Death at King’s Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery
1941. Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Margery Allingham are back, along with Deputy Chief Inspector (DCI) Lilian Wyles. World War II is ongoing, and the Nazis are bombing London.
All the authors are doing their part for the war effort. Agatha is working in a hospital dispensary and has noticed that a dangerous substance has disappeared. Ngaio has relocated to New Zealand, is driving an ambulance, and is still in contact with Richard Davidson, formerly with Scotland Yard, and now with the Security Service. Margery has been helping families evacuate to the country, and is trying to help a young woman, Susana. Susana’s sister Carmen had been missing and has now sent her a mysterious letter. Dorothy L. Sayers is working with the BBC, where the executives are dealing with blackmail. Meanwhile, DCI Wyles is investigating the murder of a young woman, barefoot and scantily clothed, at King’s Cross Station, and all the clues begin to come together.
Book Two of this series definitely starts in more serious circumstances than Book One, and it can be read as a standalone. The mystery is woven together well, and the authors all contribute to solving it in some way. The plot is gripping and multi-faceted. Limoncelli continues to do a wonderful job of blending real-life historical figures with fictional characters. The mystery unfolds in the midst of war, but war is not the only evil in this book, as young women are dying or disappearing, and there seems to be an elite conspiracy to cover it up.
It is satisfying watching the friendship between the authors and Wyles deepen as they work to solve another compelling mystery, and I look forward to book three.
