The queens of crime A novel

Benedict follows The Mystery of Mrs. Christie with a shrewd speculative whodunit that imagines Agatha Christie's peers joining her to investigate a murder in 1931 London. Crime writer Dorothy Sayers has just founded the Detection Club, "the preeminent organization of mystery writers" in England. After successfully recruiting Christie, Sayers becomes determined to add more female crime writers to the club's ranks, and eventually enlists Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy. Once that cohort, who call themselves the "Queens of Crime," swear on a skull to play fair with their readers, Sayers suggests they get their male colleagues to treat them with respect by solving a real murder. The group then crosses the Channel to probe the case of May Daniels, an English nurse who vanished in France seven months earlier, and whose corpse just turned up near the site of her disappearance. Benedict easily brings each of her five distinct writer/sleuths to life, and honors their literary legacies by providing plenty of ingenious, fair-play clues to help careful readers follow along and solve the central mystery. This is a treat for fans of golden age whodunits. Agent: Laura Dail, Laura Dail Literary. (Feb.)

In this excellent novel, Benedict (coauthor with Victoria Christopher Murray of The First Ladies) vividly brings to life real Golden Age mystery novelists and a 1930s setting. Dorothy Sayers is miffed that she is considered just a second-tier member by the male writers of the Detection Club, although she's one of its founders. She calls on other women writers who live nearby--Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy--to form their own rival group, the Queens of Crime. The men are not impressed, even when the Queens declare they will solve a real-life mystery, pooling their considerable talents to prove that their skill is equal to that of the men. Soon, they are embroiled in the case of a young woman, May Daniels, who went missing during a day trip to France. As their inquiries progress, the case takes a tragic--and dangerous--turn, and May's mangled body appears in the park where she had rested briefly on that day. An attack on Dorothy proves to the Queens that they are getting close to the perpetrator. VERDICT Fans of Benedict's previous novels and those who enjoy historical whodunits will find this hard to put down.--Pam O'Sullivan