In 1930s London, five celebrated female crime writers—the “Queens of Crime”—form a secret society to challenge male dominance. Their investigation into the murder of a young woman leads them into a dangerous game, with a killer targeting their own ranks and threatening to expose a dark secret from Dorothy Sayers’ past.

This is a fun and clever mystery with an endearing assortment of characters. It has the feel of a novel from the Golden Age of mystery, but goes more deeply into the emotions of the characters. I’d love to see this become a series! I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Another A-MAY-ZING historical fiction outing by Marie Benedict, whose crisp, intimate writing always draws you into her well-crafted novels. Here five of the leading British women detective novelists team up to solve a real-life murder. Benedict combines her historical portraits of women with the exact sort of mystery novel popular at the time.

The novel opens with Dorothy Sayers founding a British Detection Club to help raise the literary status of mystery writers and get them to be taken seriously by the literary establishment in the 1930’s. Much to her chagrin, the male President she installs only wants Dorothy and Agatha Christie among the ranks of dozens of men. Dorothy and Agatha hatch a plot to get three other leading women writers initiated, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, but the women continue to get snubbed by the condescending men.
To take their come-uppance, the women decide to embark on solving the real-life murder of sweet nurse May Daniels who disappeared during a day outing in France shopping with a friend and has been found months later dead in brambly bushes of that French town. May, in her sparse nurse living quarters, has two sumptuous gowns and hard-to-get tickets to best-selling play that she could never afford on her own. The women detectives brilliantly start to apply their female intuition about people and relationships as well as their literary detective skills to unravel what truly happened to May.

Red herrings abound as each author gathers increasingly complex clues. You get swept up in their intense efforts now focused on justice for May, as the police have brushed off the crime investigation.

Delightful narrator Bessie Carter, an English actress best known for her role as Prudence Featherington on Bridgerton, is fantastic. She ranges nimbly from clipped posh British accents to New Zealand twang to imperious men. What a perfect choice for Marie’s latest book!
If you have yet to discover Marie Benedict’s fantastic other novels (I’ve listened to them all and they are all 5 stars!) - a real literary treat awaits you!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listen to this audiobook.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is the story of a group of real life famous female mystery writers that form a secret society to show that they will no longer be treated as second class citizens in the literary world due to their gender. Together the women are the Queens of Crime and they are determined to be treated equally to the men in the Detection Society, a mutual benefit group where the authors share tips and create guidelines to better the art of crime writing. When efforts to infiltrate the group fail, the women turn their attention to a real life crime, the murder of a young woman. Can they solve it our will danger find them instead?

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Bessie Carter is absolutely superb. She changes accents seamlessly and provides each character with their own unique voice which enhances the book wonderfully. This historical fiction mystery was very interesting and I liked that it was based on the real Detection Society, but I felt it was a bit too long and parts of it were a little slow. I give it three and a half stars.

I received this advance audio copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

A CAREFUL AND CLEVER ASCENT

SUMMARY
The Queens of Crimes is a historical fiction novel highlighting the friendship among five of the finest women writers from the golden era of mystery. Dorothy Sayers inspires the group with support from Agatha Christie. Also part of this talented club are Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Baroness Emma Orczy. These women unite to demonstrate to the male naysayers the capabilities of female authors in the genre. To showcase their ability to understand the minds of criminals, the women endeavor to solve the mysterious death of May Daniels, a young English nurse who disappeared during a day trip to Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1931. Her strangled and bloody body was recently discovered in a park.

REVIEW
Queens of Crimes is essential reading for lovers of female-centric historical fiction. This is an inspiring tribute to a generation of women who fought the good fight for women authors and their careers. Most importantly, the story highlights the fortitude and persistence of women.

Author Marie Benedict’s writing is a careful and clever ascent that will have you cheering on these five delightful and diverse characters. Benedict draws us into the life of the victim, May Daniels through the women’s creative sleuthing.

My favorite part is when the women confront one of their primary murder suspects in a beautiful and well-known London hotel.

The story is suspenseful and told from the perspective of Dorothy Sayers, who intriguingly becomes a target during the investigation. The book is easy to read and composed of short, well-labeled chapters. I both read and listened to the book. Bassie Carter's audio performance was rich and delightful, bringing the story to life.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Publisher Macmillan Audio
Published February 11, 2025
Narrated Bessie Carter
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

This audiobook grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me listening whenever I had a spare minute all the way til the very end, I absolutely loved that this book included these incredible real life crime authors and gave us a glimpse into what their lives and personalities may have been like. I thoroughly enjoyed following them as they tried to solve a real life murder that no one else seemed to care about and found myself trying to figure it out right alongside them. I definitely recommend this one and highly recommend the audio — very well done! I also appreciated the author’s note.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

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. The group includes Dorothy L. Sayers, 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.

A sure fire story to hook me in. Growing up, I discovered mystery novels when I discovered Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. They are the reason I can be so rough in my assesment of modern mystery writers. They never cheated to solve a crime or gave some imaginary reason a character mentioned on page 3 is the culprit. The solution is always valid and justified.
Marie Benedict has brought all of these unparalleled authors together in a story that could so easily be true.
Benedict's level of research and authenticity is not just awe inspiring but oh so entertaining.
The Queens of Crime is a fantastic example of these women's skill as well as the authors. I highly recommend it.
I also recommend listening to the Audio version of this book with narrator Bessie Carter. The audio books makes it so easy to drift to 1931 and watch these queens in action yourself.

It is expected to be published 2/11/2025
Thanks to @netgalley and Macmillian Audio and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion

Marie Benedict delivers again, and this may just be my favorite novel of hers to date! Intrigue, female empowerment, and justice mix with remarkable character development to create Benedict's latest historical fiction, "The Queens of Crime."

The novel is centered around author Dorothy L Sayers, who bands together with four other famous female crime writers to solve a real-life mystery. A young woman was found strangled in a local park, and the police seem quick to dismiss the case. The five detectives, nicknamed The Queens of Crime, decide that getting to the bottom of the murder will help build their credibility among male mystery authors. While Benedict embellished many fictional details (including the culprit of the crime), the story is based on a true event.

Bessie Carter did exceptionally well on narration. She moves seamlessly between accents, and the combination of her narration skills and Benedict's writing style convincingly immersed me in another era. Fans of historical fiction and classic mysteries are likely to enjoy this book, especially if they have read works by the five authors and would love to see their more "real-life" side.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Marie Benedict for an advance copy for honest review. 4.5 stars rounded up.

The is a fun read where five crime writers get together to solve a crime. One of my favorite parts was that Agatha Christie is one of the five, It was rather cool to see her in real life trying to do what we have seen her do so many times.

The story is about May Daniel’s, who turns up missing and then dead. The five writers will band together to go through the evidence, with the goal of solving the murder.

I read that the story was inspired by an event in Dorothy Sayers’s own life.

I did both the audio and the ebook simultaneously, I do believe I liked the audio book better, the pace was nice and steady.
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I thoroughly enjoyed The Queens of Crime—it had all the classic elements of a cozy, old-school mystery whodunit! The setting and time period were beautifully crafted, transporting me into a bygone era filled with intrigue and charm. The camaraderie and friendship among the women were truly heartwarming and added depth to the story. What stood out most was how forward-thinking and progressive the 'queens' were throughout the book, making it both a nostalgic and refreshingly modern read. I’ll definitely be picking up more of Marie Benedict’s works in the future! Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for allowing me to listen to this book!

I have a box set of Marie's books that are on a long TBR list. I'll be digging into those soon after having listened to this audiobook. The description of The Queens of Crime featuring 5 author protagonists in a club of mystery writers is a instant wishlist/buy reaction for me. And it's integrated, not just tacked on.

Spending time with Dorothy and her queens is like eavesdropping on a vibrant book club. It feels a bit fun in the beginning, being on an adventure with the ladies. When things escalate later in the book, Marie has you hooked into caring about every character. The clues and delivery are satisfying throughout.

I can't speak to the accuracy of the accents, but for a book with such a large amount of characters, I was never confused as to who was speaking. Bessie Carter is an excellent narrator and actress for this production. I'll be following her future work.

I will say if I had read any trigger warnings I may not have given this a listen. But it is a murder mystery based on some real life/death, so it's s kind of a given there will be triggers. I'm glad I didn't overthink it. This was a quick 'read' with Marie's writing and Bessie's voice acting. It played out like a good mini-series. A very satisfying read.

This is the first book I have read from Marie Benedict. It was fun to think of 5 women mystery writers getting together to solve a murder. I love how their relationships grew as the book goes on. It is hard to be a woman in a man's world. The "Queens of Crime" work hard to prove that they belong as writers. That they too can solve a murder and look beyond what a man would consider. I felt at times it was long...and repeating the timeline several times over and over. I will look into other books by this author.

This is a fun crime/ mystery with some great women characters! It’s a slower moving story as you follow the “queens of crime” characters solving a murder. The narrator is fun but her voice didn’t pull me into the story and the story didn’t keep me wanting to read more. It just wasn’t for me but could see how many would enjoy it.

This was my first book by this author & i really enjoyed it. I loved the camaraderie between The Queen's! The sleuthiness (is that a word) of these women is such a great story line. I would love for the Queens of Crime to become a series or even a television show. I definitely look forward to more from this group of women.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is a great mystery set in England in 1930. Five women crime fiction writers (Agatha Christie being the most well known but all real in history) band together as the “Queens of Crime” and use their powers of sleuthing on the page to solve the real life murder of May Daniels, a young British nurse found dead in a park in France(she had taken a day trip there with a friend). Authorities seem resigned to call it an accident rather than the foul play these women see right away.
This was so much fun to read, with red herrings and locked door mysteries.
Benedict does a good job of pointing out the disparities between women and men during this time and I appreciated that these women writers were trendsetters before their time. I love when a book gives some true historical facts and weaves in a fictional story to go along with it. I was not aware that May Daniel’s death was a true story as well, being a long lost unsolved crime, and I like that she put her own twist on the who done it.
This is a very classy and proper mystery. Besides possibly an Agatha Christie novel itself, I find it hard to compare it to other books out these days. It isn’t humorous or outlandish but just straight up old school mystery. If you enjoy that sort of experience, you will enjoy this.
I listened to this audiobook as an ARC from NetGalley and Macmillan. The narrator Bessie Carter was excellent, with her posh English accent that was easy to follow. She managed several different accents and voices that helped to differentiate characters and make it an enjoyable listen.

A good, old-fashioned mystery story! Old-fashioned, in the best possible way, of course. Marie Benedict is a master of historical fiction and she has outdone herself once again, dipping a toe into the murder mystery game featuring an assemblage of notorious crime-writing Queens in 1930s London. As only she can do, Benedict brings these women to rich, three-dimensional life. I loved every word. And cloche hats off to Bessie Carter for providing excellent, nimble narration—that was a lot of characters (and accents!) to juggle and she acquitted herself beautifully.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book The Queen's of Crime is a wonderful journey into the world of crime writing in the 1930;s. It follows five women writers who band together to create a secret group to solve a real murder so that they may prove their worth to their male counterparts who overlook them because of their gender. I always love a book with a strong female lead and this one had five! Loved seeing the power of friendship among these women and all that they were able to accomplish.

As far as I know, this favorite author of mine has not written a mystery like this one before. Well, here is yet another tour de force by Ms. Benedict. It feels like she is skilled at writing both a detective story and historical fiction. I recommend it highly.

Many know who the Queens of Crime were. This group included Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Baroness Orczy, and Margery Allingham. They all have prominent roles in this enjoyable story that is narrated by Dorothy Sayers.

At the time that the story was set, a number of male writers of detective fiction decided to band together in a society. Well, the women wanted a part of this too and pushed their way into the Detection Club.

In this story, these women want to prove their worth by solving a real case. They become involved in figuring out what happened to a British nurse who was murdered in France. They are intrepid in following clues, making hypotheses, and working to bring matters to a resolution.

Along with the crime story, readers are given insight into who these women of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction were. I enjoyed these parts of the story and also what was shared about the creation of their novels.

All in all, this is a most engaging read that fans of historical crime fiction and Benedict will enjoy. I think that Benedict will find some new enthused readers as well.

Note: I am a fan of toggling between the audio and reading editions of titles. They complement one another and add to my enjoyment. In this instance, the audio book narrator did a wonderful job of speaking in the voices of each of the main characters. This added to my pleasure in this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this title. Also, thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audio book. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 February 2025

This book was so much fun. A blend of fact and fiction. What happens when well known female crime writers decide to solve a mysterious death? Nobody believes it was suspicious and the men don't take them serious.. Marie Benedict has done an outstanding job writing this and Bessie Carter did a fantastic job of narrating it.

Marie Benedict is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. While this was not my favorite work by her, it was still an enjoyable historical mystery based on real-life female authors of the 1930s in the UK.

The book features Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and a few other legendary mystery writers of that period, who are part of a social group known as The Queens of Crime. When a young working class nurse is found dead in a French park, the police fail to do their due diligence into investigating those who may have played a hand in her demise. The Queens suspect foul play, but their concerns are dismissed by the sexist male law enforcement officers. Despite this, the plucky group launch their own investigation, because who better than to solve this case than a group of intelligent crime writers?

The novel picks up pace when the women soon learn that they are in danger themselves, as someone is intent on preventing them from digging deeper and unraveling this mystery. I appreciated how Benedict touched upon the differences between these authors (age, background, etc) while demonstrating their unique bond as unconventional and successful women in a time when men ruled society.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martins Press for an advanced copies of this book for my review.

🔍 The Queens of Crime are real life authors Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy who lived and wrote during the “The Golden Age of Detective Fiction”.
🔍 These witty and smart ladies are determined to prove their worth and place in the male dominated world of mystery fiction by solving a crime themselves. But their mission quickly changes to finding justice for a young woman whose murder was not properly investigated and largely dismissed by authorities.
🔍 After a slower start, this one just swept me away. I loved being part of the world that brought these real life mystery superstars to life and the style of the story was an ode to the works of these famous women.
🔍 While the main mystery that brings the ladies together is largely fictionalized, it was fun to find the pieces of the story that were based on truth! I enjoyed reading about these women asserting themselves in a society that didn’t always see their value.