1941, London. When DCI Lilian Wyles finds a young woman murdered at King's Cross Station, she needs the help of someone she can trust, but Richard Davidson, her former Scotland Yard partner, has joined MI5 and is busy tracking black market routes outside of London, so for now, she is on her own.
After having met the four queens of crime during a murder investigation two years earlier, DCI Wyles has kept in touch. But Agatha, Dorothy, Margery, and Ngaio are all involved in the war effort and have problems of their own.
Agatha is volunteering at the University Hospital Pharmacy, where a dangerous anesthetic has been stolen. Dorothy has heard unsettling information from her connections at the BBC regarding members of the Royal Navy. Margery, who has been in the countryside helping families escape the city from the bombing, is worried about one of her charges whose older sister has gone missing. And Ngaio, who has relocated to New Zealand and is volunteering as an ambulance driver, has begun gathering secret intelligence from wounded soldiers and sailors that may put her in danger.
When the four queens contact DCI Wyles for help, the information they share makes the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. DCI Wyles once again finds herself collaborating with her old partners in crime to solve the mystery and close the case in this thrilling sequel, perfect for fans of Nicola Upson and Anna Lee Huber.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was the switching of POVs. With so many characters and storylines, there was definitely potential for the book to feel like several tiny novellas set side by side. Instead, those individual perspectives are smoothly blended into the final solution, making it increasingly clear how each thread connects.
The amount of research that went into this book is amazingly evident. Limoncelli doesn't simply use World War II as a backdrop; the realities of the period are woven into the story and its characters. The wartime setting, the Blitz, the roles women occupied, and the characters' experiences all give the novel a sense of authenticity that transports me to the time period.
But what really stayed with me were the descriptions of fear and terror. There are moments when the danger feels almost surreal, particularly when the characters are confronted with situations where survival seems uncertain. And yet, alongside that fear is this incredible, dogged determination to survive. The characters don't simply endure what is happening to them—they fight, adapt, think, and keep moving forward. That combination made some of the darker moments especially powerful.
I also appreciated that the mystery never loses sight of the women at its center. These are women living and working during an extraordinarily dangerous period, and their intelligence, courage, and determination are given plenty of room to shine. The real historical figures are incorporated in a way that makes the fictional story feel richer without losing its identity as a mystery.
Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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