"The Four Queens of Crime" by Rosanne Limoncelli is a fascinating and insightful exploration into the lives and legacies of four iconic female authors who shaped the landscape of detective fiction. This book is a must-read for any devotee of classic crime, offering a rich tapestry of literary history and biographical detail.
"The Four Queens of Crime" is an essential addition to the library of any crime fiction enthusiast, literary historian, or anyone interested in the trailblazing women who defined a genre. If you're looking to understand the roots of modern detective stories and celebrate the genius behind some of its most beloved mysteries, this book offers a truly rewarding and informative journey.

Book Review: The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli

Rating: 4 Stars

I recently picked up The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli and ended up really enjoying it—definitely a solid four-star read for me. The story is set in 1938 London and revolves around the first woman detective chief inspector in the CID, Lilian Wyles. She’s called to investigate a murder at a glamorous gala hosted by the iconic four queens of British crime fiction—Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham. The event was meant to raise money for the Women’s Voluntary Service as Britain prepared for war, but things take a dark turn when Sir Henry Heathcote is found dead in his library the next morning.

What I loved about this mystery is how it really captures the classic Golden Age detective vibe, complete with a locked room vibe and a fascinating cast of suspects—from an upset fiancée to a politically ambitious son and even a rebellious teenage daughter. DCI Wyles teams up with Scotland Yard’s Richard Davidson and, interestingly, enlists the help of the four legendary crime writers themselves to untangle the web of secrets surrounding Sir Henry’s death.

The author does a fantastic job bringing each character to life, especially the historical figures of Christie, Sayers, Marsh, and Allingham—they feel vivid and true to their real-life personas without overshadowing the main plot. Also, can I just say the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous? It caught my eye immediately and perfectly fits the elegant but suspenseful tone of the story.

All in all, if you’re a fan of classic mysteries or authors like Elly Griffiths and Claudia Gray, this is definitely worth a read. It’s clever, atmospheric, and pays homage to some of the greatest crime writers ever while delivering a fresh and engaging whodunit.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

This is the first book I have read by this author but it won't be the last! This historical whodunnit brings to life the 4 female members of Agatha Christie's Detection Club. When these authors find themselves in the middle of a real-life murder mystery, they use their little grey cells and think about what the detectives in their novels would do. This was a well-planned mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.
I have to add that even though I also read another book (published around the same time) with the same characters, it was definitely different and enjoyable. It is evident that a lot of research went into this work.
I definitely would like to read more books by this author.

Mystery authors can be excellent writers, but sometimes they are also good detectives. I’m not talking about ex-cops like Joseph Wambaugh, who later turned to writing. Instead, I’m referring to authors who appear as characters in their own or another writer’s mysteries. Arthur Conan Doyle has appeared in nearly as many works as his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes. Anthony Horowitz has written a series of novels in which he plays Dr. Watson to the book’s police Detective, Daniel Hawthorne. Roseanne Limoncelli has done those other authors one better, or, more accurately, three better. In her appropriately titled “The Four Queens of Crime,” four of the world’s all-time greatest mystery writers team up to help solve a baffling whodunit. The characterizations and period setting are good, but the author’s mystery plotting isn’t up to the level of her famous characters.

In “The Four Queens of Crime,” the titular queens are Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham. The book takes place in 1938, when the quartet were widely considered the best and most popular British mystery authors of their time. They agree to serve as guests of honor at a charity ball to raise funds for the looming war. The ball is hosted by Sir Henry Heathcoate at his lavish mansion. As the night progresses, readers learn that Sir Henry is an arrogant, obnoxious jerk who is often cruel to his family members and various other guests at the ball. In other words, the perfect murder victim in a mystery by one of these authors.

Sure enough, Sir Henry is found dead in his library the next morning, the victim of his usual daily cigar laced with cyanide. In a nod to the presence of the notable authors, Scotland Yard assigns Lilian Wyles, the real-life first female Chief Inspector, to work with a male counterpart, Richard Davidson, on the case. Besides whodunit and why, Wyles and her partner must figure out how the killer could enter the locked library and replace Heathcoate’s entire box of ordinary cigars with the poisoned one. Naturally, the four queens are intrigued to find themselves in the middle of a real-life mystery and decide to do some snooping around of their own.

Author Rosanne Limoncelli has done her research on “The Four Queens of Crime.” The book contains considerable biographical material on the four famous writers. I’m familiar with Agatha Christie and, to a lesser extent, Dorothy Sayers, but the details about Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham were mainly new and highly informative. The author works in this material throughout the novel, rather than in ungainly information dumps. She also gives each writer a unique personality, and their behaviors seem credible. (She even adds some humorous moments, such as having Dorothy Sayers faint at the sight of the dead body.)

Despite what the book’s title and marketing might imply, the four queens aren’t the central characters in “The Four Queens of Crime.” The book isn’t a 1930s version of an episode of “Murder, She Wrote” with four Jessica Fletchers on the case. Instead, the four queens usually remain on the sidelines as Wyles and Davidson investigate. This investigation mainly involves questioning each witness separately about the events during the ball. That’s how actual police work is done, but it’s not a formula for a successful mystery. The individual recaps of the same handful of conversations don’t make for interesting reading. Especially when all the conversations reveal is what readers already knew: Heathcote was a jerk with many enemies. This portion of the novel could have been condensed considerably.

Limoncelli is a good writer, but not a particularly skilled mystery writer. She adopts the format of Golden Age mysteries, including a cast of characters at the beginning, and has Wyles reveal the killer at a dinner where all the suspects are present. However, several key pieces of information are revealed through characters carrying on conversations that other characters (usually one of the queens) overhear because they’re coincidentally hidden behind nearby furniture or curtains. Also, the last piece of evidence, which is practically a dead giveaway of the killer’s identity, is only revealed just before Wyles confronts them. That confrontation resembles a courtroom scene from “Perry Mason,” as Wyles breaks down the killer’s defenses and gets them to conveniently reveal all the details about how the murder was committed.

Much of “The Four Queens of Crime” reads like a novelization of “Downton Abbey,” as both Heathcote’s relatives and the household staff discuss the murder. (The murder takes less than one full day to solve.) I especially enjoyed the staff’s discussions about what happened, as they all insisted they had diligently done their jobs. (Which staff members were actually diligent is one of the novel’s plot points.) The author’s dialogue in these sequences seems authentic and realistic.
Writing a good mystery is difficult, which is one reason few authors have equaled the quartet of Christie, Sayers, Marsh, and Allingham in their day or the nearly 90 years since “The Four Queens of Crime” took place. Rosanne Limoncelli hasn’t mastered the craft yet, and her efforts to emulate these famous authors are at times frustrating and annoying. The author also strains too much to give each of the dozen suspects a unique motive for murder, resulting in several backstories that sometimes overwhelm the story. The multiple, poorly differentiated suspects caused me to consult the cast of characters more than once.

However, my frustrations were eventually overcome by the sheer enjoyment of the author’s audacious central concept. It was fun to see great writers come to life, discuss their personal problems, and get involved in the story. (Margery Allingham even gets clunked in the head by the killer as she investigates.) Also, there’s a dose of 21st-century feminism in the person of Lilian Wyles, a talented investigator who has a lot of sexism to overcome in her department and her partner. Add to that a good look at the uniquely British social structure of the era that successfully evoked some of the best of “Downton Abbey,” and the result is a success. Mystery purists may be perturbed at the puzzle’s flaws, but I enjoyed “The Four Queens of Crime” enough to recommend the novel.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

It's a lot of fun if you take with the right level of humour as a Golden Age fan can be quite fastidious about the Four Queens.
I had fan and enjoyed the mystery and the characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a book with so many good premises. The leading character is the first woman DC! In the Met who is brought in with a male colleague to investigate the murder of a Baronet. The four Queens of Crime hosted a fundraiser at his manor and were on the scene when the body was discovered. Whilst Lilian is open to using the highly honed observational skills of these famous ladies, her counterpart scoffs and digs in his heels. This is nothing new to Lilian although Richard had, previously, been quite open to her different way of seeing things.

The four of them are able to learn more about the deceased and what a reprehensible man he was. And they also learn who might have had a reason to want him gone. I did suss out the killer but it was enjoyable reading the processes they used to find the truth. It was fun also because while they all wrote classical mysteries, they were such opposites. One could imagine in that situation the four, or five if you include Lilian, interacting and sharing the experiences they had in dealing with power in a man’s world.

I suspect there might be more stories forthcoming. I hope so. It was a highly enjoyable read. Five purrs and two paws up.

Cleverly Woven..
Cleverly woven locked room mystery featuring the four queens of the Golden Age of Crime fiction. With a well imagined cast of main characters populating a nicely twisted plot reminiscent of the originals of the Golden Age, peppered with red herrings with a firm sense of time and place and reflective of the society of that time. Satisfying and compelling.

Historical mystery fans will be delighted to know that Rosanne Limoncelli’s The Four Queens of Crime is a clever locked-room mystery that I could not put down.

It’s 1938 in London and the “four queens” of British crime fiction, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, are hosting a gala to raise money for the Women’s Volunteer Service to help Britain prepare for war.

Baronet Sir Henry Heathcote has loaned Hursley House for the event and all the elites of London society are attending. The gala is a success, but the next morning Sir Henry is found dead in the library. Detective Chief Inspectors Lilian Wyles and Richard Davidson are summoned from Scotland Yard. Wyles is the first woman detective chief inspector in the CID. The inspectors along with the mystery authors must unravel a case with multiple suspects.

When I saw that there was a new book out featuring these marvelous mystery writers as sleuths, I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy, and I am so glad I did. This is so creative and charming and mysterious–there is so much to love.

The setting of a beautiful elite house made for the perfect place for a locked-room murder to occur. So many suspects, yet so few clues. Leave it to the smartest female detective chief inspector and fabulous crime writers of the Golden Age to solve the impossible. I did not guess the resolution ahead of time and was thankful I could follow a talented cast of characters.

Each character has a strong voice, and I enjoyed that the story alternated between the various points of view. This storytelling choice provides readers with a birds-eye view of the goings on and lets us get to know each writer and the Inspector. Once I started reading this, I couldn’t stop and ended up snuggled on my couch for hours, determined to know what happened.

I’ll certainly be keeping my eye out for more by Rosanne. Is it too much to ask for more stories featuring the four writers and Wyles?

I did like this novel. It has the potential to be a series with DCI Lillian Wyles using the 4 crime authors as consultants. I also think that it would be good to follow DCI Lillian as the primary protagonist, following her historical moments with fictional interactions. It could be the historical fiction versus of Castle.

The different POVs of each characters gives new perspective, or fresh eyes, from different angles of the investigation. However, I enjoyed Lillian then gathering them altogether and exchanging information and ideas.

Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

What a fun concept for a mystery novel! In The Four Queens of Crime, we follow detective inspector Lillian Wyles as she hunts for a killer, recruiting the four queens of crime, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, to her team. This was a quick, fast-paced read and very enjoyable! I look forward to reading more from Rosanne Limoncelli in the future.

In Baronet Sir Henry Heathcotes Herrschaftssitz Hursley House findet ein wohltätiger Gala Ball statt. Die vier Königinnen der britischen Kriminalliteratur Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh und Margery Allingham sind die Stars des Abends und sollen zu großzügigen Spenden animieren. Sie sehen das Wochenende als kurze Auszeit bzw. kleines Abenteuer und freuen sich darauf, da sie sich auch untereinander Ihre größten Fans sind. Sie alle haben schon Bücher mit ähnlichen Settings geschrieben. Sie freuen sich alle auf die vielen neuen Bekanntschaften, da sie vielleicht zu neuen Romanideen inspirieren können. Nahezu 200 Gäste werden erwartet. Zunächst heißen die Vier einen Großteil der Gäste willkommen bevor sie sich nach und nach in den Ballsaal begeben. Der Abend wird tanzend zum zwanzigköpfigen Orchester, oder bei Champagner und Häppchen im regen Austausch verbracht.
Nach Mitternacht kommt ein neues Orchester und spielt schwungvollere Musik für die jüngeren Gäste. Auch wenn der Geräuschpegel der Gesellschaft dadurch enorm wird, werden sie wohl noch eine Weile durchhalten müssen. Nach dem Ballende gegen 3 Uhr früh ist die Nacht für alle kurz, trotzdem trifft man zum Frühstück zusammen. Schreie und Schluchzen lässt einige zur Bibliothek eilen, wo Sir Henry von einem Dienstmädchen tot aufgefunden wurde. Umgehend werden der Arzt und Scotland Yard informiert.
Zum Einsatz kommen DCI Lilian Wyles und Richard Davidson. Sie sind ein gutes Team im Hinblick auf den unterschiedlichen Stand der zu befragenden Zeugen. Die Geschichte ist unterhaltsam und flüssig zu lesen. Es ist interessant die vier sympathischen Damen in Interaktion zu erleben. Seit Downton Abbey liebe ich Romane über Herrschaften und ihre Bediensteten. Es folgen spannende Vernehmungen. Doch es fällt den Ermittlern schwer, mehr herauszubekommen. Nach und nach setzt sich ein Bild über Sir Henry zusammen, eine interessante, aber nicht einfache Person.
Doch auch die vier Autorinnen können sich nicht länger zurückhalten und beginnen sich untereinander ihre Gedanken zum Fall zu machen. Nach und nach kommen doch Details hervor und dann folgt auch eine größere Enthüllung. Darauf wird ein Geheimnis nach dem anderen bekannt. Das Tempo und die Spannung erhöhen sich. Es gibt einige Verdächtige mit Motiven. Man rätselt mit. Die Situation wird gefährlicher, der Autor kann überraschen. Alles scheint außer Kontrolle zu geraten. Es gibt sogar ganz zarte romantische Entwicklungen.
Beim Dinner am nächsten Abend kommt es zu einer klassischen Konfrontation aller Beteiligten. Es folgt eine Auflösung, die überraschen kann.
Fazit: Ein unterhaltsamer, klassischer Krimi, mit einer außergewöhnlichen Grundidee. Das End kann überraschen.

In 1938 the Four Queens of Crime are at a fundraiser for an organization that will aid preparations for war when a major political figure is murdered. The first woman chief inspector in England includes Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham in her job to track down the killer despite those at the event having alibis. Great use of the mystique of the four crime writers in this novel. Enjoy.

I admit to being somewhat sceptical that the author could pull this off, pulling four highly acclaimed mystery writers into a fictional work, but this author managed to do it.
The book centres on a charity ball, being hosted by a wealthy aristocrat to raise funds for a Women's Volunteer Service as Britain is poised to enter a war with Hitler. Key to the fund raiser is the attendance of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham, who are also weekend guests of the baronet.
When the morning after the event a body is found in the library, the four writers are horrified. But agree to collaborate to see if they can in any way assist Scotland Yard in their investigation.
One aspect I did enjoy, was the author also introduced a female detective, based on fact from the 1930's and showcased some trailblazers in females who joined the police force in a time it was frowned upon.
Happy to recommend this delightful mix of mystery and historical fiction. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

The prose is too often stiff and some of the details inaccurate. I didn't get any real sense of the subjects' personalities.

Full review at my Substack.

The story involving four leading crime authors of the day Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Marjory Allingham and Dorothy L.Sayers could not be anything but entertaining. Four of them were playing host for a gala dinner to raise funds for charity. Sir Henry Heathcote was the owner of Hursley House where the event was being held and he seemed rather cold over the whole affair.

When Sir Henry was found dead in his locked study, Detective DCI Lilian Wyles has her hands tied. Coming from a different social background to those who were part of the scenario was difficult. No one in the immediate family were willing to speak of the tension and undercurrent running amongst them all. Delving further the detectives felt that the entire family could be suspect, because each one of them had reason to hate their father.

Recruiting the help of the four women despite the other Detective not happy with the idea, DCI Lilian felt that they would look at the mystery from different perspectives. And it worked.

We got to know the four women very well and the story set in 1938 was well told, set against a background of an arrogant, aristocratic family who still felt they could call the tune.

Book review: 3.75/5 ⭐️
Genre: historical murder mystery
Themes: the gentry, role of women, historical, British lit
📖 Read if you like: Miss Austen Investigates

Calling all fans of Agatha Christie and female murder mystery writers of the age! This is a gem that sees some beloved authors ensconced in a murder mystery of this own. What starts off as a fundraiser for the Women’s Volunteer Service sees that four queens of crime - Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham all together at the estate of Baronet Sir Henry Heathcoate. When he is discovered dead the following day, the four writers will assist the first female detective chief inspector DCI Lilian Wyles in finding the truth and a murderer.

It had the slow pace of a period drama with that upstairs downstairs set of rules. The behaviour of the gentry was trying at times, especially as they aimed not to be candid or forthright with details. Nor could this elite group of people be blatantly asked straightforward questions, or be accused of anything, no matter how guilty they seemed. Everyone was a suspect having ample motive towards a two-faced man who was certainly not kind to any of his loved ones. In that way it had all the makings of a classic. Including a female detective and a young family member who seeks to break the rules of conformity was a nice change up.

It had a good puzzle that came together with some political relevance to the time. Integrating the nazis with the British nobility is of course well documented through various avenues, but this was a clever integration. Yet, at its heart this is a murder mystery centred around a family narrative. An upset fiancé and a loyal brother, a disregarded and ambitious son with a modern mixed race fiancé, a dutiful daughter soon to be replaced and her political husband, and a rebellious girl who has come home with a beloved girlfriend there was certainly enough to keep us entertained. With lots of different personalities and plenty of family drama this was one full of intrigue and reminiscent of crime novels of bygone days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an early copy of this book. It was certainly a fun mystery to solve with enough Red Herrings to keep me reading well into the night. I also enjoyed the perspective of a male and female detective on the case in tandem and how they operated with a different mindset. All in all a very enjoyable read!

1938 London. A fundraiser is being held to assist with the war effort. Hosted by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham and held in the beautiful Hursley House, the event is attended by every celebrity and politician. A successful event until Sir Henry Heathcote, head of the Hursley family is found dead the next morning. Assigned to the investigation is DCI Lilian Wyles, the first woman detective chief inspector in the CID. When she and her partner DCI Richard Davidson run into roadblocks trying to interview the "named" guests, she'll ask the 4 Queens for assistance. The combined methods of these four writing royalty make for a fascinating mix. I've read books by all four, but when Rosanne Limoncelli combined their efforts under the direction of the star struck DCI Wyles, it lifts the mystery to a new level.

Limoncelli does an excellent job of maintaining the reputations of the 4 women authors while mixing in the DCI's willingness to learn. There are many more famous crime authors from this era, will DCI Wyles get the chance to work with all of them? I'm game to read them.

Who can resist a mystery featuring the four queens of crime - Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham? Not me. When the four authors band together to raise funds for the WVS at a gala, the cream of society rush to attend. But a grisly surprise awaits the attendees the next morning when a body is found in the library. Scotland Yard Detectives Lilian Wyles and Richard Davison are called in to investigate. But penetrating the secrets of high society proves difficult - and who better to help than the esteemed experts in murder and mystery?

I loved that real life characters were part of the story - especially my favourite mystery writers. The use of historical figures and issues of historical significance worked perfectly. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold from the points of view of the different writers.

I found the story fascinating, and tying it in with political machinations of the day gave it an extra layer of complexity and interest. Following the women as they used their own individual skills was a joy. A great mystery.

Set in 1938 in England, THE FOUR QUEENS OF CRIME by Rosanne Limoncelli is an intriguing debut novel featuring four famous mystery writers: enlists Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham. They have been invited to a charity gala being hosted at the estate of Baronet Sir Henry Heathcote. The party seems a fabulous success, but the next morning a dead body is discovered, and the writers eventually help the police sift through multiple personal and professional motives to unmask the killer. THE FOUR QUEENS OF CRIME received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Mystery readers may also have fun comparing this to the recently published The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. I thought that Limoncelli did a better job of giving each of the writers a more distinctive character (she certainly relied less than Benedict on describing their outfits). I also liked how Limoncelli included other real people (Detective Chief Inspector Lilian Wyles, Lady Stella, even Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare) in her story and included a helpful character list. I am looking forward to more mysteries from this author and hope that as she develops her craft, she becomes more confident in subtly showing/pointing her readers to conclusions and clues rather than “telling” them. This cozy is an entertaining escape – enjoy!

In Rosanne Limoncelli's Preface, she introduces the real-life people she is portraying fictionally. I was already familiar with the four best-selling crime writers of their day-- Christie, Sayers, Marsh, and Allingham-- but I'd never heard of DCI Lilian Wyles, and I enjoyed watching these five characters work with each other. Wyles had a particularly difficult time of it because her male counterpart thought the four writers would have absolutely nothing worthwhile to add to the investigation. The five women had to learn how to work around him.

The mystery revolved around a typical British aristocratic family in a large country house just before the start of World War II. Although the whodunit was rather easily deduced, the upstairs-downstairs tension worked well. Those who are familiar with the four authors' books will also find amusing moments along the way, as in Agatha Christie getting the germ of an idea for And Then There Were None.

All in all, The Four Queens of Crime was a pleasant way to spend a few hours, but I didn't find it to be a standout.