For as much of a bookaholic as I am, I had never heard of Dorothy Sayers until picking up The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. I had heard of Agatha Christie, obviously, but there are so many major writers of the Golden Age in this story, my TBR grew three sizes.
The Queens of Crime [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] is a blend of actual history and a dash of fiction and speculation. Our main character is Dorothy Sayers, a top female crime writer of that time period and founder of writer society where the men didn’t fully respect the women’s work.
Dorothy decided to grab her besties, including Agatha, and solve a real murder to prove their worth. It works out because Dorothy’s husband was a journalist covering the case and she convinced the paper to let her write a companion piece. So, off they go to investigate.
May Daniels was a real woman who disappeared on a day trip to France and her body was found later. Through this story, Marie parses out what might have happened to May based on historical documents and the pieces of May’s story that showed up in Dorothy’s writing for years to come.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and learning what elements were real versus fictionalized. There’s plenty of mystery and tension, but I wanted the pacing to move a little bit faster. The beginning is more draggy than the ending. I didn’t think the pacing issue was enough to put me off of the book, and I still count this as something worth reading, especially if you enjoy historical fiction and mysteries.
Literary Hypewoman 
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