The Marlow Murder Club

A lot of people read scary books for the month of October. I am not one of those people. I am too much of a coward. But I also want to read spooky books like everyone else. So I compromise with myself. I read spooky adjacent books. You know the ones: they scare no one but there might be a mostly off-page murder or slight thriller-y bits. But I am picky and want something a half degree more plausible than the cozy mystery series that take up a ton of real estate at the bookstore. I may not want the knit shop owner and her cat to solve the murder, but I am all over feisty old folks solving murders. So I was more than delighted to pick up The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood.

Judith is 77. She lives happily on her own on the banks of show more the River Thames in the pleasant village of Marlow. She is a crossword setter for the Times, loves a glass or three of Scotch of an evening, and enjoys a private skinny dip in the river outside her door. One night she is out for her swim when she hears shouting and a gunshot from the neighbor's across the way. When she calls the police to investigate, they don't believe her so she takes it upon herself, returns to her neighbor's and finds his body. When two more people turn up dead, both also shot by an antique German Luger, it's possible that there's a serial killer on the loose. Judith teams up with Suzie, a local dogwalker, and Becks the very buttoned up mother of two and wife of the local vicar to look into the background of her neighbor in hopes that figuring out what got him killed will help them stop the killer before anyone else dies. As a crossword setter, Judith is quite good at figuring out clues and she, Suzie, and Becks will need all of their collective intelligence to unravel the crazy mystery and catch the killer.

These three women are delightfully kooky and do some madcap stuff in the course of their investigations. Each of them has a nicely worked out backstory (although Judith's has a hint of mystery: why does she keep one room in her house locked and what was her relationship with her late husband anyway?) and their growing friendship is quite appealing as each woman comes to appreciate her own inherent value. Everyone here is a suspect and the plot is rife with red herrings with the eventual solution being completely convoluted. The story can veer into the absurd (the police are really going to let these three women help them?) but the over all effect is fun and diverting if less than plausible. For big old scaredy-pants like me, it's a nice addition to mystery season. show less

An unlikely trio of detectives solve three murders in the cozy village of Marlow. Judith Potts is seventy-seven and lives alone in a run-down mansion. She's content with her life, enjoying her whiskey, and setting crossword puzzles to keep her mind sharp.

When Judith is out swimming nude one evening, she hears a gunshot at her neighbor's house across the river. Unable to get out of the river, she returns home and calls the police. They look around and don't find anything. The next day Judith looks around herself and finds the body of Stefan Dunwoody in the garden.

Judith becomes interested in trying to solve the murder though she's discouraged by Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik. DS Malik is in over her head since her boss is out sick show more and their boss isn't quick to assign a more experienced investigator. So Judith begins poking around.

When a second man, cabdriver Iqbal Kassam is found dead in his bed with the same sort of wound as Dunwoody, dog-walker Suzie Harris gets involved in the investigation along with Judith. And along the way, Becks Starling who is the vicar's perfectionist wife becomes part of the team. When a third murder victim is discovered, the trio spends a lot of time trying to figure out the connections between the victims and trying to prove that various suspects were guilty of the crime.

I really enjoyed the various personalities of the three amateur detectives. The mystery was enjoyable too with lots of twists and turns, clues and red herrings. This was an engaging cozy mystery. show less

The Marlow Murder Club is just plain fun to read; I think I had a smile on my face most of the time as I read it. Robert Thorogood has created the perfect trio of amateur sleuths: each smart, each funny, each resourceful, each flawed in some way, and a force to be reckoned with when all three of them stand together.

Judith Potts is one of those lovable English eccentrics who loves her whisky, shares her knowledge of crossword puzzles, and doesn't pass up an opportunity to go skinny dipping in the Thames. Becks Starling is the local vicar's wife, who has a touch of OCD (keep a tight rein on her when visiting a crime scene), plenty of useful local contacts, and really knows how to think on her feet. Suzie Harris, as a local dog walker, has show more her own contacts, and-- whether she realizes it or not-- is just as strong and important as the other two members of the Marlow Murder Club.

These three women share their findings with Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik, who finds herself as Senior Investigating Officer of multiple murders because her superior is on sick leave. At first, the three women drive Malik batty, but she soon sees that they can be quite a help to her, and she comes up with an ingenious way to bring them on board her investigation.

The Marlow Murder Club is being described as Agatha Christie-esque and compared with Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club. I think both comparisons are superficial and more wishful marketing than anything else. For me, the characterizations outshone the mystery because of its (to me) obvious plot connection to an Alfred Hitchcock movie, so as far as I'm concerned, this book is more Hitchcock than Christie-- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. As far as the Osman comparison, it's all marketing. Both books feature at least one elderly person solving a crime. For my money, Thorogood's The Marlow Murder Club is much the better choice. It keeps its focus and its humor, and the more manageable, smaller band of sleuths absolutely sparkles. I can't wait to see what happens in Marlow next.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

While swimming in the Thames, Judith, 77, hears gunshots at her neighbour’s house across the river. When she can’t convince the police a murder has been committed, she decides to investigate on her own. She is aided by Susie, local dog walker and Becks, the vicars wife. As their investigation continues and as the murder count rises to three, the clues seem to point in several directions, all of which lead to dead ends. Still they refuse to give up which leads them into ever more perilous positions. Can they solve the crime before one of them becomes the fourth victim?

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood was just a whole lot of fun. The story kept me entertained throughout and, if at times it put a strain on my willing show more suspension of disbelief, it made up for it with three of the most likeable amateur sleuths I’ve ever come across in the genre. I don’t know if this is the beginning of a new series but I hope so because I am so looking forward to see what shenanigans Judith, Susie, and Becks get up to in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

Judith Potts is enjoying her nightly swim when she hears a gunshot across the river at her neighbor’s home. Unable to haul herself up the bank through the rushes, she returns home and calls the police. They find nothing amiss, but they don’t find the neighbor, either. Judith does, the next day, in his waterwheel and with a gunshot wound in his forehead. The police are reluctant to call it murder, thinking perhaps suicide, until another body shows up with the identical wound. The police are overworked and understaffed, and the detective in charge somewhat new at her job. It’s not long before Judith, already investigating, enlists the help of two other women, and this trio is approached by the detective to muster their show more puzzle-solving skills to work out who the killer is. It’s a lovely story, if indeed a murder mystery can be called lovely, due to the personalities of the (dare I say it!) elderly Judith, the outspoken dog walker, and the rule-abiding vicar’s wife. A more unlikely, yet thoroughly likable, trio there never was. Everything in this novel - the setting on the Thames, the well developed and real characters, and the intricate and intriguing plot - all come together to make one delicious read. Highly recommended. show less

The Marlow Murder Club - Thorogood
Audio performance by Nicolette McKenzie
4 stars

I’ve read many English village mysteries. With so many murderers creating corpses in the English countryside, it’s unusual to read something completely different. I was only expecting a typical plot with typical characters. The protagonist, 77-year-old Judith Potts, is not a typical character. This is obvious early in the first chapter when she hears the fatal shot while skinny dipping in the Thames.

After that the story is really about the eccentric Judith and her quirky friends as they break all the rules in an effort to find the murderer. Eventually there are multiple murders, and it is quite a complicated puzzle. But, the mystery on its own would show more not hold my attention. This is a fun book because the characters are fun. Judith, Suzie the dog walker, and Becks the vicar’s wife, get themselves in and out of some ridiculous situations while helping the local police. I like a book with strong female friendships. Overall, the book has a very feminist slant. Maybe more than a slant, more of a steep hill. (It did make me wonder if the author was pandering to a particular audience.) show less

Judith Potts is a seventy something, happy to be able to continue to make crosswords for the paper as she ages. She keeps a punt at her riverside home and goes out often. One night, she witnesses what may be a murder. There's art history, a possible serial killer and a couple of fine sidekicks for Judith to get to know. This seems a bit more like a traditional crime novel (think Christie) and a bit less cozy than I found the Osman books. They are definitely different, but interesting to note that both authors have backgrounds in British TV. It was a good read and excited to hear there will be another book about with this trio.