We’ve talked about Marie Benedict’s mystery, The Queens of Crime, when she appeared at The Poisoned Pen. In fact, there are still a few signed copies of the book available in the Webstore. http://bit.ly/4h0bWMV
But, it’s always a pleasure to share Oline Cogdill’s reviews from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, and she recently reviewed The Queens of Crime.
Book review: Clever ‘Queens of Crime’ a meticulously researched novel about women mystery writers
Marie Benedict’s “The Queens of Crime” is set in England in 1930. (Anthony Musmanno/Courtesy)
‘The Queens of Crime’ by Marie Benedict. St. Martin’s, 320 pages, $29
Mystery fiction has changed drastically since 1930, the time frame for Marie Benedict’s clever and engaging “The Queens of Crime” set in England.
Back then — in England and America — most best-sellers were written by men, who also were the major book buyers. The exception was Agatha Christie, who was and remains one of the top-selling authors.
In the novel, Christie is recruited by crime author Dorothy Sayers, who has just founded the Detection Club, “the preeminent organization of mystery writers” in England. Sayers wants more women than just her and Christie to be members, but there are “grumblings” from the men, worried about an “abundance of women” infiltrating their ranks.
That “abundance” of women authors would be the three other female mystery writers — Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy — who were best-sellers of their time and whose books still sell and are revered. When the women finally are allowed in the club, they encounter a lack of respect and blatant misogyny, with some deriding their novels and attributing success to their husbands.
But these are not women who are easily dismissed or allow themselves to be ignored. They form their own club within the club, calling themselves “The Queens of Crime.” And to further prove to their male colleagues that their stories are authentic, they plan to solve a real murder — that of British nurse May Daniels, whose body has just been found, seven months after she had vanished in France. The case is the kind of investigation each specializes in.
Benedict skillfully shows how these women writers differ in their writing, lifestyles and approaches to dealing with each other. They are a bit prickly, but who wouldn’t be, given the challenges of the times and working in a male-dominated field. And while their relationships with each other aren’t always smooth, each respects and supports the other.
They draw on their methods of writing to solve the nurse’s murder. Readers will recognize many devices these writers used. Gather all the suspects into one room? Of course.
It’s hardly a spoiler to say they succeed. After all, they are “The Queens of Crime,” and readers know how these stories end. But the joy is spending time with Sayers, Christie, Marsh, Allingham and Orczy.
Benedict’s “The Queens of Crime” demands readers rediscover these masters’ works, which continue to inspire new generations of writers. It is a meticulously researched novel based on historical fact and featuring real people.
The Detection Club was a real group. G.K. Chesterton, author of the Father Brown mysteries, was The Detection Club’s first president. Christie and Sayers were the first women members. The club continues to exist; its oath and rules are definitely worth looking up.
If you’d like to hear Marie Benedict talk about The Queens of Crime, check out the YouTube video from her appearance at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.