Monday Moments - The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

 cover blurb  London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society, with a single  goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts.  Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy plan to solve an actual murder, a young woman found strangled in a park in France. 

Marie Benedict writes a lark of a novel, The Queens  of Crime. From start to finish, this book is daring fun. She captures the voices and bearing of strong women.  They use their own writing process and inhabit  their particular detective characters to think through the murder of this young nurse. They are appalled at the  lack of police attention.  But  they are not shocked that high  levels  of British establishment are involved.

This book was inspired by a true story in  Dorothy Sayers's own life. Benedict does a superb job of  showing strength in numbers when it comes  to the clever brains  and determination of  these successful women.  And she keeps  us guessing from start to finish as clues, red herrings, and more keep  the pages turning. 

Very, very fun find  at my library.