Devi Nair
š±š Read on Kindle š 336 pages ā± Duration: 5 hours š·ļø Publisher: Crooked Lane Books āØ ARC provided by NetGalley & Edelweiss
After thoroughly enjoying 'The Queens of Crime', I couldn't wait to start reading Rosanne Limoncelli's second book in the series. This sequel is darker, grittier, and considerable less interested in playing nice. The cozy veneer, that was prominent in Book One, is entirely gone. In its place is a wartime thriller with teeth, power dynamics that make your skin crawl, the grinding indignity of being a woman in the Metropolitan Police in 1941, and the kind of institutional rot that feels uncomfortably timeless. I kept asking myself: What's happening to Richard? How deep does MI5 go? How is Ngiao Marsh going to contribute from the other side of the globe? And how are these seemingly separate threads going to collide?
The best part about this book is that it quietly corrects its own predecessor. In Book One, there's something deliciously fun but also slight stretch of imagination about the crime writing Queens being amateur sleuths, purely because of their writing experience. This book hands the baton back to the professionals. DCI Lilian Wyles and May carry this story, and the result is a sharper, more grounded thriller that feels true to the era. Lilian in particular gets a stunning character arc. Watching her navigate institutional sexism without flinching, choosing what's right over what's easy, made me want to stand up and clap in my reading chair. She's a real historical figure and Limoncelli does her justice in a way that feels like a love letter and a reckoning all at once.
The four Queens are still magnificent, don't' get me wrong. But they are deployed with more restraint and precision in Book One. Dorothy doesn't hold back. Agatha's pharmacy subplot is quietly chilling. Even from New Zealand, Ngiao connects to the team spectacularly. Margery and Susana just dives in the midst of the whole story. The way their separate wartime threads eventually weave into Wyles's investigation is genuinely plotting. If The Four Queens of Crime was a sparkling cocktail party, Death at King's Cross is the morning after, when the real work begins. I didn't expect to enjoy the sequel more than the original, but I absolutely did!
Would I recommend it? If you are expecting cozy vibes, reset and revisit. This one leans firmly into thriller territory. Limoncelli has sharpened her craft with every page and this book is proof that a series can not only continue well, but actually improve. Read Book One first (trust me, the payoff matters), then clear your afternoon for this one.
š±š Read on Kindle š 336 pages ā± Duration: 5 hours š·ļø Publisher: Crooked Lane Books āØ ARC provided by NetGalley & Edelweiss
After thoroughly enjoying 'The Queens of Crime', I couldn't wait to start reading Rosanne Limoncelli's second book in the series. This sequel is darker, grittier, and considerable less interested in playing nice. The cozy veneer, that was prominent in Book One, is entirely gone. In its place is a wartime thriller with teeth, power dynamics that make your skin crawl, the grinding indignity of being a woman in the Metropolitan Police in 1941, and the kind of institutional rot that feels uncomfortably timeless. I kept asking myself: What's happening to Richard? How deep does MI5 go? How is Ngiao Marsh going to contribute from the other side of the globe? And how are these seemingly separate threads going to collide?
The best part about this book is that it quietly corrects its own predecessor. In Book One, there's something deliciously fun but also slight stretch of imagination about the crime writing Queens being amateur sleuths, purely because of their writing experience. This book hands the baton back to the professionals. DCI Lilian Wyles and May carry this story, and the result is a sharper, more grounded thriller that feels true to the era. Lilian in particular gets a stunning character arc. Watching her navigate institutional sexism without flinching, choosing what's right over what's easy, made me want to stand up and clap in my reading chair. She's a real historical figure and Limoncelli does her justice in a way that feels like a love letter and a reckoning all at once.
The four Queens are still magnificent, don't' get me wrong. But they are deployed with more restraint and precision in Book One. Dorothy doesn't hold back. Agatha's pharmacy subplot is quietly chilling. Even from New Zealand, Ngiao connects to the team spectacularly. Margery and Susana just dives in the midst of the whole story. The way their separate wartime threads eventually weave into Wyles's investigation is genuinely plotting. If The Four Queens of Crime was a sparkling cocktail party, Death at King's Cross is the morning after, when the real work begins. I didn't expect to enjoy the sequel more than the original, but I absolutely did!
Would I recommend it? If you are expecting cozy vibes, reset and revisit. This one leans firmly into thriller territory. Limoncelli has sharpened her craft with every page and this book is proof that a series can not only continue well, but actually improve. Read Book One first (trust me, the payoff matters), then clear your afternoon for this one.