The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

Since her debut, Marie Benedict is a writer that is challenging the narrative on women writing. Her characters are women, many of those forgotten ones, whose voices were hidden or obliterated. She is doing it with grace, through crafted and well-documented prose that is captivating while asking serious questions.

Her latest, The Queens of Crime, was such a delightful read that made me question what happened with my hectic reading schedule and haven´t spent enough time reading all the other books she published to date? 

As usual, her topic and characters do have their own non-fictional reality. Also, the crime that the brave crime writers reunited in The Queens of Crime - Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham (some of them are forgotten and it´s Benedict´s great merit to bring their lives and literary works back to life) - do want to solve, was also real. A work of fiction inspired by real events is sometimes an act of restitution but also a way to remember.

The action is taking place in the 1930s and the ambiance, as well as the language do reflect the times, although sometimes just felt out-of-time, without very specific atmospheric details. The Queens, who are facing the limitations of their age and gender, despite their talent and relatively stable social status, do need the professional and intellectual recognition. 

While trying to solved the murder of the nurse May Daniels - in the key of a locked-room mystery - they are also discovering and exploring their own circumstances and bravely face the social distrust. Thus, the book has more than one layer, which are coming along in a very smooth way, creating not only the context for the main story - crime solving - but also raising awareness and outlining issues related to women that may still haunt the contemporary mentality.

I loved The Queens of Crime for both its historical and crime relevance. It also shows the literary resources Benedict possesses by incorporating so wisely the classical crime writing, to a very elaborated historical fiction background. 

Rating: 4.5 stars