Read time: 2 minutes
Details:
Genre: Historical mystery
🎧 Listening to Audio
🎙️ Narrated by: Bessie Carter
⏱️ Length: 10 hours
Book Blurb:
In The Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict invites readers into the glittering yet shadowy world of the Golden Age of detective fiction. The novel reimagines the lives of Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh—the powerhouse women whose sharp minds shaped the genre. Through friendship, rivalry, and mystery, The Queens of Crime celebrates their brilliance while exploring the challenges of being pioneering women writers in a male-dominated literary world.
Let’s talk about the book:
Going in, I expected The Queens of Crime to feel a bit like Roseanne Limoncelli’s Four Queens of Crime, a story where each legendary writer would carry equal weight. Instead, what we get is very much told through the eyes of Dorothy L. Sayers. On the plus side, she’s such a fascinating woman, whip-smart and commanding on the page. But the trade-off was seeing Agatha, Margery, and Ngaio more as supporting characters than true equals, which undercut the “four queens” promise for me. The concept, four legendary crime writers solving a real mystery, is electric, and I loved stepping into their 1930s world. Bessie Carter’s narration is a standout, especially her spot-on New Zealand accent for Ngaio Marsh, breathing life into each character.
The pacing stumbled in the middle stretches, with sections that could easily have been trimmed without losing the story’s heart. I also couldn’t help but notice the repeated use of “frozen” during tension-filled moments—it felt overdone and made the climactic sequences less sharp than they could have been. On top of that, the choice to use a first-person narrative for a story spanning decades rang a little inauthentic, especially when trying to capture long-past events.
Overall, while not perfect, The Queens of Crime is an enjoyable read for fans of historical fiction, literary biographies, and crime writing enthusiasts.
Would I recommend it?
The Queens of Crime is a fun dive into a world of iconic women writers, but it falls short of its potential. If you love historical fiction and these authors, it’s worth a listen for Bessie Carter’s stellar narration and the vibrant 1930s setting. Add this to your TBR if you’re a mystery buff, but don’t expect equal spotlight for all four queens.
Share your review:
Would you have preferred all four iconic authors to share the spotlight equally, or do you like seeing a single point-of-view voice lead the story? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Book Links:
Amazon CA
Goodreads
Check out Marie Benedict’s author page
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