The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

 The Queens of Crime bring five powerful women crime writers who demand recognition of their mystery genre. It is inspired by a true story of Dorothy Sayers’ own life.

London, 1931. The five great female writers come together and form Detection Club - an organization of mystery writers created due to lack of consideration for their work as literature. Dorothy L. Sayers leads the group which includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. Their goal is to elevate the mystery genre so the detective novels are seen as good as literary fiction. But in the male dominated world, their club rather causes them to be even more ostracized. To prove their worth, they decide to solve a real-life murder.

Recently, the murder case of May Daniels, a young English nurse, resurfaced as her body was found in a park in France. Four months earlier, she disappeared into thin-air in France, after stepping into a bathroom at the train station before bounding for England. Police reported that there was only one way in and one way out, and her friend was waiting for her outside the bathroom.

Dorothy’s husband is a journalist who previously covered the story. Now, he’s heading back to France to cover the story again. This gives Dorothy an idea to tag along with her husband, and her four co-detectives would travel to France in secret and reconnect there to get a scoop on the details.

As the women uncover details, they follow in May’s footsteps in the order they occurred. There are perplexing clues but they are good at untangling them. But this private investigation turns against Dorothy when the killer targets her, threatening to expose a secret which she’d prefer to keep hidden.

This insightful story delves into a theme of the marginalized women and how they had to propel themselves to be taken seriously. There was a reluctance to investigate the murder of a woman, and the women became serous about solving it.

The narrative is original and each of five women has her distinct voice. This is a plot-driven story which is different from this author’s previous books which are character-driven. This is an excellent read for those who enjoy plot-driven stories.

Released in February 2025

Source: St. Martin's Press