Loved that there were 5 authors, but only told the story from the perspective of one. A really fun concept with a good ending. Felt at points it dragged but overall good.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict was a historical mystery about female mystery authors of the Golden Age including Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, among others. While the story was completely fictional, the characters were based - at least loosely - on the real women. It was great fun to imagine what these strong women could have accomplished by combining their sleuthing skills and applying them to a real murder. In The Queens of Crime, that is just what they did.

This book felt much lighter than other books I have read by Marie Benedict, probably to match the tone of the books these women wrote. The plot points came together very easily so that I almost felt like I was reading a book by one of these classic mystery authors. The tone felt like more light hearted than hardcore history, although there was a strong sense of women speaking up for themselves and being taken seriously.

I will recommend this to readers who like mysteries by the Golden Age authors.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Queen of Crimes by Marie Benedict is an absolute gem of a read! Set in 1930s London, it follows the fascinating story of five iconic women crime writers—Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy—who form a secret society to solve an actual murder and prove their worth in a male-dominated literary world. The murder mystery itself is intriguing, with a young woman found dead under mysterious circumstances that echo the locked-room mysteries these authors are famous for. Benedict does an excellent job of bringing these legendary women to life, portraying them as strong, clever, and determined to be taken seriously. The mix of real-life history with fictional intrigue is seamless, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the women come together to uncover the truth. The Queen of Crimes is a compelling, well-written read that will captivate fans of historical fiction and mystery alike. Highly recommended!

Imagine if some of the world’s best female mystery writers joined together and became the characters in their own stories to solve a crime. That’s the premise of this novel by Marie Benedict. I found it to be an interesting tale with strong characters who pushed back against society in a time when women were not viewed to be as important as men. The detailed descriptions helped put me in the right time and place (early 1900’s in London and France), although I did find it to be a little bit wordy in some areas. Overall, I enjoyed following Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie with their 3 other mystery writers the “Queens of Crime”, as they dubbed themselves) working towards solving the murder of a young woman. The story kept me guessing with a few red herrings along the way!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Another great title by the amazing Marie Benedict. I cannot believe how each of her books are just greater and greater. This book featured supremely powerful women. A secret society of crime writers.

In the Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict pays tribute to the pioneers of female detective writers in what was arguably the golden age for the genre. The leader of the group is Dorothy Sayers, who is joined by Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Orczy. In a bid to become accepted into a society of male detective fiction writers, the ladies decide to solve a real-life unsolved murder. Kudos to Ms Benedict for choosing such a clever way to showcase both the personalities of her subjects and their literary approaches to detection.

Although the dialogue feels a bit stilted, that hardly seemed to matter as the investigation progressed and reached its satisfying conclusion. Ms. Benedict’s subjects would have been very pleased with her effort.

Unique and amazing story - about 5 famous female mystery writers solving a real crime!

This was such a fun story! If you've ever wondered what it would be like to sit in a room and kick around ideas about plot and characters with Agatha Christie, then this is the story for you!

5 famous female authors join a male dominated club. The men aren't excited to accept women in their ranks and they are not excited to think about a whole 5 of them joining! So the women decide to prove their worth by solving a real crime - a story of a missing women that has become a murder mystery.

This book had amazing female friendships and a great mystery. The chapters were quick and the tension kept me turning the pages. Each new twist, I wanted to applaud just how smart these 5 women were, to discover the things they did! This one was so fun! I can't recommend it enough!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict’s latest, combines her standard historic biographical novels with a locked room mystery.
Loosely inspired by a real event in Dorothy Sayers’ life, Benedict provides an ending for what, in real life, was an unsolved murder. In addition, she brings together five of the golden age female mystery writers.
Even though Dorothy Sayers was the energy behind the formation of the Detection Club, the men still fought the inclusion of too many women. So, Dorothy, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy name themselves the Queens of Crime. They decide the way to win the men’s respect is to solve a real murder. They embark on a quest to solve the locked room murder of May Daniels, a young nurse found murdered in France.
This was a fun, entertaining story. It’s told solely from Dorothy’s perspective, but the reader gets a decent feel for the others. We also learn important facts about her personal life.
There’s a wee bit too much emphasis in the beginning on the fashions of each woman as a means to differentiate their personalities. I was more impressed with Benedict’s thoughts about “surplus women” after WWI, discounting female witnesses or finding intellectual fulfillment in marriage.
The story moves at a strong pace with little downtime. It worked well as the women realize writing about detectives is very different than being one. Benedict acquits herself well as a mystery writer.
I was sorry that there was not an Author’s Note, something I expect from a historical story. This is an ARC, so hopefully that omission is fixed before publication.
I appreciated having both the e-book and the audio for this story. Bessie Carter did a good job as narrator.
My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.

The Queens of Crime was a slow start for me. The second half of the book picked up a bit, but it was still a little slow. There was only one “side plot” which teallly didn’t add too much to the main plot line. Not my favorite book this month, also not my least favorite. Middle of the pack for me..

Imagine five of the leading, female mystery writers getting together to solve a real crime after being rebuffed by their male counterparts. Their thinking is that if they can do that, their credibility would be greatly enhanced, not to mention a big poke in the eye of their male colleagues. The famous authors are Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and Emma Orczy, all accomplished writers and well known in their field. They call themselves the Queen’s of Crime, and agree to work together to solve a mystery. As luck would have it, the murder of a young woman, May Daniels, a year past comes to light when her body is found lying in a pool of blood. Dorothy's husband Mac, a journalist is involved with the police as they conduct a half hearted investigation that includes working with the press to smear the young woman’s reputation and blame her death on her. Kind of crazy but no unusual in 1950’s when women were either “surplus” (having done men’s jobs during the war, but having to give them back to men when they returned, making them “surplus”) or prostitutes or housewives. Vastly different in temperament, the 5 authors work together this young woman’s murder and bring the perpetrator to justice.

Told from Dorothy’s perspective, The Queens of Crime is a vastly entertaining look into the minds of five highly creative women as they do battle against indifferent police, powerful men and social mores, beating them all at their own game, solving the murder and exposing the incompetence and indifference of those who should have done better for May and women like her. Full of wit and humor, compassionate and creative, and great insight into how each woman works to solve crimes in their own novels, The Queens of Crime is a really great story and definitely worth the read!

I love to read anything by Marie Benedict as she has the talent to make all the characters come off the page and enter into my own world and I am spellbound by her story telling. This is another such book and I highly recommend it. It is set in 1930 in London, at a time when writing is a male dominated world. A group of 5 very talented female crime authors bind together to form an authors club. The goal of this club is to solve current crimes before the police are able to do so and write the stories. The characters are some you might recognize: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Emma Orczy. The reader will follow the team of women as they work behind the scenes to solve two murders. Their skills at writing lead them to the answers and they do gain the respect of their fellow writers. The story is captivating and all the characters are introduced and developed beautifully. You will not be disappointed with this book.

I wish to thank Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this story of real female mystery writers working to solve an actual murder. It was a unique perspective to a murder mystery story.

This may be my favorite Marie Benedict novel. She combined my two favorite genres, historical fiction and mystery, then added five legendary female writers to tell the tale.

Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie are joined by Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham to form a secret society of female crime writers. The Queens of Crime wish to solve a true-life murder mystery so that the male members of The Detection Club will be more accepting of them.

An English nurse is found dead in France and the police and press are doing their best to murder this girl’s reputation. Our Queens,using their writing and detective skills are fighting not just the patriarchy but a killer who seems to have his sights on Sayers.

This book had plenty of mystery but it also highlighted female friendship and how extraordinary it was for five female writers to be successful in the 1930s.

This book felt like a breaking of the fourth wall and seeing behind the curtains of what it must have been like to be Christie or Sayer. It was a wonderful treat for the reader. You already know the characters so it seems familiar in a good way. Benedict seamlessly weaves historical facts into this story which added so much to my overall enjoyment of this book.

My highest compliment for a writer is she made me Google for more information and add more books to my list of books to read. Marie Benedict did both.

I’m so happy to have had the chance to read the Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy of The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict; thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

This entertaining locked-room story had five successful female crime writers pursuing clues, not from behind their desks, but by following the last steps taken by May Daniels, the victim of this unsolved crime. Writing is a lonely profession, but this story combined each of these capable ladies and their experience with fictional detective work into a group determined to find justice. By understanding the different moments of the victims life, they worked together to uncover the evidence needed to solve her death. This story showed that these “Queens of Crime” could push the boundaries of the times with the stories they wrote, and also with their support and admiration for each other.

The Queens of Crime
by Marie Benedict
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you NetGalley. St. Martin’s Press, AND Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was approved for the advanced reader copy as well as the advanced listener copy of this book. I chose to read it rather than listen.

Another story featuring Agatha Christie, this time as a side character to her rival (though I don’t know how true that is) Dorothy Sayers.

Dorothy’s formation of the Detection Club, and her championing of suffrage, in a way, leads to the surprise induction of 4 more (one being Agatha herself!) women mystery authors. Together with Sayers, they dub themselves the Queens of Crime.

When they are overlooked by their male counterparts within the club, they set out on a whirlwind adventure to solve a real murder.

This story is typical of Marie Benedict- intriguing, captivating and entertaining.

I took off half of a star because there were some parts of Dorothy’s life that I either wanted more details on or wanted too many details edited out.

The Queens of Crime is an excellent way to bump up your personal TBR list, as you will likely want to read the works of the five women mystery writers who are the heroines of this story. Most of us are familiar with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, but the other women who round out the list are not as well known now as they were during the Golden Age of detective fiction. Good historical fiction makes us want to know more about our characters and their place in history. Thankfully these prolific authors leave us much to explore.
While I appreciated these strong women characters, I also very much enjoyed the intricate details of the settings. From lush hotels to seedy back alleys, the author draws a realistic picture of the time period.
Marie Benedict is a master of research. She paints the story in believable style and maintains a good pacing of events. This is quite an enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC of The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict.

"The Queens of Crime" is the latest of author Marie Benedict's historical fiction novels and continues her tradition of shining a light on unusual women in history who might otherwise not have their stories told. In this outing, Benedict gathers five of the most prominent women mystery writers of the Golden Age of detective fiction--Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy--and gives them a shared goal: to gain respect in the newly formed Detection Club, a society for mystery writers that would rather not accept these women as members. Calling themselves "The Queens of Crime," the women, under the direction of the indomitable Sayers, decide to solve a real-life crime to show their bona fides, and are soon investigating the "locked room" disappearance and murder of English nurse May Daniels. But when the trail of May's killer leads to powerful members of the English establishment, Sayers soon finds her own life--as well as a secret she has kept from virtually everyone--at risk.

As she has in previous books, Benedict takes a nugget of actual history--in this case the real-life murder of May Daniels and Dorothy Sayers and her reporter husband's subsequent investigation into the crime as well as the five women writers at the center of the story--and surrounds it with her story in a way that sometimes makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction. My quibble is that sometimes Benedict lays her research on a bit thickly; all the tidbits she throws in are interesting but don't aways feel organic to the story, which itself can sometimes seem a bit far fetched. These are minor issues, however, and if you enjoy Golden Age detective fiction or period pieces (this is set in London in 1930), then "The Queens of Crime" will please.

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

Set in London in 1930, mystery author Dorothy Sayers has helped create the Detection Club, a collection of writers. But when the Club treats the females Dorothy has recruited (Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy) as second-class citizens, the women come up with an idea to prove their worth: they’ll solve a real-life murder.

In a locked-room style mystery, a young English nurse, May Daniels, entered a bathroom while on vacation with her friend…and never came back out. But when her body is discovered months later, authorities are quick to blame May for her own demise (vintage victim blaming!). Dorothy and her friends, referring to themselves as the Queens of Crime, take it upon themselves to do the job the police don’t seem interested in doing. The Queens will face personal threats, red herrings, and societal limitations to not only show what they are capable of but to properly honor the life of a woman’s life that was cut too short.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and Marie Benedict writes it so well! The combination of mystery with some of the greatest writers of all time in main character roles was creative and fun. The secret of who killed May Daniels unravels nicely throughout the book, uncovering connections between unlikely characters. The pacing of the book was great and made me want to keep reading! The frustration the Queens felt at being marginalized and underestimated is palpable – a feeling that unfortunately many of us still experience today.

This is a great book for anyone who loves historical fiction, mystery, and strong women!

Delving into the lives of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers in this mystery set in the 1930's was fantastic. The book hooked me right away and I loved following the clues with the Queens of Crime. I loved learning more about the different female authors of that time. It's infuriating how women used to be treated and we still have a long way to go for equal rights. I'm excited to read more of the author's books.

This was an enjoyable mystery. Now I need to read some classic mysteries written by the Queens. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.