Thank you St. Martin’s Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book felt like a perfect heir to the Thursday Murder Club Series. Anyone who loves Psych or Only Murders in the Building will eat this UP!
You know the plot, murder happens in a community of cottages owned by an eccentric old lady and the community is hell bent on finding the killer. Santa Barbara setting, fantastic humor, well-developed characters, and strategically placed secrets.
My only qualms is I didn’t care for the playwriting chunks of the book. The choice of writing style left me kind of confused with the ending, but I also finished the novel after several nights of bad sleep so that one might be on me.
I truly hope there are more in the series as I’m not ready to let this little makeshift family go just yet. If there are more to come, I’d love to see the book told from just third person point of view for all the characters, as I sometimes felt the jump between Sophie’s chapters and the others were a little off putting. Either way, I’ll be happy to receive more of this community’s story!

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective is a delightful blend of mystery, humor, and heartwarming community. Jo Nichols creates a cast of quirky yet lovable tenants whose lives collide in the most unexpected way after a murder rocks their peaceful Santa Barbara cottage complex. I especially enjoyed the character of Mrs. B. She has a fierce loyalty and quiet strength really carried the emotional weight of the story.

The mystery itself had some fun twists (including a second murder!), and while it wasn’t the most shocking reveal, the journey was thoroughly entertaining. The charm of the characters and the witty dialogue kept me turning pages.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries, especially those with a strong sense of community and themes of found family.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective, by Jo Nichols, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

An engaging if somewhat implausible cozy. Well, except for the parts when Ocean is talking about things like lasagna and boxed macaroni and cheese. Those bits had to’ve been lifted from real life!

Nice and easy poolside read. Put me in the mind a little of the Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone “alphabet” books—some of the same types of characters, including that of California.

DESCRIPTION
The perfect summer read, full of charm and heart, written in the vein of The Thursday Murder Club or Only Murders in the Building but with a southern California twist.

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who’s hiding secrets.

The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form “The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective” to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found. Full of eccentricity, humor, community, Marigold Cottages Murder Collective will keep you hooked until the last page.

It is not easy to define or classify The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective, by Jo Nichols. In one sense, this novel is a murder mystery, but The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective is also a human drama with quirky characters, whose personalities overwhelm the actual murder and the search for the guilty person. Mrs B owns these cottages, which appear to be close together but with each person/family in their own cottages. Mrs B is the glue that holds them all together. When there is a murder in their small area, they begin to form a glue that holds them together and changes their lives. Working together to identify the killer helps to create a family of strangers.

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective is an unconventional murder mystery, with each chapter of the novel focused on a different character. The ending is certainly unique and revealing. The pacing is rather slow, especially at the beginning, but the novel, itself, is a promising start for Nichols. Thank you to Minotaur St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC for me to review.

3 stars

This was an interesting read but way too much going on and I lost interest in it. I was hoping for a fun murder mystery.

Basically, this book is about a murder bringing neighbors together. All the characters added something unique to this story. It was different, in a good way.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Endearing and intriguing all in one. I really enjoyed the eclectic cast of characters who through the community they fostered worked to solve the crimes committed at their doorstep.

The perfect cozy mystery! What a great introduction to Jo Nichols. Lots going on with fabulous characters. Never a dull moment. Lots of laugh out loud moments! This story had all the feels, charm and ‘who dunnit’
Thank you NetGalley, Jo Nichols and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When it comes to a cozy mystery what I'm looking for is a interesting main character as well as a surrounding cast of fun and diverse characters. This book serves that very well. The plot is good, moderately complex and moves along well and kept me engaged to see what happened next. I liked these characters enough that I would hope for a sequel of the next mystery at the marigold cottages.

Short take, a group of quirky individuals come together to solve a murder. Each chapter is told by a different character, giving us multiple POV to ponder. Even the investigating officer is included in that, adding a relatively unique view of events. There are rather a lot of these characters, too, which tended to slow me down considerably in the beginning as I sorted out who was who. That's on me, though, as sorting out multiple viewpoints tends to throw me off my game. In fact, while I ultimately considered Mrs. B, the owner of the Marigold Cottages as the main character, I'm honestly not sure which one you might land on for that role. I mean, after all, she's not only the one who brought this diverse cast together but also ultimately turned herself in and claimed to be the killer in order to help absolve new resident Anthony of the charge. The discovery of a dead body outside one of the cottages has thrown them all or a loop but rather than isolating themselves, they ultimately came together bonding as what we'd maybe call "found family". Interestingly enough, while not everyone was for Anthony becoming part of their little community, the shared viewpoints freely and without fear of rejection. I liked that aspect of openness and trust.

To be honest, I'm not sure they all agreed on whodunit even at the end. Take hopeful playwright Sophie's eventual play based on her notes and imagination. It leaves the reader a bit unsure, wondering who really did it and why. As for the why aspect, there turn out to be many reasons someone might have turned to murder. I won't detail the plot as part of the fun of this one is discovery as it goes along, but let's just say that while they may live relatively quiet, innocuous lives, the twists and turns that emerge from their combined backgrounds are stunning. You'll enjoy the officer's skeptical takes on some of what is disclosed, I'm sure. Besides, for me the story was perhaps more about the "found family" aspect of the situation as the actual murder investigation. You'll learn a great deal about the various characters, some more than others, as you read along.

Bottom line, while this wasn't quite a hit for me, I can see where others will rave. It was fun and I love the fact it left me thinking about it even after I'd finished reading. While I'm sure I'll have the same issue sorting out the characters once again should there be a follow-up, again, my issue, not the book's fault, I will definitely read any follow-up. I've seen others compare it to The Thursday Murder Club and/or Only Murders in the Building, which fit the "found friends" motif while solving crimes and could easily see why. Thanks #StMartinsPress -#MinotaurBooks for allowing me this early introduction to an intriguing take on community, friendship, family, and, yes, solving crimes. Heck, there's even a budding romance!

Eighty year-old Mrs.B rents her cottages to people she likes on a sliding scale—only charging what they can afford. The Pasadena neighborhood is changing and developers want her property. When a potential investor is found bludgeoned to death is the bushes one night, the tenants get together on their group chat to figure out the killer. It seems like just about everyone had a reason, but everyone is also keeping secrets.

Loved the quirky, original characters and the different points of view in this cozy that definitely kept me guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one, as I was drawn in by the cover and blurb, but, unfortunately, I only liked it. I just didn't connect with most of the (multiple) POVs -- I had some difficulty figuring out who was the chapter's narrator and had to backtrack numerous times. I did like the dialogue written like a play script -- that was interesting.

All in all, I enjoyed it, but am probably not the target demographic. I think this will appeal to a whole lot of folks.

Will I read more from the author? Maybe.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with so many amateur sleuths. When a murder occurs at the Marigold Cottages, the residents band together after one of them is falsely accused of the crime. This book started off a bit slow for me, but I’m very glad I kept reading. The quirky characters absolutely make this book! I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

For those of us who love Richard Osman's Thursday murder club I think you will totally love this one! Much younger characters, although one of them definitely has Mrs. Roper vibes. I loved all of the characters and their eccentricities. The story moved along at a quick pace. It's the perfect summer beach read.

The stars of this novel were Mrs. Batowski aka Mrs. B,, Ocean, Sophie, Lily Ann, Hamilton, Nicholas and Anthony. Mrs. B owned the cottages that they all lived in. Nicholas was her stepson, the product of her husband's affair. Ocean had two children, Miles and Riley, and she was Mrs. B's adopted daughter. Sophie was a lush, Anthony was an ex-con and Lily Ann was wealthy. She was married to a man named Piotr that she was in the process of divorcing.

When I first started reading this novel I didn't like it because it was so slow and dull, and was going nowhere. And then there was a murder, but it didn't pick up. The man that was murdered was someone who was interested in buying the Marigold Cottages. Because Anthony was an ex-con, the detective investigating the murder zeroed in on him. But Mrs. B knew he wasn't guilty and she convinced everyone else of that fact. Because the detective was not letting him out of jail, Mrs told him that she was the one who committed the murder. Of course the detective did not believe a word she said so he ended up releasing Anthony and Mrs. B.

Mr. Ibarra was someone else who was interested in purchasing the cottages, and it seems he was in the courtyard when the murder occurred and had videotaped it on his phone.

At some point, Lily Ann's husband attempted to kill her with a hammer. The reason for that was that he had no money and was in financial straits. He knew that if she was dead he would inherit all of her money. In the midst of his attempt, Sophie came outside and stopped him. But Sophie didn't know who it was. Lily Ann decided her husband was the one who had killed the man. And so it was agreed upon by the entire collective that he was the guilty party, even though that the detective still assumed Anthony was the murderer.

And then another body showed up in the cottage courtyard. It was the body of Mr. Ibarra. He had been in Mrs. B's cottage trying to convince her to sell to him. Of course, Lily Ann blamed her husband for that killing as well. When the detective arrived to investigate, he spoke to each individual. And when he went to Anthony's cottage he blamed Anthony for both murders. But the residents convinced him that it was Lily Ann's husband.

This book moved at a snail's pace and it wasn't until the end that it got anywhere near good. I will admit that I have the characters were okay. And I really liked the twist ending. All in all, I was disappointed in this book. I gave it two stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I enjoyed meeting the eccentric tenants of the Marigold Cottages and reading the book from multiple points of view. The twists and turns were unexpected and kept me guessing. It was a fun read, and I hope Jo Nichols plans to write more books about the residents of the Marigold Cottages.

Can a murder be fun? Well, this book is fun, even with the murder in it. I love the quirky characters who live in Marigold Cottages and the way they learn to really live together.

a group of residents who live at Marigold cottages, owned by Mrs. B, work together to save her for a crime she did not commit.

This is a cozy mystery with a large cast of quirky characters all living in the Marigold Cottages owned by Mrs. B. These somewhat misfit residents have formed a found family and they band together to save their beloved landlord when she confesses to a crime she did not commit. Along the way they solve two murders. There is heart and humor in this story. However, the constantly changing POV made it difficult for me to truly care about any one and become invested in the story.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

This was pure fun. It’s cozy mystery meets community drama, and I was completely charmed. The characters are delightfully nosy, the setting is a pastel-perfect retirement community with secrets under the surface, and the murder plot is just the right level of twisty. Think less “scary” and more “clever with cookies and tea.”

If you like found family, quirky humor, and solving mysteries in your pajamas, this one's an easy yes.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)