I couldn't sleep so I read until 3 AM and finished "The Queens of Crime" instead! Yes, it's an "I can't put it down" book, the kind of historical fiction that had me looking up photos of the real women, pictures of fashion from dresses to shoes to motorized transportation. Marie Benedict serves up the five most well-known and beloved detective novelists in a dish best served over and over again! The five (4) 'Queens' as they were really known band together as a sub-group of a detective novelists' association/club. At first they are out to prove that women deserve a place in the ranks of writers as much as the men do. Soon, however, they find a real crime to solve and it takes all their skills as crime novelists to plan their investigations and achieve what the police in two countries cannot seem to achieve. I found "The Queens of Crime" captivating. I'm going to miss those five magical women. Guess I'll start reading THEIR books, now!

"The Queens of Crime" is an exciting book by one of my favorite authors. It tells the story of five famous mystery writers working together in the 1930s. The plot has many surprising twists, some dangerous, as these women solve a murder case. I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end. This book is a must-read for all those who enjoy reading murder mysteries.

Thanks to Marie Benedict, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the eARC.

A Riveting Mystery Featuring the Queens of Crime

Marie Benedict’s latest novel immerses readers in 1930s London, where five pioneering women crime writers—led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers—form a secret alliance to prove their worth in the male-dominated world of mystery fiction. When a young English nurse is found murdered in France under baffling circumstances, Sayers, Agatha Christie, and their literary peers take matters into their own hands, determined to solve the case.

Blending fact with fiction, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie author once again delivers a thrilling historical whodunit. With clever twists, deep friendships, and a chilling personal threat against Sayers herself, this novel is a testament to the power of women in crime writing. Fans of classic detective fiction will be enthralled by this sharp, atmospheric mystery inspired by true events.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy- the Queens of Crime-discover it can be harder to solve a crime than to write about solving a crime in this entertaining novel. May Daniels, a young British nurse, was a victim who was more or less ignored except to the extent that her reputation was smeared. This is also an intriguing look at attitudes toward women in the wake of WWI (the concept of surplus women was new to me). The large cast can feel a bit unwieldy at times but this sent me off to look up more information on each of the women and their work, giving me leads to books I've not read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

In yet another masterful story by Marie Benedict, legendary female authors from the Golden Age of Detective Stories team up to solve the unsolved murder of a young nurse. The cast of characters- Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G.K. Chesterton- piqued my interest, but the adventures, clues, and dialogue drew me in. I loved how this book inspired me to learn about a couple of females authors I hadn’t heard of before. I’m eager to jump into their works.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC digital and audio books. I went back and forth between print and audio and both are delightful.

Fans of mysteries will love this book, as five of the most prominent female mystery writers get together to solve a real mystery. The Detection Club was formed so mystery writers could get their genre recognized and respected. As only Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers are accepted, Dorothy comes up with the idea to have the three other prominent writers, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Emma Orczy work together to solve a real locked room mystery in the disappearance of a young nurse, thus proving themselves. I recommend this well written and most enjoyable novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Not your typical Marie Benedict book or writing style. She wove together historical fiction with mystery together. In this story Dorthy wanted to united a group of women writers together. This went against the male author’s wishes. Dorthy teamed up with Agatha (yes Agatha Christie). Together these two writers recruited members to their group and called themselves “The Queens of Crime”. After reenacting deaths to help with their writing, the ladies decided to solve a crime that the police has stalled out on. Together, they solve the murder of May. I like how Marie Bendict weaved the historical fiction together with a mystery. With her descriptions of everything, I could easily envision myself at the time frame of the story and watching it as a movie.

I loved this book. Based on real life but fictionalized to show the terrible way the women of the 1930s were treated, I couldn't put this book down. I have always loved Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, and have seen The Scarlet Pimpernel, albeit years ago, but the other two authors were new to me. The characters were all clearly defined and the way in which they learned to support each other was wonderful. I am a fan of Marie Benedict (Heather Terrell) and grab every book I can that she writes. Although a bit slow in spots, it always picked up and regained my interest. When these five women decide to prove to the men in the Detective Club that they are equal to them in ability by actually trying to solve a real crime, the game is afoot, as they say! Meticulously plotted, I enjoyed reading about the comeuppance that came to the villains and mourned May Daniels' murder. Women are NOT surplus and should not be treated this way, but in some fields very little has truly changed. I heartily recommend this book to mystery lovers and those who want to find out more about these five women and how they band together to find the murderer. Although I received an ARC, my opinions are my own and freely given.

I was provided both an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley and the SMP Influencers Program, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the narrator and thought she did a great job voicing not only Dorothy, but the other Queens and characters as the story unfolds. It made it really fun to go on this adventure with these ladies as they solved this crime and try to sort out all of the evidence as well as build each other up and establish their friendships.

This was delightful! If you are a fan of historical fiction and classic mysteries this will take you on a fun adventure through England and France to solve a murder with some of the most famous mystery writers of all time. Dorothy Sayers, whom I didn't know anything about prior to this book, was a real person, a successful mystery writer, and a founding member of the very real writer's group The Detection Club which apparently still exists to this day. Dorothy is appalled that The Detection Club initially is not open to admitting female writers despite their success outside of Dorothy and the also famous Agatha Christie, so she invites 3 additional writer friends to join her to solve a real murder case to prove to the men that they are not only worthy of membership in the club but a cut above. The group of five capable ladies makes up the Queens of Crime.

This story is told from Dorothy's point of view as the Queen's gather information about the victim and the crime scene as and piece together the solution as the characters from their novels would. The victim is being painted in a poor light by the French police and in the newspapers, but the Queen's will not give up on justice for May Daniels. With all the makings of a locked room mystery that they are all familiar with writing, they have to work together as a team to put the puzzle pieces together to solve May's murder and tell her story. I loved the way the women worked together. Their group was so realistic as the story unfolded. Their interactions were filled with snark and jokes, pain when secrets were kept, and concern and compassion when one of their own was in need. I was engaged the entire time, trying to figure out the mystery and who-dun-it myself. I loved the characters and their interactions and felt like I was there with them as they traveled between London and France to gather clues and investigate.

As with all historical fiction books, I highly recommend reading the author's note to understand what liberties were taken with the facts, what was fabricated, and what was factual. This book has inspired me to look into these women and read some of their books, as the only one I was aware of prior was Agatha Christie. The author's research into the time and the women clearly shows as the story is told.

Marie Benedict's novels are always such a treat, and the premise of this one is SO fun, I love how she blends historical reality with fiction, and her latest book, we embark on a journey with five mystery writers, as they attempt to solve a murder. They called their club the queens of crime, a sub group of a bigger club that is mostly men. I think this book did a good job of exposing what the times were like, especially for women, while being very feminist, and telling a wonderful story about characters I cared about. Highly recommend. Thank you in NetGalley for a comp title in exchange for an honest review.

I have always enjoyed Marie Benedict's novels, she does such a good job of introducing us to historical women who made a difference in real
life. This book is no different as we go on a journey with five real life mystery writers as they strive to solve a murder. The mystery, who killed a young English nurse who was spending a day in France with a friend? Dorothy L. Sayers, along with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy start their own small club called The Queens of Crime. This club is a subgroup of the Dectection Club, where all the members are mystery writers and the mostly men group looks down on their female counterparts.

Solving the mystery is interesting and well handled but I was more engrossed by the misogyny in their trade and how these women who work alone as writers need to learn how to work together and use their tricks of their trade, how they have their fictional detectives solve crimes. This is 1931 and women are certainly not given a lot of respect by the police and authorities.

I recommend this novel, it is an interesting read. I do hope there is an Author's Notes in the published copy, I missed how Benedict blended history and fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Queens of Crime is Marie Benedict's newest historical fiction novel. In it, 5 women mystery writers including Agatha Christie become part of a writers club called the Detection Club. As a way to become more accepted in the group, the women go about working to solve a real crime. As a fan of historical fiction, Marie Benedict is one of my auto reads and I think this is my favorite of all her books I have read.

This book was a lot of fun. An unsolved murder taken into the hands of 5 women crime writers. They are tired of men ignoring them and are determined to solve the murder of a woman strangled in a park in France. Together, the take their book writing skills and apply them to real life, determined to find out what really happened. I loved the history woven throughout this book. The main characters were so fun - I loved that they were all crime writers and women, often not taken seriously by men. I found that the characters and their interactions were amazing. The mystery behind the book was fascinating. I was engaged from page one and despite the 400+ pages, the book flew by. I had this in audio and ebook and switched between the two seamlessly. They were both incredible. 
Pub Day: February 11, 2025
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copies.

<b>Queens of Delight</b>
<i>A review of the St. Martin's Press NetGalley Kindle ARC (downloaded January 31, 2024) in advance of the St. Martin's Press hardcover/eBook/audiobook release (February 11, 2025).</i>

This was right up my alley as books from The Golden Age of Detection (1920 - 1940 or so) are among my top favourite guilty pleasures. The original quartet of The Queens of Crime are my favourite authors from that period.
<img src="https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/476503895_29424053713860034_7523954519253330522_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=KzzBB5zMW_cQ7kNvgFtGijN&_nc_oc=AdjIAZpm9Ir7AcfFHM0JziHoI1-nMwTgWpLGoqK0sLh14hIVMrU6gKNjUCoBXpSRFTI&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&_nc_gid=A_I01ofqMVDzyXf4yzip0m2&oh=00_AYDreOh2O9n2hIU5wgY0QuK1rCCtPzWsrSODe-zfuRDU1g&oe=67AC25DE">
<i>A quick summary of the 4 Queens of Crime. Text generated by Copilot AI.</i>

Marie Benedict expands the classic foursome into a quintet by adding Baroness Emma Orczy to the podium. That is substantiated due to the Baroness being one of the original members of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detection_Club">The Detection Club</a> (1930-), although these days she is best known for her adventure novels featuring <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/168426-the-scarlet-pimpernel-publication-order">The Scarlet Pimpernel</a>. Orczy did write one of the first professional female detectives though, with her [book:Lady Molly of Scotland Yard|1207098] (1910).

Benedict does bend history somewhat by including Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham into the mix well before they actually joined the Detection Club, but there are good reasons for that decision as well. Possibly some of that is explained in the author's Afterword which was not yet available in the NetGalley ARC that I read.

In any case, this was a total delight as the setup has Dorothy Sayers enlisting the other four in an effort to solve an actual cold case which both the English and the French authorities have dismissed as a possible drug-related suicide. English nurse and one-day excursion tourist May Daniels disappeared while on a trip to France in somewhat of a locked-room scenario. Her body was found weeks afterwards with a morphine syringe by her side.

The team use their various connections and their methods of detection honed from their writing skills to uncover the culprits behind the crime. There are callbacks to Benedict's earlier Agatha Christie related historical fiction [book:The Mystery of Mrs. Christie|54221749] (2020) as well as a subplot related to a secret in Dorothy Sayers' own real life. Knowing the true life backgrounds to much of these writers' lives did enhance my enjoyment here, but it is not necessary for other readers. You will likely be curious to follow up on some of the Golden Age writing yourself though!

My thanks to the author, the publisher St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this preview ARC, in exchange for which I provide this honest review.

<b>Trivia and Link</b>
There is a book trailer for <i>The Queens of Crime</i> which you can watch on YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RufcyNKo6g">here</a>.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is a mystery book reader's delight! Favorite mystery writers unite to solve a real life murder. What a treat!! Benedict really brought the queens to life, their interests and quirks, and even their writing process as they delve into solving real life crime. Friendships are made and explored as they learn how to rely upon each other as a team. The real life mystery was engaging with twists and turns. A wonderful read!
Thanks to #NetGalley and #St. Martin's Press for the Arc.

Five women crime writers become the Queens of Crime as they investigate the murder of young British women found in France. Set in the 1930's, these women are determined and resolute in finding the answers as the local authorities have blown off the case.

The pacing was a bit slow and un-intriguing, and the story needed to be infused with more more drama/excitement.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press.

Such an interesting plot & the characters were great!

Didn't blow my socks off but kept me on my toes wanting more.

I am a huge Marie Benedict fan - I love all her books and I especially loved The Mitford Affair. This one fell flat for me though. I enjoyed the storyline of the murder but the women authors who felt they had to solve it came off as they just had nothing better to do. I understand it was because they wanted to fit in with the men in the Detectives Club, but solving a real murder was not the way to do that. It took me a while to get through it and thank goodness this one is over. I hope her next one will be better but I really do like it when she teams up with Victoria Christopher Murray for books.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I am not a reviewer who will retell the plot, just my feelings towards the book as the reader can look up the plot themselves.

Solving a crime proves harder than devising one

In early 1931 noted mystery author Dorothy Sayers is helping to found a new organization of mystery writers to be known as the Detection Club, dedicated to supporting one another in their craft and banding together to help their genre gain more respect in literary circles. Alas, while no one disputes that Dorothy herself should belong and all agree that the equally well-regarded Agatha Christie should as well, there are grumblings that there oughtn't be an "abundance of women" in the group; the male writers argue that having more than the two women in the club would undermine their reputation in all that they are trying to achieve. Not inclined to allow this chauvinistic hesitancy to stand, Dorothy enlists Agatha's aid in a subterfuge to force the group's hand into inducting three additional women writers more than worthy of admittance....namely the Baroness Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. They are able to gain admittance for the five of them through their machinations, but just as a horse can be led to water but not made to drink male authors can be made to admit women to their new club but not forced to accept them as peers. Feeling slighted and more than a little annoyed at being frozen out by their male counterparts, the women (at Dorothy's instigation) decide to prove to the men that they are more than worthy of their places in the Detection Club...by solving a real life murder. The recent case of a young British nurse who disappeared while on a day trip to Boulogne with a friend has had both the French and British police stymied, and her dead body has only recently been found. Dorothy's husband, journalist Mac Fleming, has just been assigned to head to France to report on the murder and Dorothy will tag along. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mac, the other four women will descend upon Boulogne as well, and the five (having dubbed themselves the Queens of Crime) will use their skills heretofore devoted to devising mysteries to instead attempt to solve the murder of May Daniels. They soon discover that a heinous crime like this is no parlor game, nor is the victim a fictional creation...it is deadly serious, and the five women will be putting themselves in danger if the killer discovers their endeavors.
As a lifelong lover of mysteries (I started with Nancy Drew and The Bobbsey Twins and never looked back) and someone who has read pretty much the entire canon of most of these women of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, once I read the first blurb for this novel I knew I had to read it. Author Marie Benedict introduces these five distinct women of differing ages, backgrounds, and even nations of origin (Ngaio Marsh being from New Zealand, the Baroness Orzcy Hungarian) who share at least one characteristic...they are all women writers of high caliber whose chosen speciality is the mystery novel. In a time when women working in general was not universally accepted, choosing to write in a genre that was thought of as a masculine domain was certainly bold. As the story unfolds the reader watches the women evolve from colleagues to friends, learning about each of their life experiences and current circumstances (and secrets they hold) even as the mystery they are working to solve heats up. Combining historical fiction, a paean to the value of women's friendships and a twist on the locked room mystery, The Queens of Crime is an enjoyable read with an entertaining premise. While I wouldn't say that the mystery component is equal to those written by the actual writers portrayed (that would be a pretty high bar, after all) it was still quite a bit of fun, a solid 3,5 rounded up to a 4 given the concept behind the novel. Fans of any of the writers portrayed will certainly enjoy seeing them stretch their literary skills to solve a real-life murder, and readers of authors like Allison Pataki, Paula McLain and Fiona Davis (plus those who enjoyed earlier works by author Marie Benedict) should add this to their TBR list. Many thanks to NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for allowing me access to this engaging novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this arc/alc.

I was highly anticipating reading this book as I have read several other historical fiction books by Marie Benedict and really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, this was not one of those books. I am majorly disappointed. I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about this book, but I just feel that I really couldn't connect with the story or the characters unfortunately and it kind of felt like a chore to read. With that being said, I did like the audiobook narrator, Bessie Carter and I thought she had a very pleasant voice. I definitely still want to read more books by Marie Benedict in the future, it's just that this particular book was not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this arc/alc.