a good bet & follow-up. I really enjoyed getting to know about the other female mystery writers, especially Sayers, Dame Aggie's rival, as they investigate the murder of a young girl. Lots of fun & snark, though it was a bit slow at the beginning (that's the half star). My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the DRC - very happy to review it!

I really enjoyed this one! The "Queens of Crime" are a diverse group of women crime writers in the 1930's who embark on a mission to solve a real murder. The story kept me interested the entire time, and I couldn't wait to see what actually happened. It does a great job intertwining the process of writing crime with solving it. Would highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This is the first book I’ve read by Marie Benedict, and she has made an instant fan out of me! I am a sucker for a tantalizing murder mystery, and this is that with a twist as five mystery writers take on a real murder case.

This was such a refreshing take! I was enchanted and feel like it was genius for famed mystery writers to use their skills to help save a woman who was wronged in the worst way.

It did have some moments that did drag but then it would pick right back up and pull me right back in. I truly enjoyed this novel so much and feel like it really helped kick off my fall reading in the best way possible.

A delightful mystery featuring 5 of the best female mystery writers of the early 1930s, including Agatha Christie! The five women set out to solve a real world mystery to show the men of the newly founded detective club that they are just as worthy as the men to be there. Working together the women are successful in their quest to solve the crime. I loved every single minute of this read!! Wonderful characters, a great mystery and a well paced, well written novel made it easy to rate this a 5/5.

In 1930's London five of the most talented women mystery writers come together to try and break into the renowned Detection Club, which has only two token women writers included in its membership; Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Wanting respect for their writing talents from the men, the five band together to take on the solving of the murder of a young English nurse in France. Using their plot building skills, they retrace the young woman's final days and solve the riddle of how she managed to escape from a "locked room" scenario. The women discover that powerful men are involved in the crime which puts their own lives at risk.

It was delightful to have these women writers come to life as real everyday people. Solving the crime wasn't really that hard for this reader but I continued on to the end of the book just for the interactions between the women. Another historical novel by Marie Benedict which brought her characters to life and will most likely fuel reader's curious about these writers' works to check out the titles at their local libraries.

Five of the greatest mystery writers of their time, including Agatha Christie, have joined The Detection Club for the company of other mystery writers and boost the genre. However, these five are female and not easily accepted in the club. To show that they are just as capable, if not more so, as their male counterparts, they set out to solve the disappearance of a young nurse.

The Queens of Crime is a well written mystery that is clever, witty, sad and action packed. A real page turner that will keep the reader hooked from the beginning. Who doesn't love anything involving Agatha Christie. I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers.