BridgertonActress Bessie Carter to NarrateThe Queens of Crimeby Marie Benedict (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Bessie Carter and ‘The Queens of Crime’.Photo:MacMillan audio

MacMillan audio

What do you get when you combine five legendary crime writers and a belovedBridgertonstar? A winning audiobook, of course!

PEOPLE can exclusively announce that British actressBessie Carter, who is best known stateside for her role as Prudence Featherington inBridgerton, will narrate the audiobook ofThe Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict’s hotly anticipated new novel starring everyone’s favorite mystery writers.

The Queens of Crime, due out in print and audiobook formats on Feb. 11, 2025, follows a handful of mystery greats: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. In their efforts to prove they’re just as good — or better than — the male-dominated Detective Club, the Queens of Crime set out to solve a real-life murder-mystery that goes all the way to the upper echelons of the British government.

As St. Martin’s Press promises, “listeners will be transported back into the Golden Age of mystery novelists through the perspective of the iconic group of women whose tales of mystery and moxie have transcended generations.”

Readers may recognize Benedict, 55, from such historical jaunts asThe Mystery of Mrs. Christie,The Mitford Affair and “many more page-turning literary tapestries of historical fiction,” according to the publisher.

Marie Benedict, author of ‘The Queens of Crime’.Anthony Musmanno

Anthony Musmanno

And for those who prefer their reading with a bit of theatrical flare, Carter’s audiobook performance will bring the story to life off the page.

“I am a profound admirer of Marie Benedict’s writing. She has an exceptional talent in seamlessly weaving together the narratives of real historical figures into the fabric of her stories," Carter, 31, says of the book, in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

She adds, “It’s been a privilege to help encapsulate the legacy and wit ofThe Queens of Crimeand narrate a timeless story about these legendary women.”

The Queens of Crimecomes out Feb. 11, 2025 and is available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com