I'm a big fan of Marie Benedict, and I thought this book was pretty good! If you enjoy Agatha Christie and that style of mystery, you'll likely find this one really enjoyable.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC audiobook for review. Marie Benedict always knows how to bring history to life as all of her historical fiction stories are always based on a nugget of truth. There really was the life and murder of Dorothy Sayers, although the murder was never solved. This book brings together the top women mystery writers of that time period, including the infamous Agatha Christie, to solve the mystery of Dorothy’s murder. Benedict shows the struggle for women writers of the time period in being taken seriously for their craft and their intelligence beyond who they are married to.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Marie Benedict novel and I thought it was written really well. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a murder mystery. I really liked the use of real historical figures as well.

London, 1930, five of the most successful female mystery writers band together to secure entry into the male only Detectives Club. Since women are not generally welcome in the all-male club, in order to do so they need to prove their worth (apparently their best sellers are not enough) and so they find a real-life crime to solve. They find the case of May Daniels, a young nurse who has gone missing since she went to France with a friend. The women work well together and investigate even though one of the women starts to receive threats and is put in danger.

I really enjoyed this one, I love when real-life people are characters (Agatha Christie is one of the authors) and the mystery was fun to see it reveal itself throughout the book. Both the twists of the mystery storyline and learning about the characters made this a fun read. I loved listening to a good portion of this book because the narrator was great (always love a good accent), although at points it got a little confusing and I'm glad I had the book to refer back to and read. I have loved the Marie Benedict novels I have read so far (I finished the Mitford Affair after this one) and I will look to her backlist for more while I patiently wait for her next novel.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC to review

This was just scrummy! Grab a cup of tea and a scone and settle in your most comfy chair for this cozy mystery about female mystery writers solving a real life mystery. Come on! What could be better!

Historical fiction author Marie Benedict has once again written a compelling story about strong females. 1930 in London, crime writer Dorothy L. Sayers brings together four more of the greatest female crime writers to try and show the men that they are their equals. Becoming a group known as the “queens of crime”, Sayers along with these other female crime writers, believe that they only way to show the men of the day their worth is to solve a real crime.

Benedict spins together a compelling story featuring mid-way crime writers in the style of a mid-war crime (using a true murder from the time period) novel, à la the Scarlet Pimpernel, Poirot, Miss Marple, etc.

The detective story lover in me just loved this! A fantastic cast of characters, and a joy to listen to, and the narration by Bessie Carter, famous from Bridgerton, was perfection. Brava!

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Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers were some of my favorite authors growing up. I've read their full oeuvres over the years. So it was fun to see them as the main characters in murder mystery and think about how their personalities - and experience writing murder mysteries - would lend themselves to solving one.

The murder itself was a bit generic. I think the personalities of the Queens of Crime and their growing friendships are really what made this book such a fun read for me. I was sad to say goodbye them to them at the end of the book, but I did learn some new things about their lives that I didn't know.

This was excellent on audiobook. The narrator did a wonderful job.


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

I haven’t found a Marie Benedict book that I haven’t enjoyed. Her latest, The Queens of Crime was a great listen.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (Goodreads Author)
Narrated by: Bessie Carter
Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
Release date: 02-11-25
My rating: 3 of 5
Bookshelves/tags: 2024, audio, crime-mysteries, england, feminism, france, historical-fiction, netgalley, read, women-centered.

I really appreciated the strong female and feminist theme of this mystery on audiobook. I yearn for novels that give accurate historical information, but also novels which convey the lives of intelligent women who existed in our societies because it is critical and important. I thank Marie Benedict for her devotion to this theme, her research and uncovering of their lives, and her sharing of them in historical fiction. I feel the style of Benedict's verbiage and writing tells the story in a way that we readers "read" about the events in detail, rather than experience, feel or visualize the characters, their circumstances, dilemmas, and outcomes.

This novel begins in 1930's London featuring actual female mystery writers, including: Dorothy Sayers, her rival Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. These women are regularly faced with misogynistic mystery authors, who barely tolerate the women and really don't want many (or any) women in "their" group. These strong women then decide to form their own group called "The Queens of Crime" and decide to solve an actual murder. and prove their worth.

The story is loosely based on a real-life murder where a young nurse, May Daniels, vacations in France and disappears just before departing for home on the ferry back to England. May Daniels turns up a few months later murdered in a park.

I'm not sure if it was the style of writing or the narrator reading the writing, but something didn't click for me and I had really hoped it would. I know many people are huge fans of this author and narrator, and they will more than likely enjoy this novel and audiobook.

NOTE TO GR LIBRARIANS: There isn't an option on GR to choose "audiobook" and I hope someone will add one. Many thanks.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Press, Net Gallery, and the author for my ARC. My review and opinions are mine.

I really enjoyed this fictional mystery featuring real life 1930s crime writers. While I was familiar with Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie, I had not heard of Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy who were their contemporaries. The five women, determined to be taken seriously by the male members of the Detective Club, decide to try their hand at solving a real crime. When the body of a missing English nurse is found France, the group travels between the two countries to investigate.

This story stars five remarkable women from literary history, all of whom were well-drawn and unique. The mystery was intriguing but I did have to listen really carefully to the final chapters as a lot happens in a short time as the mystery comes to a conclusion.

I had a a great time listening to this on audio; Bessie Carter is a talented narrator.

I have read several Marie Benedict books and I think this one, along with The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, are my favorites.

This was a fun twist on a mystery that follows some of the most beloved British female mystery writers. We follow along as they try and solve a real murder in the hopes of gaining the respect they deserve from the male writers in their detective club.

This was a very fun way to mud historical fiction with mystery. The characters used their own way of story telling to suss out the clues and find answers to a murder that no one else was able to solve. It was very enjoyable being a part of this team and watching them work, There are five popular writers in the group but I’ve actually only read Agatha Christie so this put the others on my radar and I have plans to read at least something from each of them in the new year.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the al. via Netgalley!

Listening to the audio version of Marie Benedict’s latest work of historical fiction was nothing short of a treat, as Ms Benedict resurrects five noteworthy female mystery writers, banded together against exclusion in an old boys club , to solve an actual mystery. When the body of a young nurse is found, under odd and suspicious circumstances, Dorothy Sayles. , Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Baroness Emma Orczy form an unbeatable, tenacious and very clever team of investigators. They’ve all written about murder so they surely know how to. proceed. Inconsistencies abound in the police version of the murder. These strong intelligent women mean business as they unravel the details point by point and eventually round up all the suspects in one room to reveal the culprit.

I loved this witty fast paced British who done it, which came to life in the well done audio version perfectly paced and narrated by Bessie Carter. I kept listening way past my bedtime until the ending. Kudos to Ms Benedict who now has shown her talent as a mystery writer. I’d love to see a continuation of investigations by these five sleuths. What fun!

This story is based on an unsolved true murder which made it all the more intriguing. Four stars for a book I recommend for anyone who is a fan of British mysteries. I expect you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. It’s being published on Feb 15, 2025. Put it on your must read list. My thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for providing this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

Marie Benedict has done it again! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC of The Queen of Crimes. The story follows Dorothy Sayers and her female detective writer friends on case of
a murdered nurse that the police just dismissed. Keep you interested from beginning to end Intriguing storyline and strong female characters. Definitely one of her best books yet !!!

This was different than the books I typically read, but it was a nice change of pace. The story is very well written and the main characters are likable. I enjoyed following this group of intelligent female crime writers through the challenge of solving a real crime in the 1930s. The narrator did good job of portraying the characters. I stayed invested the entire time and would recommend it to those that enjoy mystery and historical fiction. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Dnf at 12%

I've realized that I shouldn't waste my time on books that I'm not enjoying. I'm not a fan of the narrator's voice.

Very thankful that I got the arc audio 🫶🏼

I enjoyed this audiobook. Bessie Carter did a wonderful job with bringing Dorothy Sayers to life through her narration. I liked that this was a nice cross between a historical ficiton and mystery (about an actual case that was never solved), which made it very interesting to read. It also made me inclined to read mystery books written by Sayers. As mystery reader, I never heard of her work, so I'm glad that Marie Benedict brought Dorothy to me.

An absolutely exquisite novel! Marie Benedict takes the readers back to a time when some of our favorite classical authors were alive and has them solve a crime for us. It is exciting to walk beside them as they use their gifts, developed in their writings, to give honor to a murdered woman who was cast aside by her killer and the boys of the press and police. I am a fan of this author already but this novel makes me realize what a genuine gift for enveloping the reader and pulling them into the story until they experience every emotion, thought and action as the characters themselves do that Marie Benedict has. Definitely a five star read. Bessie Carter did a wonderful job narrating this fine novel.

I received an audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Marie Benedict does it again! What an interesting take on such fascinating women way ahead of their time.

This was so enjoyable to read. I really liked all the big 1930s female mystery writers out solving their own "real life" mystery, and got really invested in figuring it out myself and was able to figure out some things before they were revealed, which is always fun. I also had all these wild predictions that never happened, but I still enjoyed the puzzle of it all combined with the history and the setting. Also, of course, the inherent feminism was just great, especially the theme of "surplus" women who were single and fending for themselves after so many young men died in WWI. I would love for this to be a whole series, honestly. I would definitely read more.

The Queens of Crime was an excellent read. I love Marie Benedict's books. It involves a combinations of some of the greatest golden era classic murder mystery female authors who decide to form their own personal "club" - The Queens of Crime" to include themselves in the current Mystery Writers Club. While doing this, they find themselves involved in a real life murder mystery! Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie were figured prominently as the two main characters of the group, along with Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Baroness Orczy. This was an enjoyable, well written book and I would love to see it turn into a series.

4.5 stars rounded down to 4.

This is my first book by an author I've been wanting to read for quite some time.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the audiobook. First, I loved the narrator. As someone who reads both physical books and audiobooks I am always extra excited when the narrator does an amazing job. It pulls me into the story that much more.

The Golden Age's 5 best female crime writers come together to solve a murder set in 1930's London (the murder in question is a real life unsolved murder of a woman of the same name as the fictional victim). They've pegged themselves The Queens of Crime.

Led by Dorothy Sayers, and includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. I was only familiar with Christie so it was nice to get some backstory on Dorothy.

May Daniels, a nurse on a trip to France with her friend, seemingly vanishes into thin air right before they're supposed board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods.

This story also touched on topics such as unwed mothers, socioeconomic status, drugs, SA and abortion. Ngaio was my favorite. She was brash, no nonsense and didn't try to conform to societal norms. I wanted more backstory on her, Margery and the Baroness which is the reason I didn't give it 5 stars. I highly recommend this book.