Heather Webb is an auto-buy author for me and Queens of London may be her best book yet. I love a story about strong and take-charge women and the women in 1925 London were just that!!!

Diamond Annie is the leader of an all-girls crime group. Lillian is an investigator who is desperate to capture Annie and her gang. Hira is a young girl who runs away from a horrible situation and finds herself on the streets and taken in by Annie. This story is filled with so much action and intrigue and also heart…like all Heather Webb books!!!

5 HUGE stars for this amazing book! Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the honor to read and review this book!!!

A diverse, strong female cast characters dominates this story. The Queens of London is a quick read, challenging the reader to choose which side of law you stand with these women. Set in the 1920's, we follow a female gang called, The Forty Elephants, has they execute heists at local department stores throughout the city.

This historical fiction novel was utterly fascinating with its characters spanning various ages, and their fight for survival even if it means breaking the law.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark

What a fun adventure! This enjoyable historical fiction meets crime drama taught me about a new person in history, Alice Diamond aka Diamond Annie, Queen of the Forty Elephants, England's most notorious female gang. Other main characters were Lillian, a female police officer trying to make her way in a male-dominated workforce, Hira, an orphan and runaway from a mean uncle who wants to be loved, and Dorothy, a lovely shop girl who learns the hard way how to trust others.

Overall, this was a fun one! Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!

One word review: spectacular! This one was literally unputdownable for me. I alternated between digital and audio so that when I couldn’t sit down and read I could still listen to the story. I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. There were so many interesting characters. Diamond Annie, Hira, Lilian and Dorothy were all unforgettable. The story itself and the character development were incredible - - another home run from Heather Webb. The narrator was wonderful as well.

I found this a very enjoyable book, about a gang of female thieves set in the 1920s.

Alice Diamond (aka Diamond Annie) is the leader/queen of the female gang, called The Forty Elephants, and organises the groups of girls thieving, mainly in department stores. She runs a tight ship and doesn't suffer fools gladly, but has a slight soft spot when she meets Hira, a 10 year old orphan living on the streets that she takes under her wing and brings into The Forty Elephants.

But Hira isn't your usual orphan, she's run away from her horrible rich uncle when he decided to put her in a boarding school after her parents died. Her mother was Indian so she looks slightly different from the other orphans wandering the streets of London, especially since she has perfect manners and is obviously well educated.

She's happy to be taken in by Annie as she, and her lovely dog Biscuit that she's adopted, have somewhere to sleep and food, but not so keen about the thieving ways she's getting dragged into. Along the way she makes friends with lovely Dorothy, who works in one of the department stores The Forty Elephants regularly rob from, and constantly seems to run into Lillian, a policewoman trying to make her way in a very male dominated police force, who is determined to bring down Diamond Annie and make her mark in the police force, and for policewomen in general.

I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Diamond Annie, she was born into a criminal life and feels she doesn't really have any way to change it, although at times you feel like she may want a more law abiding life, as her heart is often in the right place, although she hides it very well!

Everything does come to a head towards the end, and really it ends the only way it could, but still with a very satisfactory ending. Very enjoyable read.

Based on real-life historical figures in post World War I London, Heather Webb’s latest novel brings to vivid life the complicated web that tied together criminal and police circles in that era, and the unsuspecting people caught in the middle.

Alice Diamond is better known by her street moniker, Diamond Annie. Tall and tough, she’s taken over leadership of the notorious women’s gang Forty Elephants and brought them to new heights, independent of the male Elephant And Castle Mob from which they derived both their origin and name. Alice rules over her girls with an iron fist but makes sure that they all share fairly in the spoils of their heists, granting them a lifestyle far nicer than their hardscrabble upbringings in the London slums.

But she can’t help everyone, not even her best friend and associate Ruth, who refuses to leave an abusive lover. Even after the worst beatings, Ruth insists on making excuses for him, claiming that he loves her womanly softness. Alice, understandably, hates this:

QUOTE
She went nearly blind with rage at Ruth’s obtuseness. It wasn’t Ruth’s femininity the tyrant loved. It was her weakness. Her inability to stand up for herself. He was the variety of man that hated women, feared them and wanted to control them because it gave him someone to hate more than himself. But Alice knew she couldn’t convince Ruth of this. The only thing she could do was encourage her to join the Forties at their future home. Let it be her place of refuge. There, they would have safety and strength in numbers. They could prevent Mike from ever touching Ruth again.
END QUOTE

Alice clearly has ambitions to do more than just rake in the cash for a fleeting good time, but her plans to take care of her girls are not without their obstacles. Prominent amongst these is Inspector Lilian Wyles, one of the first policewomen in English history. Intelligent, courageous, and desperate to prove herself to her bosses, she’s set her sights on nabbing Diamond Annie.

The cat and mouse game between the two women is complicated by the appearance of two others: young Hira Wickham and pretty Dorothy McBride. Anglo-Indian Hira lives in the care of her greedy Uncle Clive. When her parents die while abroad, he threatens to send her to a boarding school that is little better than a workhouse. In a panic, Hira runs away from their West End mansion. With nowhere to run to, she soon finds herself under Alice and the Forty Elephants’ wing.

Dorothy is a shopgirl whose dreams of a future in fashion are too often undercut by those who refuse to believe that she could have a brain inside her head of red curls. Her kind heart and weakness for romance further put her in untenable positions. When her path collides with the three others’, will she be able to make the right choices for not only herself but the people she cares about most?

Queens Of London does an amazing job of bringing the Roaring Twenties in London to life, highlighting not only the gin-soaked glamor and the sisterly solidarity of so many disparate women, but also examining, at least cursorily, deeper questions of social justice. Lilian, especially, has to battle with her conscience as she finds herself suddenly sympathizing at least with Alice’s aims, if not her methods:

QUOTE
Lilian shook her head. What was right was right. What was just… Well, she had always instinctively lived by the principles of fairness and justice. They gave order to the chaos of human nature, brought light when all appeared dark or hopeless. But for the first time, she questioned what justice really meant. She was also beginning to see a sort of twisted symbiotic relationship between criminal and police. The line that divided them was far thinner than she’d ever realized. This truth was uncomfortable, irritating like a kernel of corn stuck in her teeth.
END QUOTE

Feminist and fierce, this novel doesn’t go for easy answers as each woman does the best that she’s able to in order to reshape her world for the better, in the only ways she knows how. I especially appreciated the inclusion of Hira, who has to deal with racism on top of the challenges the older women face. Ms Webb indulges in no whitewashing in this historical fiction, fully describing London’s thriving East End, populated with migrants from the Indian subcontinent. Such a wide-lensed look at the past only adds verisimilitude to her tale of cops and robbers attempting to best one another in the seemingly endless human circle of crime and punishment.

Heather Webb, the Author of Queens of London has written a captivating and intriguing novel. The genres for this book are Historical Fiction, Crime, British Literature, and Fiction. The timeline is set around 1925 in London, after World War One, when women gangs committed crimes to live in a better way. “Diamond Annie” is lead of a women’s gang and is called “Queen of the Forty Elephants”. The well organized women steal from fancy department stores and then have “fences” sell the merchandise. At the same time, Officer Lilian Wyles, is assigned to to capture the leader and women, as well as any orphans she sees. Lilian is not taken seriously in a man’s world and often the other male officers don’t show her the respect she should receive.She is determined to change that. Dorothy is the best saleswoman in a high class department store, and the other women and her male boss have the impression, she is not bright, because of her attractiveness and friendly nature. Dorothy is extremely creative and draws pictures of dresses and accessories, but when she shows them to her Boss and others, they ignore her talents. Hira is a young Indian girl who runs away from an abusive and manipulative Uncle. Hira knows the best of everything, and has been tutored. Unfortunately she now lives on the streets.

I love how Heather Webb vividly describes the setting, plot, and the dramatic and colorful characters . All of the female characters show courage fighting for their goals in a man’s world, and society. There is looting, stealing, rioting, threats, danger, secrets, betrayals,bribery and suspense. I appreciate how Heather Webb brings attention of abuse, discrimination, inequality of class, prejudice, poverty, and entitlement. I loved everything about this well written book and highly recommend this to other readers.

I really enjoyed learning about this little bit of London history and the story of all these amazing women. Based on the true story of Diamond Annie, the leader of an organized gang of thieves- The Forty Elephants. I found myself transported back in time to London in the 1920s. There were such vivid descriptions and I couldn’t almost see and smell what it was like at the time. It got
me thinking a lot about loyalty and family.

The story has three amazing women characters - Alice Diamond, aka Annie Diamond, Hira, a young runaway, whose story reminded me a lot of A Little Princess, and Lillian Wyler, one of the first female detectives of Scotland Yard and orphan finder. I loved seeing all the different connections and interactions between the three and seeing them all watching each other to learn their routines. I couldn’t quite work out who was my favourite and who ‘I should go’ for as the novel progressed. I was pleased to see it was actually based on true characters and loved reading the authors note and googling more about the characters and gangs. The novel keeps up a decent pace the whole way through with a big finish. I ended up being quite happy with how it all played out. My first novel by Webb and definitely not my last.

Another fascinating and intriguing historical fiction by Heather Webb.

Set in London, 1925 - it follows the story of Diamond Alice, leader of an all girls theft ring; Inspector Lillian who's trying to get Alice, 10 year old Hira who's run away from her corrupt uncle after her parents death, and Dorothy a sales girl with big design dreams. All are extremely strong female characters and I enjoyed learning their stories and how their lives entertwined. Very well crafted and entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This was a fabulous historical fiction set in 1920s London. It’s based on real characters with a fictional spin. The author does a great job in her notes and through a Q&A section at the end of the book with separating fact and fiction as well as her inspirations for this read. So don’t close the book when the story ends.

Now to our Queens..

Alice Diamond is the head of an all woman crime organization called the Forty Elephants. They specialize in shoplifting. She does worry about her girls who are in bad relationships.

Officer Lillian Wyles is one of the first female detectives in Scotland Yard. She gets no respect from her peers or citizens on the street. She is tasked with controlling the shoplifting and chasing down homeless street kids.

As you can imagine their paths cross in not only the high end department stores but also because of a runaway brown skinned girl named Hira.

Each of these queens have fascinating lives that I enjoyed reading about. The addition of Hira really elevated the story for me. Some of the drama that surrounds the forty elephants really grounded me as to what time period I was reading.

This is a story about two women breaking glass ceilings before that was even a thing and the sacrifices and struggles that each made.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Perhaps because historical fiction is my favorite genre I tend to have higher expectations, particularly since this book is based on a true story, but the novel was not as interesting as I had hoped.

Set in 1920s London, the book focuses four main female characters. One is a the boss of an all-female gang of thieves, one is a young Indian girl who becomes entangled with the crime group, one is a rare female police officer working for the Met, and the other is a female "shopgirl" from whom the gang intends to rob.

The good: I appreciated the diversity of characters and the feminist focus of the story, as well as the author's note at the end explaining the true backstory vs. which parts were her imagination.

The bad: some of the characters were not well developed and seemed to be stereotypical archetypes. The book jumped around a lot due to various POVs and lots of extraneous characters. Lastly, the pace was not as fast nor the plot as exciting as one would anticipate given the premise.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy ebook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

If you have never heard of Diamond Annie and the Forty Elephants, you have been missing out on an fascinating piece of history. This is a story of Alice Diamond and her gang in the mid-1920s who planned a huge, complicated heist to steal merchandise from multiple departments stores and a clothing warehouse. Alice was the queen of the Forty Elephants, a gang that existed since the Victorian era, and she used her wits and strength to keep the gang in line and to follow orders without question. The other main characters in this story were Hira, Dorothy, and Lillian. Hira is a 10 year old orphan who ran away from a neglectful uncle. Dorothy is a beautiful, smart woman who works at a department store but wishes she designed clothes. Lillian is a police officer with the Metropolitan Police. Hira ran away when her uncle wanted to send her to a boarding school for orphans, but she ended up befriending Alice, Dorothy and Lillian. Dorothy worked as a salesclerk but always wanted something more and found that helping Hira brought her joy and peace. Lillian was an ambitious officer that wanted to do more than catch shoplifters at the department stores. She and Dorothy ended up with a mutually beneficial relationship when it came to Hira and Alice.
I loved these four characters because they were interesting, strong, smart, and complicated. Each one had a compelling story of wanting to belong and have a life that matters. London in the 1920s was a dangerous place to be and women were fighting for more rights and the ability to take care of themselves. The author clearly denotes which characters were real and which were fictional in the Author's Notes and a Conversation with the Author. You can feel the research in the story as it adds depth, but it doesn't take over the story. I could envision this story as a movie as I was reading and I had a very hard time putting it down!
If you enjoy historical fiction and are looking for a different perspective of women in the 1920s, I would highly recommend this story.

Thank you Sourcebooks and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

QUEENS OF LONDON
BY: HEATHER WEBB

When you hear about this new historical fiction title "Queens of London," you might think that this fantastic new novel is about the royal family in the monarchy. You would be surprised to discover that the talented Heather Webb has crafted a meticulous new novel about Queens that live among the commoners. Based on historical fact she has brought to vivid life the underworld of thief Annie Diamond and one of the first women on the police force in UK history named Lilian Wyles. Both women were strong and full of conviction in their opposing belief systems. One broke the law regularly to rise above the poverty she was born into and the other wanted to do nothing more than to see that justice carried out and to gain recognition through the ranks of mostly an all male Scotland Yard.

Annie Diamond was a tough as nails leader of the Forty Elephants who regularly shoplifted from the high end department stores. The Forty Elephants were made up of an all female gang whose leader Annie Diamond's was the reigning Queen and she demanded loyalty from these women at all times. They met regularly at an old abandoned factory and they were all expected to show up. The stolen goods were fenced in exchange for cash that gave these women a taste of the finer material things that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

Lilian Wyles working regularly at a department store wanted to prove that she was just as capable as her male counterparts. She wanted to catch Annie Diamond's and her ring of thieves and maybe then her superior officers would take her seriously and she would not be relegated to chasing orphans and posted to stand guard at the high end department store. Lilian wanted to be taken seriously for the talent that she had because in 1925 police women were a minority and not held in the same esteem as the men on the police force.

Hira Wickham is an Indian who runs away from her cruel Uncle Clyde's household who wants to send her off to a boarding school. She has nowhere to go but quickly finds the love that she has yearned for in a stray dog named Biscuit as she looks for shelter and a way to avoid danger that lurks everywhere. She soon finds a place to stay with Annie Diamond who puts Hira's loyalty to the test. Hira was one of my favorite characters. She has good manners and also has a conscience and knows right from wrong. Along the way she finds goodness and kind treatment from Dorothy McBride who works in a high end department store. Dorothy gives Hira food and the two of them form a bond and a beautiful friendship.

Heather Webb is a fairly new author to me but after reading and loving her historical fiction novel called, "Strangers in the night," I was thrilled to try this new one. They are both completely different historical fiction novels written with a whole lot of heart that's imbued in her character development. I think that my favorite is "Strangers in the night," about Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner's tumultuous but enduring love. I liked Hira and Dorothy's character the best in this one because of how huge both their hearts were. I want to read Heather Webb's previous historical novels because I think she is a gifted storyteller. I would recommend this to lovers of historical fiction.

You can find a link to my review of "Strangers in the Night," by Heather Webb here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Heather Webb and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for generously providing me with my wonderful ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheQueensofLondon #HeatherWebb #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley
QUEENS OF LONDON
BY: HEATHER WEBB

When you hear about this new historical fiction title "Queens of London," you might think that this fantastic new novel is about the royal family in the monarchy. You would be surprised to discover that the talented Heather Webb has crafted a meticulous new novel about Queens that live among the commoners. Based on historical fact she has brought to vivid life the underworld of thief Annie Diamond and one of the first women on the police force in UK history named Lilian Wyles. Both women were strong and full of conviction in their opposing belief systems. One broke the law regularly to rise above the poverty she was born into and the other wanted to do nothing more than to see that justice carried out and to gain recognition through the ranks of mostly an all male Scotland Yard.

Annie Diamond was a tough as nails leader of the Forty Elephants who regularly shoplifted from the high end department stores. The Forty Elephants were made up of an all female gang whose leader Annie Diamond's was the reigning Queen and she demanded loyalty from these women at all times. They met regularly at an old abandoned factory and they were all expected to show up. The stolen goods were fenced in exchange for cash that gave these women a taste of the finer material things that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

Lilian Wyles working regularly at a department store wanted to prove that she was just as capable as her male counterparts. She wanted to catch Annie Diamond's and her ring of thieves and maybe then her superior officers would take her seriously and she would not be relegated to chasing orphans and posted to stand guard at the high end department store. Lilian wanted to be taken seriously for the talent that she had because in 1925 police women were a minority and not held in the same esteem as the men on the police force.

Hira Wickham is an Indian who runs away from her cruel Uncle Clyde's household who wants to send her off to a boarding school. She has nowhere to go but quickly finds the love that she has yearned for in a stray dog named Biscuit as she looks for shelter and a way to avoid danger that lurks everywhere. She soon finds a place to stay with Annie Diamond who puts Hira's loyalty to the test. Hira was one of my favorite characters. She has good manners and also has a conscience and knows right from wrong. Along the way she finds goodness and kind treatment from Dorothy McBride who works in a high end department store. Dorothy gives Hira food and the two of them form a bond and a beautiful friendship.

Heather Webb is a fairly new author to me but after reading and loving her historical fiction novel called, "Strangers in the night," I was thrilled to try this new one. They are both completely different historical fiction novels written with a whole lot of heart that's imbued in her character development. I think that my favorite is "Strangers in the night," about Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner's tumultuous but enduring love. I liked Hira and Dorothy's character the best in this one because of how huge both their hearts were. I want to read Heather Webb's previous historical novels because I think she is a gifted storyteller. I would recommend this to lovers of historical fiction.

You can find a link to my review of "Strangers in the Night," by Heather Webb here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Heather Webb and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for generously providing me with my wonderful ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheQueensofLondon #HeatherWebb #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley
QUEENS OF LONDON
BY: HEATHER WEBB

When you hear about this new historical fiction title "Queens of London," you might think that this fantastic new novel is about the royal family in the monarchy. You would be surprised to discover that the talented Heather Webb has crafted a meticulous new novel about Queens that live among the commoners. Based on historical fact she has brought to vivid life the underworld of thief Annie Diamond and one of the first women on the police force in UK history named Lilian Wyles. Both women were strong and full of conviction in their opposing belief systems. One broke the law regularly to rise above the poverty she was born into and the other wanted to do nothing more than to see that justice carried out and to gain recognition through the ranks of mostly an all male Scotland Yard.

Annie Diamond was a tough as nails leader of the Forty Elephants who regularly shoplifted from the high end department stores. The Forty Elephants were made up of an all female gang whose leader Annie Diamond's was the reigning Queen and she demanded loyalty from these women at all times. They met regularly at an old abandoned factory and they were all expected to show up. The stolen goods were fenced in exchange for cash that gave these women a taste of the finer material things that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.

Lilian Wyles working regularly at a department store wanted to prove that she was just as capable as her male counterparts. She wanted to catch Annie Diamond's and her ring of thieves and maybe then her superior officers would take her seriously and she would not be relegated to chasing orphans and posted to stand guard at the high end department store. Lilian wanted to be taken seriously for the talent that she had because in 1925 police women were a minority and not held in the same esteem as the men on the police force.

Hira Wickham is an Indian who runs away from her cruel Uncle Clyde's household who wants to send her off to a boarding school. She has nowhere to go but quickly finds the love that she has yearned for in a stray dog named Biscuit as she looks for shelter and a way to avoid danger that lurks everywhere. She soon finds a place to stay with Annie Diamond who puts Hira's loyalty to the test. Hira was one of my favorite characters. She has good manners and also has a conscience and knows right from wrong. Along the way she finds goodness and kind treatment from Dorothy McBride who works in a high end department store. Dorothy gives Hira food and the two of them form a bond and a beautiful friendship.

Heather Webb is a fairly new author to me but after reading and loving her historical fiction novel called, "Strangers in the night," I was thrilled to try this new one. They are both completely different historical fiction novels written with a whole lot of heart that's imbued in her character development. I think that my favorite is "Strangers in the night," about Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner's tumultuous but enduring love. I liked Hira and Dorothy's character the best in this one because of how huge both their hearts were. I want to read Heather Webb's previous historical novels because I think she is a gifted storyteller. I would recommend this to lovers of historical fiction.

You can find a link to my review of "Strangers in the Night," by Heather Webb here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Heather Webb and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for generously providing me with my wonderful ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheQueensofLondon #HeatherWebb #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley

Queens of London was a thrilling read, and I loved how each character’s story slowly morphed into one great ending! My heart ached for poor Hira and I teared up when she finally became a Queen of London. Alice and the Forty Elephants gave me major Peaky Blinders vibes. I wish we heard more about the other gang members.

If you love historical fiction, strong FMC’s, and an all female gang, this is the perfect book for you!

I liked this story about the all female, 40 Elephants gang, in London around the 1920s. It was interesting and well written. I was fascinated by “Diamond Annie” and Hira. In all it was a good story.

I have loved everything I’ve read by Heather Webb. Her newest book, Queens of London, which will be published on 2/6/24, tells the story of three women and one young girl, in 1925.

*Alice Diamond, leader of London’s notorious Forty Elephants gang, which specializes in shoplifting
*Lilian Wyles, one of the UK’s first female police investigators, is determined to take Alice down
*Hira Wickham, a well-bred young girl who suddenly finds herself on the streets along with her loyal dog, Biscuit.
She is taken in by Alice.
*Dorothy McBride, a shopgirl at one of London’s department stores, who also befriends young Hira.

As the story unfolds, the lives of all four characters become more and more entwined. While I did care for all the characters (yes, even Alice has some redeeming qualities), I think that the constantly shifting storyline between the four slowed the story down. It just wasn’t as fast-paced as I would have hoped for a story about a female crime boss.
Because of this, I give it 3.5 stars.

Side note: The author’s note and interview at the end were interesting.

This book follows four different women during 1925 in London - Alice is the head of the notorious women’s gang, the Forty Elephants, Lilian is the police inspector trying to to investigate the gang and make a name for herself, Hira is a small child who is forced to live on the streets after her parents pass away and she gets entangled with the gang and finally Dorothy who is a pretty employee of one of the fanciest department stores in London and just wants to meet her husband.

The Forty Elephants makes their living by stealing dresses, jewelry, handbags and other women’s items from major department stores all over London. They all have bad relationships either with men or alcohol or both and Alice dreams of buying a place where the women could all live and be safe. But to be able to afford this, they will have to pull off their biggest heist to date. And all of this is going just as Lilian is assigned to bring in Alice and shut down the Forty Elephants. Alice also meets Hira after she sees her pickpocket people in the street because she’s so hungry. She takes her under her wing and lets her come home with her. Dorothy is another woman Hira befriends. She helps share food with Hira and Hira’s little dog, Biscuit.

Alice convinces Hira to take advantage of Dorothy’s kindness and steals the key to the storage room at the department store. This sets into motion the biggest heist. I loved that most of the book is based on true stories and Alice, the Forty Elephants and Inspector Lilian Wyes were all real people. It’s awful these women had to resort to a life a crime to get ahead in life or away from terrible home situations. This was really well written and always left me wanting to know what happened next.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours, @msheatherwebb and @bookmarked for my gifted copy. Queens of London is out on Feb 6th!

4.5 rounded up
Queens of London follows a cast of female characters who all embody strength, resilience, and fortitude in a world dominated by men set in 1925 London. Alice Diamond is the leader of the Forty Elephants, an all female gang while Lilian Wyles is one of the first female detectives in Scotland yard determined to take the thief down. Hira is a young girl looking for her place in the world and Dorothy is a woman who strives to be more than society says is allowed. Together they weave a tale of survival, determination, and empowerment that is still relevant almost 100 years after this story takes place.

I really enjoyed diving into what these characters were driven by. Even Alice, who does unlikable things, evokes sympathy and I found myself rooting for her to leave her thieving days. She's ruthless, cunning, and battles what she wants to do with what she feels like she has to do. Hira was such a sweet character. Her resilience made you really feel for her. I liked the character arc for both Lilian and Dorothy as they face societies standards for women head on.

I love a story based on a real person. Alice Diamond and Lilian Wyles were people in real life and the story that Webb wrote made their characters jump off the page. She also co-wrote The Last Christmas in Paris which I loved so it's no surprise that the characters also come to life in this book. With deception, lies, loyalties, and even a Charlie Chaplin connection (this is why you always read the authors note), this was a glimpse into a moment in time as well as a highly entertaining read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and netgalley for allowing me to read Queens of London by Heather Webb. I have read another book by this author and I have another on my tbr .This book was historical fiction but I had to look up some terms like Forty Elephants because it could have been true. This book had a lot of strong women characters that made the story enjoyable, there was even a dog that was focused on a little too much. If you love historical fiction and a book focused on women it will not disappoint.

Rounded up from 2.5 stars

This is the third historical novel about the Forty Elephants, London's notorious all-women gang of thieves, I've read in the past 18 months. In many ways, it's indistinguishable from the others ("Queen of Thieves" and "The Forty Elephants.") Except for a few brief descriptive passages, the writing is serviceable at best; the characters barely rise above stereotypes; several major plot points hinge on coincidences. "Queens of London" has the added disadvantage of shoehorning in among the fact-based characters two stock figures: a gorgeous but gullible young woman with a heart of gold who is wronged by her lascivious boss and a precocious poor little rich girl who runs away from her uncaring guardian. It's all as absurd, predictable, and frustrating as it sounds, and yet, I did keep reading. It was the perfect escapist fiction I needed at this particular time, and it did seem to capture aspects of 1920s London.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.