Book Review: The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

“The New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie returns with a thrilling story of Christie’s legendary rival Dorothy Sayers, the race to solve a murder, and the power of friendship among women.”

Goodreads blurb for The Queens of Crime

Review:

I’m always excited to see which female in history Marie Benedict decides to write about. This time around, she’s writing about a group of women, namely Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, and Emma Orczy. 

When a young woman (May Daniels) is found dead, this team of five authors find themselves investigating her case, using their skills as mystery writers to track down her killer. 

This book felt different from other Marie Benedict novels I’ve read and I enjoyed it. I might have enjoyed it a bit more with fewer main characters (though the emphasis is on Dorothy Sayers), but it felt like a nice homage to these ‘Queens of Crime’. I also enjoyed the camaraderie between these female writers who had to band together in a male-dominated industry. 

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• I enjoyed that this was a mystery novel about these mystery writers. I’ve read another mystery involving Agatha Christie in the past but it didn’t pull it off as well as The Queens of Crime did.

What I didn’t like:

• I struggled to be wholly invested in the plot and characters.

Afterthoughts:

After Marie Benedict’s previous release, I felt like I was in a slump with this author. I found this one refreshing.

Where to buy the book: