This series is so wholesome. I love my Marlow ladies so much and I was so excited to read this sequel!! As The Marlow Murder Club introduced us to these characters, this book refined them. I was pleased that we got to know more about Judith, Suzie, and Becks - more about their personal lives and maybe more about some of the secrets they are holding on to. I also loved that we got more Tamika. Her reactions to the trios shenanigans was probably one of the highlights for me.

The mystery was a good one! I didn't guess who or how they did it but the unveiling of the killer was such a fun twist. You can tell that Thorogood is a fan of Agatha Christie by the way the mystery itself was structured and the clues laid out. After the reveal, I couldn't believe that I missed so many hints lol. I completely enjoyed this book - I loved the humor and the warmth of the characters. Even if some of them have their quirks, you can't help but love and root for them! I can't wait for Book 3!

A very tangled mystery from the pen of Robert Thorogood, of TV "Death in Paradise" fame. This is the second book of a new series, and uses the locked room mystery to good effect. I did not like this one as much as the others. The characters were too solid, but the plot certainly had a lot of twist and turns, that kept me reading to the end. Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DRC

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood is the absolutely fantastic follow up to The Marlow Murder Club!

I loved revisiting with Judith, Suzie, and Becks. The characters are complex and well fleshed out, but most of all fun and eccentric.

This locked room mystery was riddled with twists and red herrings and I was all there for it.

I could not put this book down.

I really enjoyed the secondary plots with Becks and Suzie, they added so much to the story.

The setting of Marlow England is fantastic. I absolutely love the older sleuths and I can't wait for more books in this fantastic series!

The second outing of Marlow's preeminent sleuths is just as delightful as the first, and the locked room set up is a good one to allow Judith to show off her puzzle-solving skills. There is one clue that the ladies seem to keep ignoring that is plainly important, which is frustrating to see, but on the whole this feels like an episode of "Death in Paradise" set in the British countryside. No complaints here!

It’s now Winter & Judith, Suzie and Becks have settled back into ordinary life since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding. Judith receives a phone call inviting her to the event so she takes Suzie as her plus one, Becks of course is there as her vicar husband Colin is performing the wedding service the next day. But during the party, there’s a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study. Even stranger is that the study was locked from the inside & the only key is in Peter's pocket, so the police don’t consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered!
The second book in the series & another engrossing read, it could easily be read on its own. I’m growing to like Judith, Suzie & Becks more & more as we get to know them, Tanika also appears but she actually doesn’t play by the rules as her D I returns to work & she's pushed to the sidelines. A fun, interesting read & the main question is how could a heavy display cabinet fall when the room’s locked from the inside, I loved how Judith worked it out. There are a couple of side plots Becks with a secret & the messages in the local paper’s crosswords. I look forward to more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Loved! It kept me reading all night. I love the character and story line this author writes. I can’t wait for more!

Straight to the puzzles

There's always a challenge with sequel mystery stories - how do you kick them off in a believable, non-contrived way? After all, it's tricky to believe that your protagonist will just stumble into another convenient murder. Some authors will go to great lengths to avoid this contrivance, but Thorogood chooses to rip the band-aid off fast.

Instead of building up a long introduction to explain away the contrivance, he leans into it. Judith is simply invited to a party - last-minute, out of nowhere - by the murder victim. Thorogood knows what we're here for - some mystery-solving, dammit! - and he delivers, quickly. Judith, accompanied by Susie and Becks, almost immediately figure out that the murder was more than a mere accident. It's a pretty tight list of suspects - all of whom happen to have alibis. Not only that, the victim died in a locked room, which makes it tricky to actually establish as more than an accident.

On top of the locked-room mystery, there's plenty of community intrigue to go around. In my book, cozy mysteries are distinctive because of their emphasis on the community. Thorogood's stirred up plenty of fun side-plots - Judith's chasing down local cryptic crossword intrigue, and Suzie and Becks have secrets of their own... Plus, there's drama with the Marlow police department, as leadership challenges force DS Tanika to rely more on the gang than before (à la both Miss Marple and The Thursday Murder Club).

The plot and pacing work well, and Thorogood balances the main mystery and side plots well. The side plots act as "breathing room" and serve as nice inspiration for the characters. However, while the story itself is well-constructed, the characters could perhaps use a little more distinctiveness. Judith, Suzie, Becks, and Tanika each have specific areas of expertise and action - but their dialogue and voices are somewhat similar. In future entries in the series, it might be nice to see a bit more character distinction beyond the physical distinctions and areas of expertise.

Fair play with word games

This is pure cozy puzzle-solving, plain and simple. Thorogood has managed to create both a cozy mystery and one that meets almost all of Knox's fair play rules. You can almost solve the puzzle yourself with all the information given. (The missing pieces, for me, related to my reduced understanding of the English cultural context.) Rest assured there are no "accidental traps" where the protagonists fall into the solution after several hundred pages of wild-goose chase.

Thorogood also includes a puzzle "mini-game" of sorts as Judith pursues a parallel mystery relating to the local cryptic crossword. As part of this, she solves a number of cryptic crossword clues, walking us through the typical thought process. Your enjoyment of this will rely heavily on your appreciation for cryptic crosswords. (In this regard, it resembles the technical change-ringing descriptions in The Nine Tailors.) Cryptics can involve a lot of inside knowledge, and the clue-solving requires quite a bit of technical exposition to make clear. If, like me, you already like cryptic clues, you will likely enjoy this element.

Reader's notes and rating (⭐⭐⭐✨)

Death Comes to Marlow was the perfect start to my year - but I'm also very aware I'm in its target audience. I already love elderly sleuths, fair-play mysteries, and cryptic crosswords, so I was basically guaranteed to enjoy this. If that sounds like an accurate description of you, I can whole-heartedly recommend this read. It's a great example of the genre and a satisfying puzzle-solving experience. The only thing preventing it from a full 4 stars is the somewhat niche technical content on crosswords, and the slightly samey character voices. But I'll happily recommend this to my many puzzle- and mystery-loving friends this year in June!

Read this if...

You like puzzles, especially cryptic crosswords

You're looking for a light mystery read with a surprisingly fair solution

You're ok with suspending your disbelief to get at puzzles a bit faster

Skip this if...

You lean heavily into the community elements of cozy mystery

You highly value deep characterization

You are unfamiliar with cryptic crosswords / technical explanations of the solutions would be boring to you

It's been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks – AKA the Marlow Murder Club – since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne. But during the soiree, there's a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study. The study was locked from the inside, so the police don't consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it's up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again. This is another in the Marlow Murder Club series and a classic locked room mystery. This story kept me guessing through the whole book and the end was fantastic! Can’t wait for the next in the series! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

A thrilling follow-up to The Marlow Murder Club.

Judith, Becks, Susie and Tanika are back at it after Judith receives a surprising invite to attend a celebration at the home of a prominent Marlow figure. At the party, on the day before his wedding, Sir Peter dies in a tragic tumble. While everyone else wants to call it an accident, Judith can’t help but sense something strange about the whole series of events. Thus, she calls in her team to begin solving the case… if there’s even anything to solve.

I found this story even more exciting than the first and, being caught in the fast pace of the first third of the book, read it in only a few days. I’ve come to love the Marlow women and find myself wishing I could have a glass of whiskey or tea with them.

I’m typically very critical of men who try to write from the perspective of a woman, especially when they try to write multiple women, because I find they typically don’t provide the appropriate nuance to the characters. However, I was so impressed with Thorogood in both of the Marlow books that I tripled checked to confirm it really was a male author who developed such dimensional women with unique personalities, tastes, and manners. And, at the end of the day, he brings them together in a friendship that grows and expands to Tanika over the course of the two books.

All in all, this is a cozy mystery filled with puzzles, adventure, and extraordinary wit.

I think I want to be Judith when I grow up.

Slow days full of reading crosswords, naked swimming, murder investigations...I can't think of a better way to grow old 😆

Thank you #netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this gem!

Synopsis:
It's been an enjoyable time for Judith, Suzie and Becks since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne.

But during the soiree, there's a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study.

The study was locked from the inside, so the police don't consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it's up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again...

My thoughts:
Loved this! The most interesting part of the investigation was not the locked room, but the fact that each suspect had a strong alibi. And that each of the suspects was both shady and amiable. I did suspect the actual murderer, but had no idea how the crime was committed. The how ended up being a bit far-fetched, but the why was good enough to make up for it.

Oh my goodness, I have been waiting for this since reading the first book. It is brilliant. A locked room murder that I didn't solve.. I could not put this down. It was so nice to be back in the company of Judith, Suzie and Beth. A trio not to be trifled with! I love Judith and the way she says exactly what wants. I think we all wish we could that! As a local girl, I also enjoy reading about places i know and can easily visualise.
Another sure fire hit, roll on book 3 please.

I was excited to read the sequel to the Marlow Murder Club and was even more excited that book #2 did not disappoint!

While the mystery was complicated and I definitely did not figure it out, it didn't feel like the author kept information back or introduced a completely unexpected twist. I also enjoyed hearing about how the Murder Club members had continued on with their lives and what they were currently doing. I was happy that Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik was also still in the mix, and hope there is another book in the series as I want to see how she fares next.

I would definitely recommend reading these books in order as while book 2 does explain the backstory, it's not the same level and depth of information you'd get from reading the first book. I enjoyed book 2 even more than book 1 because I already knew the characters. Hopefully the series will continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to preview Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. I hadn't read the first book in this series, but I didn't feel like that was an impediment to enjoying this one. I'm a sucker for a locked room mystery which was the reason I requested this book and the reason for the four star review. I had to know how it was done! I also enjoyed the side plot about the crossword clues as I'm also a big fan of crosswords.

I will say that I did not care for Judith. She has terrible lapses in judgement both towards her friends and when solving the case. I'm honestly not sure why Becks and Suzie put up with her as she doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. Maybe that's something I'm missing out on having not read the first in this series.

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of cozy locked room mysteries. It was a pleasant diversion and fun puzzle to solve despite my dislike of Judith.

Death Comes to Marlow is a clever cosy mystery. Robert Thorogood has done it once again! It was a delight reuniting with the dynamic trio - Judith, Suzie and Becks as they brought their wits together to solve a puzzling locked room mystery that turns into murder. I appreciate how the supporting characters, especially Suzie and Becks, are fleshed out. The narrative style hooked me, and the banter was skillfully crafted. The plot was an intricate maze with remarkable breakthroughs and yet frustrating dead ends, all of which complement an unpredictable and shocking ending. The last two chapters were jaw-dropping! This mystery explores cruel intentions, wealth, family, secrets and friendships. Do not skip this series if you're a fan of cosy mysteries, amateur detectives and the classic whodunit.

I look forward to reading more of the author's work and the series!

Thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for an e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

I received this advance reader copy via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press, in return for an honest review. This is the second book in this series and can be easily read as a stand-alone. It all started with Judith’s daily nude swim in the river when she was interrupted by a swan who attacked her! From that event, Judith receives an invitation from the local big-wig, Sir Peter, as he celebrates his upcoming nuptials to his second and much younger wife. While at the pre-wedding festivities, Judith reunites with her two fellow “Marlow Murder Club” friends to enjoy the evening. Tragedy strikes in a locked room mystery and the women realize they need to step in and assist the police. An enjoyable and cleverly written mystery.

The gang is back!! I was very happy to read and review this book. I actually think this one was better than the last one for me. It helped that I knew the characters but it is not necessary.

I will be on the lookout for the next escapade! These three ladies are so clever at solving the cases in Marlowe and Susie the dog sitter is great. Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC.

This is the second adventure of Judith Potts (78 years old woman who likes to swim in the river completely naked!) with two other members of the gang, Becks (vicar's wife) and amazing Suzie, a solidly 50 years old woman.

When Judith was personally invited by Sir Peter, though didn't know her host, knew something is out of place!
Indeed it was, three friends at Sir Peter's party start their new investigations, there is another murder in Marlow, but cups don't think so, it's just an accident.
Of course, our girls' minds don't work like that, an accident, how dar say!?

So we face a great challenge, an entertaining story, mysterious and puzzling. I enjoyed this one as much as the first book,
I think it's okay to read them out of order or separately, the stories are not related, only just you will love more the characters when knew them.

My huge thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for giving me the chance to read Death Comes to Marlow (The Marlow Murder Club #2) by Robert Thorogood, I have given my honest review.
Pub Date: 6 Jun 2023

Glorious….
The second in this new series of mysteries, a return for The Marlow Murder Club and the unflappable, irrepressible, happy in her own skin, Judith Potts who continues her wild swimming for inspiration. An invitation to a garden party at a mansion in Marlow comes as a surprise to Judith but, as the friends gather, the gang is together once again and that can only mean one thing - murder! When Sir Peter is discovered in a locked room, very dead indeed, it’s up to the gang to sort the wheat from the chaff. From the author of the wonderful Death In Paradise series of mysteries (all first class reads), comes the next wholly entertaining, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable romp in Marlow, with a glorious protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Wonderful escapism.

This is second in the cozy crossword mystery series and can be read on it’s own. I read and enjoyed the first. Returning amateur sleuths Judith, Suzie and Becks are friends living in Marlow near the Thames. Unexpectedly Sir Peter phones Judith with a cryptic invitation to a party on very short notice. Sir Peter is throwing a pre-wedding soirée at his estate. Jenny, hired as his nurse, is now the bride to be. Judith senses something’s off and solicits her friends to go with her. Sir Peter isn’t going to make the wedding. His demise is in his own locked study during the celebration.
Judith is a crossword setter who also enjoys solving them. She is far advanced compared to my skill set. The puzzles in this story were tricky and complicated, kept me on my toes as I tried to outguess the clues. Judith outpaced me and solved the locked room dilemma with dogged persistence. Her two cohorts contribute as their busy schedules allow. Any of the three of them would be good to have on your side.
The investigation is led by the same spunky Detective Sergeant as a previous murder case that brought the trio together. Tanika is good, hardworking and determined. Unfortunately DI Hoskins conveniently returns from leave to take over the case, and the credit, pushing aside Tanika. He doesn’t believe it’s murder, thinks it’s accidental, case closed. She discreetly supports Judith’s murder theory, follows their leads and progress and helps solve the case. As this is a fictional ‘who dun it', you’ll need to overlook some obvious police errors by allowing civilian interference in an investigation.
The son, daughter and X-wife all have motives for wanting Sir Peter dead, as do several others. There are so many possibilities I couldn’t decide who had the most to gain. It kept me puzzled and racing to find the answers. It’s an entertaining, fun read!
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “Death Comes to Marlow” by Robert Thorogood and to Sourcebooks. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Another case for the Marlow Murder Club. Judith, Suzie and Becks, along with DS Tanika Malik, get themselves involved in a suspicious death. Despite DI Hogan insisting the death is accidental, and having no time for other possibilities, the ladies get on with doing what they do best, solving the murder!

From the first couple of pages this was a really good read. A lighthearted, feel good book with a murder, a real treat ;)! Love the characters and the setting, lovely!.

Once again Thorogood has delivered a completely enjoyable story, full of little twists and turns! Whilst the ending wasn’t too much of a surprise, this didn’t spoil any of this book for me, and I would definitely recommend.

A joy to read.

Thank you NetGalley.