Can You Solve These Murder Mysteries?

by Donna Huber

I've always loved a good mystery but since joining a mystery book club, I've been reading even more mysteries. I've recently read 3 different, but equally fun murder mysteries.

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The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

February 2025; St. Martin's Press; 978-1250280756
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); crime fiction

What if the best female detective story writers of the 1930s teamed up to solve a real murder mystery?

Dorothy Sayer and Agatha Christie are the only female writers in the Detection Club and the men in the club think 2 are more than enough. Of course, Dorothy thinks not, and as a founder of the club she decides to create a club within the club just for female writers. She and Agatha identify 3 other women mystery writers: Baroness Emma Orczy (Scarlet Pimpernel), Ngaio Marsh (Chief Inspector Alleyn), and  Margery Allingham (Lord Peter Wimsey). The men aren't fans so Dorothy decides the women need to solve a real-life murder mystery and she knows just the case: A young nurse went missing while on a day trip to the coast of France.

I recognized Dorothy Sayer (though I don't think I've read her series) and Agatha Christie. I recognized the Scarlet Pimpernel but I didn't know the author. The other two authors were unknown to me.  The Queens of Crime was a real group, but when I looked them up, Emma Orczy was not listed in any of the entries that mention the Queens of Crime. Otherwise, a lot of the details about the women and the Detection Club are accurate. There is no evidence that the women ever teamed up to solve a murder.

The story Benedict crafts is a lot of fun and there are enough facts about the women that it feels like they could have done this. I wanted to read big chunks at a time unfortunately my schedule didn't allow for that If you want spend the day reading, this would be an excellent choice.

Buy The Queens of Crime at Amazon

The Library Game by Gigi Pandian

March 2025; Macmillan Audio; 9781250385109
audio (9h 3m), ebook, print; cozy mystery

The Library Game is book 4 in the Secret Staircase Mystery series. I didn't realize that when I picked it up so I haven't read any of the other books in the series. There is some background provided but I think it was okay to read this book out of order.

It was a fun read. It is a little quirkier than most cozy mystery novels that I read. The characters are more quirky than you would find in real life but it wasn't so over the top that it was annoying. You know that what you are reading is fiction. In some ways, it made me think of all the holiday small-town movies. 

I listened to the audiobook and it was easy to follow the story. Soneela Nankani does a great job giving the characters individual voices. I didn't have any trouble keeping the characters straight.

The mystery was good. I read a lot of cozy mysteries and often the plots feel similar - I mean how many different ways can you really kill someone. But this one felt unique - maybe it is because it involved magicians I don't think I've read any other cozy mysteries with magicians.

If you are looking for a fun book to listen to while getting household chores done, this is the book for you.

Buy The Library Game at Amazon

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

March 2025; Tordotcom; 978-1250342249
audio, ebook, print (112 pages); science fiction mystery

Murder by Memory is a delightful space mystery. There is a lot packed into this short 100+ page story. I'm always impressed by authors who can build a whole new world in a short story. 

Waite does a great job balancing broad strong and fine detail when building her world on the space vessel Fairweather.  She draws on some technology that science fiction fans will recognize like the retromat and autochef - they are like the replicators in Star Trek. But she spends a little more time on those aspects that are unique to this world.

A big question that often comes up in space travel books is how to account for the time it takes to travel anywhere. Waite envisions a world where people can upload their memories and then when their physical bodies die they can have those memories downloaded into a newly made body. I guess everyone is synthetic. It begs the question is there more to a person than their memories.

Some of the broader strokes of the world-building have to do with why they are traveling through space. We know they left Earth centuries ago, but we don't know why nor do we know where they're heading.

I liked the few characters we met. There isn't much in the way of character-building. We get to know the personalities of two of the characters, Dorothy and Ruthie but the other characters are just their actions.

Even the murder is a means to show how the world is. As this is listed as book 1 in the Dorothy Gentleman series, I assume we will get more character development in future books and this one was more for setting up the world.

If you want an entertaining afternoon read, this would be a good one to get.

Buy Murder by Memory at Amazon

 

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour. 

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