THE QUEENS OF CRIME by Marie Benedict

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC eGalley — pub. date February 11, 2025

A historical fiction book that is well written and researched of a group of strong women, by Marie Benedict. Five great women crime authors come together to form a secret society to show their male counterparts of the legendary Detection Club that they will not be treated as second class citizens. Writer, Dorothy L. Sayers is the leader of this club with writers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. They decide to solve a murder of a young woman that was strangled in France and bring the culprit or culprits to justice.

I had never heard of this Detection Club, formed by a group of British mystery writers in 1930. This club still exists today. I thought the author skillfully wove the personalities and working relationships the crime writers had into this story. I appreciate how Marie Benedict writes about strong women and matters concerning them; usually something I’m not familiar with. I did think this was unlike some of her other books I’ve read. Written more like a cozy mystery read. A perfect read for a February 11th pub date, with a cup of tea and snuggled up in a blanket by the fire.

My copy of The Queens of Crime is a digital advanced copy, and doesn’t come with notes from Benedict on how much of this book is based on real life events, and I sorely wish it did. The book is about five female mystery writers in the early thirties partnering up to solve a murder, and prove they should be just as respected as their male colleagues. The story is narrated by Dorothy Sayers, and also features the very well known Agatha Christie and lesser known Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham. The women find their gender to both their benefit and their disadvantage as they try to find justice for May Daniels, a young nurse that disappeared in Bourgogne, France and whose body was later found. The book periodically strays off course from the main plot, likely to provide historical details and show the relationships of women with each other when they’re used to living in a world of men. Some of these moments work better than others. The mystery itself tends to unfold in a slower, more plodding way without the cleverness of a real Christie novel, but still works. I like how it shows how women struggled to be taken seriously, but I wish that the story itself felt more complex than it does. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The quintessential Queens of Crime authors, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh, jump from the pages of their mystery novels to solving a crime in real life in London, 1931. This story, inspired by events in Dorothy's life, was compelling and page turning. At one of the meetings of the Detection club, Dorothy and Agatha selected the cleverest women mystery writers to form a club within the club and they became fast friends as they were drawn to solving the death of nurse May Daniels. The novel shares how the women used their problem solving skills and writing processes to gather evidence, eliminate 'red herrings,' draw out the possible suspects, and come to a satisfying end of the story.
As a huge Marie Benedict fan, this latest novel did not disappoint. I found the characters engaging, the mystery intriguing, and the writing entertaining. If you are looking for a charming mystery, I highly recommend this new book!

#TheQueensofCrime #NetGalley #historicalfiction
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have enjoyed all of Marie Benedict’s novels, and The Queens of Crime is no exception. The author has a knack for finding unknown or mis-understood women in history and taking the reader into their lives The Queens of Crime follows 5 golden age women mystery writers. They have determined to join and influence a mystery writers society. They team up to use the skills used in writing mysteries to solve a real life mystery. A young English women went missing and then was found murdered in France. The 5 women team up to use their powers of observation and deduction to find out what happened to the English nurse May Daniels.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

I liked the premise of a group of famous female writers getting together and befriending each other, as well as supporting their work, and trying to be seen as equal in a male-biased landscape. But I had a hard time connecting to the characters in the story and kept losing interest in the plot line.

The mystery itself was rather slow, and often repetitive, as well as very predictable. I wanted to like it but I just kept getting bored, I think in part because the characters felt a little flat to me, and at times, not believable.

All in all, interesting concept in general and was glad to be introduced to the authors I knew little about.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

The Queens of Crime" by Marie Benedict is a riveting homage to the pioneering women of mystery fiction, blending fact and fiction with skillful precision. Benedict brings to life the stories of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and their contemporaries, capturing their struggles and triumphs in a male-dominated literary world. The narrative is rich with historical detail, and Benedict's prose is both engaging and insightful, illuminating the personal and professional challenges these authors faced. While some plotlines could be tightened for pacing, the character development and exploration of creativity and resilience shine through. Overall, this book is a delightful and empowering read, earning a well-deserved four stars for its tribute to these iconic figures.

Five women in the 1930s who are mystery book authors, find they are not as openly accepted by their male peers. They come together to solve a locked room mystery, giving a voice to a young female victim. This book was quite fun to read as the women came together, piecing the clues to solve what happened to May Daniels. We get glimpses into the women’s lives, making them human and real, and we see the obstacles they faced in being taken seriously. A part of me wishes this would turn into a series as I would gladly read the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC e-book.
The Queens of Crime was a great story and tribute to the legendary women of mystery fiction. This story about Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and other literary giants was expertly told to give a new perspective on their struggles and triumphs. As a long-time over of crime novels, I really enjoyed reading this. Any fans of the crime and mystery genre should read this.

Another captivating read by Marie Benedict! The Queens of Crime follows a troupe of mystery writers, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, as they attempt to solve a locked room murder mystery to cement their places in a Detection Club that looks down on them for being women. The women uncover clues that officials don't, or intentionally overlook, to bring justice to a young woman. While it started slow, it really picked up around a quarter of the way through as the team started uncovering clues.

Marie Benedict has done it again! She has written another amazing historical fiction novel that fans of hers will love. What I love most about her books are her strong female characters, and she has introduced us to a whole new cast of amazing women!

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict is a really fun, interesting and satisfying read for anyone who like me, loves a good historic or mystery novel. The story centers around five female mystery writers, Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham who band together and call themselves The Queens of Crime. They decide to try to solve a real life crime in order to be recognized as creditable and on par with their male writer mystery counterparts. They take on a real life unsolved murder of May Daniels, was a young English nurse who disappeared while on vacation in France. Things soon turn serious as they follow the trail of clues and realize they are closer than ever of solving the mystery. This book was well written and kept me engaged until the very last page!

The Queens of Crime indeed!!! Marie Benedict is a queen of historical fiction! I absolutely love the mysteries the women in this book have written and so getting to read a book about them solving a murder together was a real treat! Dorothy Sayers was such a brilliant woman and author and this story really showed how brilliant she was. Being in the real life Detection Club with these women would have been absolutely amazing and I loved getting to read about it! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!!

I became a fan of Agatha Christie in high school. But what has become more intriguing to me was her real life disappearance in 1926. The Queens of Crime touches on this disappearance and the initiation of the real life Detection Club, formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers including Agatha and Dorothy Sayers. This book mimics those classics penned in the 1930's, known as "The Golden Age of Detective Fiction". The Queens of Crime: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Baroness Emma Orczy attempt to solve a true locked room mystery, and in doing so garner the respect of their male counterparts in the Detection Club.

If you love historical fiction and mystery this book does not disappoint.

This is the tale of five women who were crime authors. They were Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. They called themselves the Queens of Crime.

A nurse, May Daniels, had been murdered but the police surmised that she died of an overdose. This whodunit had everything A first-rate mystery should have. It has suspense, intrigue and Three possible culprits to choose from.

I thought the author did an incredible job developing the storyline. And the characters were oh so believable. They each had their own distinctive personalities and they came from varied walks of life, but they worked well together. Dorothy was the ringleader and Agatha was her sidekick. They were up against terrible odds with the police believing May was a drug addict. They believed that because they found a syringe next to her body. They also believed she had gone to France to conduct some kind of drug transaction. Along with the syringe, they found an excessive amount of blood under her. It turns out she was pregnant.

Everyone in the story, including May, was from London, but the murder took place in France.

All in all, I was extremely impressed with this book and I would love to read other books by this author. I gave it five stars.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was fun with the five murder mystery authors solving a real life crime. I enjoyed the dynamic between the five women and how Benedict highlighted how often a woman’s opinion was ignored and women were cast to aside in 1930s Britain.

It gave a voice to women during that time. I also enjoyed the murder mystery aspect, although the ending was not the big plot twist I imagined (I think I read too many twisty thrillers). Overall, this read like a cozy mystery novel and was an interesting read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Queens of Crime made me want to read more books! I am familiar with Agatha Christie and vaguely familiar with Dorothy L Slayers but was introduced to new favorites!! The way in which the authors are written made me want to dive into their books and learn more about their lives.
I appreciated that the story was written from Dorothy L Slayers. I liked learning more about her, the struggles of being an authoress at the time and her newlywed experience.

I'm still thinking about this book months later! For a lover of books, this was the perfect mystery! Would be great for a book club.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I’m a huge Marie Benedict fan but unfortunately this fell so flat compared to her others and I had to Dnf at 50 percent

A nice combination for lovers of historical fiction and mystery/crime. It is an interesting concept of mystery writers solving a crime, as well as showcasing how women were/are underestimated and undervalued. The book has quite a slow start, but I pushed through and was rewarded with a good story. There were a few confusing parts, but overall while addressing hard topics, the book was a lighter easy read.
3.5 stars, rounded to 4 on NetGalley

I agree with the other reviewer that this book starts slowly but it is worth sticking with it, The women solving the the murder is fun. It show what little respect women received at the time. They had to fight hard for any respect.

I usually Benedict’s books but this one didn’t work for me I lasted through halfway maybe I’ll pick it up again one day