Enjoyment: 4.5
Total rating: 4.43

I'm a huge fan of Death in Paradise, so I went into the Marlow Murder Club with VERY high expectations - and a bit of apprehension. Would I love Thorogood's written stories as much as I love them when it's performed?

The answer is... Yes! What a relief to find that his characters are just as vibrant, quirky, and full of life and personality. Judith Potts is the meddling, lively, energetic septuagenarian I wish I had in my life. She honestly is everything. I hope to see her in many books to come. Judith is worth reading the book for. Period.

However, if you don't think that is enough, here is more: Thorogood delivers a light-hearted, witty, comedic whodunnit that plays fair, invites the reader to solve its puzzles, is well-plotted, and perfectly paced.


Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Marlow Murder Club

*Did not finish*

I couldn’t get into this book. I picked it up several times, hoping to make my way through, but I could never get past the first few chapters. I can’t really pinpoint what I didn’t like - the writing was good, the characters were interesting. It just wasn’t my vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for the honest review.

Judith Potts, 77, lives by herself in a house on the river she inherited in Marlow, We works as a crossword puzzle writer and is very reclusive. One evening while swimming in the river, she hears a gun shot across the river from her home. She knows that she cannot get to that side, swims back to her house and calls the police. Not satisfied when she is told the next morning that the police found nothing, Judith drives over to her neighbors home, and after a short search finds his body.

Who would kill a man who was basically liked by all? But Judith knows that clues can be deceptive (crossword clues prove that) so she starts her own search for the truth. The unlikely characters, that she enlists to help her, entertain while moving the story forward. Look forward to more adventures by this trio.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery featuring Judith, an elderly woman with secrets, spunk, and an abundance of energy! We need more septuagenarian sleuths!

Judith was a great character, and I liked how her secrets were revealed a bit in layers, still with a bit of a question mark at the end. I was fascinated by her job as a crossword creator and I would have enjoyed having more of that in the story. The mystery itself was interesting, but the monologue where Judith laid it all out at the end was a bit tedious.

Promising start to a series and I will look forward to checking out the next one. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood was a fun British Mystery. This one had a protagonist that reminded me of Angela Landsberry from Murder She Wrote and a plot that reminded me of Agatha Christie. It was fun to see citizen sleuths be embraced by the police.

I loved This book!
Judy is such a loner and I can Relate to that. One night while swimming she hears a scream and fears her neighbor has been murdered.
The police won’t do anything so Judy must take it upon herself to solve this murder
I love Self made detective books and this one hit all the marks

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Av pleasant cosy mystery that three adult women feel they can solve better than the police.

Funny, secrets, thrills are all in this book. I enjoyed reading it. Fantastic characters.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

When asked to review The Marlow Murder Club I was told if you love Only Murders In the Building, you will love this book—well I definitely LOVE that show so I decided to give it a try. What I didn’t realize is that the author was actually someone whose work I was already very familiar with. Robert Thorogood is the creator and writer of the BBC/Britbox TV mystery show Death in Paradise, which is a favorite of mine. When I made that connection, I was even more excited to read the book, and I was not disappointed.

The first character we meet in the book is Judith Potts. She is 77 years old, lives alone, and is perfectly happy doing so—or at least that is what she tells herself. She keeps busy by setting crossword puzzles for newspapers—it also helps keep her mind sharp. One night she goes out for a swim in the Thames and witnesses the murder of her neighbor, Stefan Dunwoody. The police don’t believe her so she ends up going over there to check for herself and finds that he has been shot.

The police still won’t take her seriously, so she sets out to investigate on her own and is soon joined by Suzie, who is a dog walker, and Becks, the wife of a local vicar. An unlikely trio, they are determined to find out who killed Judith’s neighbor and two other people whose murders they are certain are connected. Along the way, they learn that their little town has a lot of secrets! Acting SIO DS Tanika Malik finds herself out of her depth investigating these murders and ends up reluctantly accepting their help.

The Marlow Murder Club is a delightful and well-plotted traditional British mystery with many surprising twists along the way. It is filled with interesting and unique characters and set in a quaint British town. While there are moments that have you on the edge of your seat, the three unlikely sleuths also provide some light and funny moments, and the friendship that grows between them is sweet. I could definitely see this series as a TV show in the future, and Robert obviously has the experience to pull it off. I understand that another book in the series is coming out later this year and I can’t wait!

Judith is elderly and very happy with her life and the way it is going. When her neighbour Stefan is murdered and when the local police seem to dismiss her as a cranky old lady, she decides to join up with two other ladies Suzie and the very prim Becks, the vicar's wife to embark on a bit of detection and try to sort out who murdered whom.

When a second murder occurs, they step up their action - in a head on, amateur attempt but which is strangely successful and keeps them out of harms way though they come perilously close on several occasions of endangering themselves. They do not follow protocol or procedure and ignore the local police force but come up trumps with clues and suspects - much more than the local police.

The setting itself was picturesque - how these murders take place in serene, quiet and such pretty locales is something to ponder!

A well rounded mystery detective story.

I was very excited about this book but I found it very hard to actually get into it and finish the book. Judith Potts was definitely the highlight of the book - such an interesting character that one without doubt falls on love with. The overall plot though was not as particular as expected and I was overall quite disappointed. I would still recommend giving the book a go but one shouldn’t expect a fast-paced mystery.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there's no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.

One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don't believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local vicar.

Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape...

3.25 stars. This novel is a cozy mystery that will have you turning the pages to figure out who is behind several murders in a quaint English town called Marlow. After the murders happen one by one and connections are made, it becomes clearer that a serial killer is at play. The author does a great job at establishing a strong sense of place and introducing the main characters who become clear favourites. Three women begin to form a unlikely alliance when the ringleader, seventy-seven year old caped crusader Judith Potts, cannot let go of the murder of her neighbour. It was enjoyable to try and piece together the mystery as the story unfolds and clues and secrets are revealed. There is humour in these quirky characters, and their antics, which adds a fun element. Where the story begins to chafe is near the end. There are no spoilers here, but let’s just say the author wraps things up with a neat and tidy bow, and the conclusion was teetering on the edge of being a little farfetched for this reader. However, the book was a quick read, enjoyable, and worth my time. A novel for the summer escapist!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cozy mystery. I enjoyed curling up on my couch with some hot tea and binging this book. I characters were so fun and realistic and I hope this turns into a series. I would love to read more.

Heartwarming and engaging cosy murder-mystery for fans of Death in Paradise and Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club.

Septuagenarian Judith lives alone, splitting her time between setting crossword puzzles for The Times, enjoying a whiskey and swimming naked in the river adjoining her property.

On one of her swims, Judith is sure she hears a gun shot but is unable to see what is happening on her neighbour's property. The police are sceptical and soon dismiss her concerns, but Judith cannot let it go and eventually finds herself investigating a murder with some unlikely friends from the same village.

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood is a fantastic read. Judith Potts is a crossword extraordinaire and a Marlow resident. One night while swimming in the Thames, Judith hears gunshots. Convinced that her neighbour was murdered, she decides to take matters into her own hands by developing her squad (the Vicar's wife and a dog walker) after her words have fallen on deaf ears. As they decipher this mystery, long-buried secrets rise to the surface. Has this trio bitten off more they can chew as they end up on the killer's hit list?

Robert Thorogood delivers not only an excellent and intriguing plot but also presents relatable and flawed characters. The evolution of character development and growth while managing the element of mystery was exceptional. The ending was effective, with so many words left unsaid but enough for the reader to connect the dots. Having a soft corner for the British sense of humour, this book envelops fun, entertainment and humanising moments.

If you're a fan of mysteries, do not skip this one. A big thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

Judith is 77 years old with the knack to create crossword puzzles for The Times newspaper. She’s living her happiest, best life as a single woman.
One evening, she hears an altercation and a gunshot at her neighbors’ residence. She takes it upon herself to explore the event, convinced something happened to him. Local police don’t take her seriously.. until he shows up dead.
This is a tale of strong women, filled with tenacity and strength! The cozy mystery elements of this work had a fine balance between character and setting development, to a fast paced rootin-tootin girl gang delight.

Judith, Suzie, and Becks are three very different women living their lives in the village of Marlow. What they have in common is that they do not fit into societies designed roles for them. When Judith sees a murder, then meets the other two women, they come together to solve the crime. It becomes evident a serial killer is on the loose but the police are not on board.

I enjoyed the camaraderie between the women, and I could almost picture this playing out on television akin to the show, "Only Murders In The Building." This is perhaps not too surprising as the book's author created the television mystery show, "Murder In Paradise". This seems like it might be a series, and if so, I would definitely read the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read this ARC.

The title of this book reminded me of another mystery series I thoroughly enjoyed by Richard Osman, “A Thursday Murder Club Mystery”. So, naturally I had to read this book.

In “The Marlow Murder Club”, we have three lonely women:
-seventy-seven year old Judith who creates crossword puzzles for publication, enjoys a glass or two of whisky each night, and a swim in the nude in the Thames
-middle-aged Suzie, a kind and plain spoken dog walker
-hyper efficient and particular about cleanliness housewife Rebecca “Becks”.

And we have the murder of Judith’s neighbour that kicks off the action. Judith decides to investigate because she thought her neighbour was a good person, and that the police are idiots. While poking into the life of her first suspect, she meets Becks, and gets to know Suzie after a second man is killed in town, a kindly taxi driver. Judith ropes Suzie and Becks into investigating, and gets to know and even respect the police inspector, Tanika Malik, who’s over worked, committed to solving the crimes, but inexperienced investigating murders. The murder club find and share important leads with Tanika, while getting to know possible suspects and their motives after a third murder occurs.

It’s an enjoyable mix of light humour, interesting dynamics and a growing friendship amongst the four women investigating what ends up being three murders in the town of Marlow. It’s a shockingly high number in what seems like a pleasant, comfortable place to live, but which conceals its share of fraud, and other crimes.

Judith, Suzie and Becks all have their own talents that all come to bear in cracking the case, some of which I figured out despite the author throwing in many twists. This looks like a promising start to a series, and I’m interested in how the Club solves their next case.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed the two books in The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman so when I read a description of The Marlow Murder Club, I knew that I would like it, and I did!

Judith Potts is a seventy-seven year old crossword puzzle designer who lives in a run down mansion on the Thames and likes her life just the way it is. She isn’t burdened with a husband to tell her not to drink scotch, wear her cape or swim naked in the Thames River at night. One night as she is swimming, she hears a gun shot at her neighbor’s house. When the police don’t believe her and more murders occur, she takes matters into her own hands. She teams up with Suzi, a dogwalker, and Becks, the prim and proper but bored local vicar’s wife, and they became the Marlow Murder Club.

This clever, cozy mystery kept me interested and I really enjoyed the quirky characters in it, especially Judith. There were some farfetched things like the detective Tankia who gives them access to all of the files because she is struggling with the case and the ending is a bit over the top. I didn’t like this book as much as I did the two books in The Thursday Murder Club but I did enjoy it. There is a second book in the series coming and I will also read it to see what further adventures Judith, Suzi and Becks encounter.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Judith Potts is seventy something, happy 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. The two series are definitely different, but it is interesting to note that both authors have backgrounds in British TV. It was a good read and I am excited to hear there will be another book about with this trio.