This is the first book by Jo Nichols that I have read. The description just grabbed me. I was intrigued by the location, Santa Barbara, doll-house bungalows, village like leaving community, and the characters. The clincher for me was “full of humor.”

Eccentric Mrs. B., also known as Golda Bakofsky, rents to an eclectic group of individuals. They band together to get Mrs. B. and Anthony out of jail. There were plenty of twists and turns and mis-directions to keep the reader guessing. I enjoyed each minute, especially each secret as it was revealed.

Sophie is trying to write a screen play and using that format throughout the book made it more interesting. I will be looking for other Jo Nichols books to add to my TBR pile.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read for an honest review. These are my opinions.

In the heart of Santa Barbara sits a cluster of cottages.
Representing the single successful investment of her late husband, this property is Mrs. B's pride and joy.
Having developed her own eccentric "sliding scale," technique for charging rent, the cottages have been filled with an array of tenants from various walks of life and pasts. When a murder happens just outside the window of one of her cottages, these personalities put their various levels of nosey neighbor snooping together to solve the crime. A murder mystery has never been so wholesome and heartwarming! The effort put forth to develop these characters is so palpable the reader has no choice but to love each of their quirks and recognize their significance. Great book!

This lively book is top drawer entertaining from beginning to end.
You don’t want to make the mistake of trying to figure everything
out - when you can just enjoy the whimsical, crazy ride. The
setting, in the cottages and their collection of strangers who
become much more is pure genius, and the relationships
are critical to the totally fun and ever fluid plot line.
I totally enjoyed the book~quirky is such fun!
My thanks to Minotaur Books for the download copy
of the book for review purposes.

An entertaining story of a collection of cottages rented out to people that the landlady likes. When a body is found and a renter is arrested, the landlady and the tenants contrive to investigate the murder.

I liked The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective—a solid 3.5-star read for me. It’s a slow-burn, twisty story that alternates between the perspectives of the quirky tenants living in the cottages. I especially loved Lily-Ann; she was easily my favorite character. The different personalities kept things entertaining, but I really didn’t enjoy the sections from the police detective’s point of view. His character felt demeaning and overly stereotypical—almost unnecessary to the story and frustrating to read. Overall, I would still reccomend this book though!

⭐️ 2.75/5
Mostly Third Person POV (except for Sophie who was written in first person POV)
Multiple Narratives
Linear timeline
Setting: Santa Barbara, CA

I’m having a hard time putting into words why I didn’t enjoy this book too much. It was kind of boring and lacked depth. I appreciated the quirkiness of each individual character and the attempt at intertwining their histories and personalities with the murder mystery. I also appreciated the strong sense of community but the whole storyline was just lackluster while also a bit all over the place.
I can understand why some people will highly rate this as it’s a cozy, quirky, whodunnit that doesn’t have much depth to it. For me personally, that’s just not my jam.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this light, entertaining mystery novel. The characters were interesting and quirky, and the action was quick and easy to follow. I think this book would appeal to anyone who enjoys a bit of romance and intrigue wrapped up in a novel with heart.

I would recommend this book. It is a little different than my usual read. Their is a dead body found . A mystery begins and secrets found.

Cute, lighthearted & cozy murder mystery! set in Santa Barbara with an eclectic, found family group of neighbors who discover a body in their neighborhood and set out to find the truth (and exonerate their newest neighbor)

I wasn’t expecting so much intrigue based on the description and cover but I really enjoyed the mystery in this (especially the reveal at the end)! also its multiple POVs from all the neighbors which I think is pretty cool.

Thank you #NetGalley for the eARC of #TheMarigoldCottagesMurderCollective by Jo Nichols!

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective had all the makings of a cozy mystery: a cast of eccentric tenants, a fiercely protective landlady, and a community that feels similar to Only Murders in the Building and The Residence. I wanted to love this more than I did.

There’s a lot of heart here—genuinely. The found family vibes and the way the characters rally around Mrs. B made me smile. I appreciated the mix of personalities and perspectives (shoutout to Ocean!). But for a murder mystery, the mystery itself didn’t always take center stage. The pacing lagged in places, and there were so many side stories that it sometimes felt more like a neighborhood drama (think Desperate Housewives) than a whodunnit.

This was a very cozy, delightful mystery. It had likable characters and humorous moments. I could see real character development if more books are written as a part of a series.

I picked The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols on a whim. I've been in a cozy mystery phase as a palate cleanser to more serious books. It may seem odd that a murder mystery is a palate cleanser, but the way cozy mysteries are written, it's the mysteries and relationships that are focused on, which is a genre I'm really enjoying right now. While not out quite yet, this is definitely a cozy mystery to add to the TBR.

One additional thing this author did really well is bring the reality of what can happen in a murder investigation in such a way that really highlighted social injustices, prejudice, and the way our bias can have a drastic impact on someone's life. It's not super common in a cozy mystery to have such heavy topics be presented in a digestible way. I also loved the idea of community that the author created in this book. Did it get a little silly at points? Yes. Did it also deftly weave real life topics through the story in such a way that it didn't overwhelm while also not treating these life topics in a flippant manner.

I really loved how this group of individuals, all with different backgrounds, came together and supported one another. There was also a level of the community expressing to each other that they accepted them, regardless of their eccentricities or quirks. Each character was also beautifully written with a clear analysis of their personalities and their backstories. Again, the author really balanced the characters' motivations and past experiences and emphasized how everyone could be who they were and be loved in this little cottage community.

Please be advised that I received an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I regret to inform that I had to dnf this book at 10%. I was thinking this was going to be Richard Osman funny geriatric murdcom. It wasn’t that. I wanted more Mrs. B and less discussion of the female characters bodies. I think the weight and size of the 3 younger female characters was mentioned about 8 times in the first 10%.
The story also felt very disjointed with the POV changes every 3 pages.

I liked this one. It was engaging and fun, with a lot of heartfelt found-family storylines that I found very enjoyable. I do feel like it dragged on a bit in the middle, with some of the investigating feeling a bit repetitive, but on the whole I really enjoyed the direction of the story. The characters were a deliciously varied assemblage and their madcap antics and suspicious were fun and funny. It would make a very cool movie or TV show - it felt cinematic in its presentation.

This book was such a delightful cozy murder mystery! The characters at Marigold Cottages were all wonderfully quirky and easy to love, each adding their own charm to the story. Mrs. B, the owner, was especially memorable with her eccentric personality that kept things lively and unpredictable. I loved seeing how the group came together to solve the murder! The ending was quite a shock!

Thank you @NetGalley for letting me review this book!

fun cozy-ish mystery about a ragtag bunch of protagonists all banding together to defend each other. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This is a very enjoyable read with wonderfully flawed characters that you care about. It felt like a madcap adventure mystery that takes place in the quirky cottages of Mrs. B in Santa Barbara. I hope there is a sequel!

I love a story with a cast of quirky characters who come together for a good cause. From the first chapter I was drawn into learning about each of the residents of the Marigold Cottages and trying to figure out their backstories and what would happen.

The story unfolds in chapter’s that alternate between the different characters point of view. There were several small mysteries along with the murder mystery and we learn about the characters, their history, and role they play in what is going on at the Magnolia Cottages.

Overall I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and getting to know the residents. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy l cozy mysteries and stories about found family.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books, author Jo Nichols, and NetGalley for the gifted digital ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this story. It’s the perfect of Thursday Murder Club meet Breaktfast Club - a group of misfits coming together to solve a murder. I was a little worried at first there were going to be too many characters, but that worry quickly went away. each character was given plenty of backstory and was able to stand alone in their POVs. Thank you for the ARC. I would definitely recommend this to others.

The Marigold Cottages run by elderly Mrs. B. are sitting on a prime piece of real estate that developers can't wait to get their hands on. Mrs. B. however, and her group of quirky tenants are determined to stay exactly where they are. Each tenant has their own backstory and although it got confusing at first keeping the various tenants straight, as readers continue on each character becomes distinct. When a man's body is found in the bushes next to Sophie's cottage and their newest tenant is accused of the murder, the "Marigold Cottages Murder Collective" is born. The tenants are determined to figure out who is the real killer, who was the victim and why the murder took place in their little plot of paradise. The local detective just has one more case to close and he can retire going out on "case closed" verdict. He's not interested in actually doing any detective work and just wants to pin the murder on Anthony, Mrs. B.'s newest tenant who has a criminal past.
Readers will enjoy the growing relationships between the various tenants and Mrs. B. If you think you've got it all figured out before the ending- think again!