Marie Benedict continues to display her skill at bringing historic figures fully to life in her 10th novel, The Queens of Crime, about five legendary British mystery writers of the 1930s who join forces to solve a real murder. Benedict (Her Hidden Genius; The Only Woman in the Room) infuses the story with vivid period details and lively conversations, showcasing the friendships that sustained these famous women.
The book's narrator, Dorothy Sayers, founds the Detection Club for mystery authors in 1931, but faces skepticism from male writers who object to "an 'abundance of women' " in the ranks. Representatives of this "abundance"--Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Baroness Emma Orczy--and Dorothy form a "club within a club," the "Queens of Crime," and commit to gaining respect for their talents.
Chauvinism soon arises again, when the murder of a young English nurse is inexplicably declared closed, and the Queens' mission "morph[s] into an urgent quest to do right." The riveting account of their sleuthing to solve a case that officials report "as if the victim herself were to blame" is at the heart of Benedict's novel, but the backstories of the crime writers are equally intriguing, including Agatha's widely reported marital woes (the plot of Benedict's The Mystery of Mrs. Christie), and Dorothy's deeply guarded secret that leads to threats and blackmail. With wit and determination, the Queens defeat injustice, deepen their friendships and, as Dorothy announces in a celebration hosted by the Detection Club "gents," they "ensured fair play after all." --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.