I don't know how Marie Benedict does it, but she has such an incredible talent for bringing historical fiction to life. I'm sure there are long hours of research to get all the details of fashion, food, and even the everyday language of the characters correct. All that effort results in an amazing experience for us as readers. This time she captures the personalities of the leading female authors of the Golden Age of Mystery. Each of them is portrayed from her wardrobe to her attitude with all the pieces in place. Dorothy L. Sayers, author of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories. Agatha Christie of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot fame. Ngaio Marsh with her fictional British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Margery Allingham who wrote about gentleman sleuth Albert Campion. And Baroness Emma Orczy the inventor of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
When the male members of the Detection Club try to pooh-pooh the little ladies, these formidable women decide to take on a real life mystery and solve it to prove their skills. The case they choose to solve involves a young nurse who disappears while on a short trip out of town with a friend. When her body is discovered, male journalists and the public in general put it down to death by misadventure, but the Queens of Crime have other ideas. They use their social and political contacts to locate and speak to persons of interest. Each of them is able to play a role when necessary, based on their own strengths. Benedict portrays the Baroness and her more traditional place in society, the brash Ngaio with her forthright colonial spark, as well as the difference in the ages of the various women and their levels of confidence in contributing to the group effort. She also nails the climate following the war and the generation of "surplus women" that were forced to adapt to lives that were much different than that of earlier generations.
Even if you have not read one of Benedict’s novels before, you will be a fan before these brilliant ladies reach the end of their investigation. Recommended for readers who enjoy the books of the featured characters, as well as those who have delighted in previous titles by Marie Benedict.
