Seattle Blog Book Review

You never really expect a book touted as the epitome of transgender body horror to open with the platonic ideal of a tradwife waffling on about her Japanese minimalist bathroom. Then she starts cutting beef liver, and the horror kicks in full swing on the very next page.

Carrying by Samantha Josephs perfectly slots the horror genre in conversation with the lived realities of transgender women, skillfully inviting the reader to consider not only the way they perceive transgender individuals, but also how they perform gender. It’s Samantha Joseph’s debut novel, though one could never have guessed. The prose is delightfully conversational, personal, and doesn’t shy away from queer and ballroom vernacular. This is a novel clearly written by a queer author, for queer readers. 

What if five of the greatest female mystery writers from the 20th century banded together to solve a real-life murder? Marie Benedict explores this question in her historical fiction novel The Queens of Crime, which stars Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie. I picked up my first Agatha Christie detective novel several years ago, and ever since, I have been hooked. So, when I heard about The Queens of Crime, I was intrigued. I realized that despite my love of Christie’s work, I have never delved into the work of her contemporaries. Would reading Benedict’s novel both shed light on these great women writers and weave a murder investigation worthy of these Queens of Crime?

Set in 1931, The Queens of Crime centers on the respected mystery novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, creator of the detective Lord Peter Wimsey and co-founder of the real-life Detection Club for crime writers. After being shunned by the club’s male members, Sayers bands together with fellow female authors Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham. These self-named “Queens of Crime” plan to solve the real-life murder of a young English nurse named May Daniels, showcasing their worth to the men in the club. They conduct their investigation by traveling to France, where May’s body was found, and interviewing women involved in May’s life. These women were overlooked as witnesses by the police due to their gender and working-class status. Solving the murder becomes increasingly urgent when the police and press seem eager to dismiss May as a drug addict and close the case without proper investigation. The Queens soon realize the reality of the situation as “the only ones, aside from her killer, who know the truth,” and “the only ones who will do right by May” (Chapter 45).