Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a cute book full of quirky characters who are trying to solve a murder that took place on their property. Given the focus was on murder, this was still a very light and humorous read. I thought that the sections that written in a script format disrupted the flow of the story. Also because of the number of characters in the book, was hard to delve too deep into any of their stories with any depth. But overall an enjoyable read.

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective was a fun cozy read. My favorite part of cozy mysteries is the relationships, so I loved the found family in here. By the end, I did feel like I knew each of the residents of the Marigold Cottages. Hamilton is my favorite! The one thing that kept throwing me off was that most of the book was in third person, while Sophie's POV was in first person. I didn't expect to notice it as much as I did, so it pulled me out of the story sometimes. However I was still drawn back to this book every time I put it down, so I will definitely follow along with future books in the series.

Charming Santa Barbara bungalows owned by Mrs B with a collection of quirky tenants gather to form the Marigold Cottages Murder Collective to clear newest tenant and former ex-con of a murder on the property. Found family unites to solve a crime and right past wrongs. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy for a honest review.

Mrs B owns a small collection of bungalows in a small coastal city in California. She has handpicked her tenants and they’re a strange assortment. When a man is found dead outside one of the homes, the mismatched neighbors become friends and join together to search for the murderer. I have mixed feelings about this book. I kept thinking this was set in a small village in England even though I knew it was in California. But the setting just fit England better to me. About halfway through I thought I would give up and then the story finally drew me in. And the I loved the story until the end and I hated the ending. The story was an experience. #NetGalley

This book is all the things, cozy, witty, and full of lovable neighbors! When a suspicious death rocks their street, this quirky crew bands together to solve the mystery. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, add this one to your TBR! Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy.

This book is packed with engaging quirky characters, starting with the adorable but feisty grandmotherly Mrs. B. The mystery is interesting, but that is secondary to getting to know these lovable characters and basking in the warmth of the family-like vibes they share. Chapters told from alternating views allow the reader to enter the minds of various characters and really feel for them. Those told from the point of view of the character Sophie, a young playwright, are written as if they are scenes in a script, which adds a unique and interesting element to the story. If you are looking for a cosy mystery filled with lovely found family vibes and a generous helping or two of romance as well, you can't go wrong with this book.

This is a cozy mystery set in Southern California. It’s about an elderly landlady and the group of ‘misfits’ that rent from her. It’s quite a collection of personalities and so far it’s my favorite part of the book. I’m really enjoying the characters.

There’s also a murder, which is being pinned on one of the renters, so the rest of the group is banding together to prove their friend is innocent.

It is being compared to The Thursday Murder Club and Only Murders in the Building (both of which I love), and I do see the similarities.

It took me a bit to get used to the writing. I think the tone in The Thursday Murder Club is what they are trying to achieve - that dry, sarcastic British wit - but it feels a tad forced, if that makes sense. Plus this is set in California. Anyway, I did get used to it, and it ended up not bothering me as much.

The chapters are short and the story is told from multiple POV. Overall, it’s a pretty solid cozy mystery/whodunit. It just leans more cozy.

Mrs. B loves her charming village of cottages filled with quirky and lovable tenants. When a murder happens on the property and one of the new tenants is accused, the tenants must work together to solve the case.

If you enjoy fun, found-family cozy mysteries, this will be perfect for you! The murder plot itself is a bit thin, but the tenants bring all the love and warmth to the story. They grow individually and together as they work to save Mrs. B and the Marigold Cottages! A heartwarming read!

Advanced copy provided by Minotaur Press / St Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun book! There are these amazing quirky characters and a cozy murder mystery that will have you guessing right along with our wannabe detectives! From some very funny moments to some emotional ones too, this was a really good read.

I loved Mrs. B and her tenants and how they band together to protect one of their own. They set out to prove Anthony was being framed and to save Mrs B…but not all is as it seems. We discover quite a few secrets amongst the Collective…

I really loved the themes of found family and a sense of community in the story. We get to know each tenant - they are unique and funny and endearing in their own ways. They are all so different and it was easy to root for The Collective!

✨What To Expect:
🌟Cozy Read
🔍Murder Mystery
🍸Quirky Characters
💖Found Family
⁉️Secrets
☀️Santa Barbara Setting
🌴Only Murders In The Building Vibes

Mrs B., the landlady of Marigold Cottages, only rents to people she cares about, including Anthony, a tattooed hulk of a man with a past criminal record. When a body is found unalive, the eccentric cast of characters bind together to solve a murder that happened on the streets of there quiet community.

This cozy mystery is exactly what is supposed to be. A fun easy read with interesting characters and found family. While the twists and turns are not completely unseen, they are engaging. If you enjoy The Thursday Murder Club or Only Murders in the Building, check this one out.

A fun cozy mystery with a quirky group of tenants who form a true found family. Even with a large cast, the author does a great job describing each character so it’s easy to keep them straight. A quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ah yes, nothing says perfect summer read like a story where your quirky neighbors trade banana bread recipes one day and cover up murders the next. It’s the book that asks: What if your quirky neighbors, who can barely coordinate a shared recycling bin, suddenly decided to out-sleuth the police? And somehow, it works.

The mystery itself is twisty, charming, and just the right amount of absurd.

This is basically The Thursday Murder Club put on sunscreen, moved to Santa Barbara, and got itself a landlady with a flair for noble self-destruction. Mrs. B is the kind of stubborn idealist who’d probably tell the Titanic’s captain to “just believe in the iceberg’s potential.” Naturally, when her ex-con tenant is arrested for murder, she takes one look at his biceps and decides, “Nope, that gentle giant didn’t do it—I’ll just confess myself!” And, honestly, that’s the kind of chaotic energy I’m here for.

The cast is delightfully mismatched: an anxious playwright, an oversharing agoraphobe, a single queer sculptor mom, a Type-A perfectionist, and a finance bro who screams “suspicious” even when he’s just ordering iced coffee. Together, they form the least likely detective squad since Scooby-Doo decided to bring along an actual dog. But you know what? They’re charming, they’re funny, and their ragtag community vibe is exactly what my serotonin levels needed.

Still, it’s a cozy, witty, sun-soaked mystery that made me want to pack up, move into a pastel bungalow, and immediately suspect all my neighbors of murder. Would recommend for fans of eccentric communities, found-family chaos, and anyone who likes their murders served with extra charm and a side of avocado toast.

Perfect beach read if you like:
☀️ Sunshine & suspicious neighbors
🕵️ Found family with body bags
🌸 Murder, but make it whimsical

Bottom line: grab your sunscreen, pour a glass of iced tea, and let this book convince you that murder is best solved with teamwork, eccentricity, and probably a shared cheese plate.

Now excuse me while I look up bungalow rentals in Santa Barbara. For…research.

In general, I really liked this book. I loved all of the quirky characters, Mrs. B, the landlady/matriarch, and the way they all interacted. I enjoyed the premise and the way the story unfolded. However, I do feel like there was a lot dragging this book out. I think a solid quarter of the book could have been cut without affecting the story at all while improving the pacing. It felt like the story stalled out quite a bit in the middle. I think this is a great story and with fantastic characters, but there were too many parts of the book that didn't contribute to the overall story.

Mrs. B, Sophie, Lily-Ann, Ocean, Nicholas, Hamilton, Anthony - the misfit group of residents of the Marigold Cottages. There couldn’t be a more unlikely pairing of individuals, & yet when a murder occurs amongst their little community, they decide to try to solve it together. Throughout their meetings & group chats, they find that they really are their own weird little family. But can this group really solve a murder?

This cozy mystery was the PERFECT read to get ready for fall. I loved the characters, loved the multiple 3rd person POVs, & loved the clever writing/plotting. If you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, you MUST read this one too 🕵🏻‍♀️

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Jo Nichols. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Mrs. B is the landlady of The Marigold Cottages, a collection of bungalows in Santa Barbara. She will only rent to people that she cares about - Sophie, a young woman with a traumatic past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a single mom raising two kids; perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who keeps to himself. When she allows Anthony, an ex-con, to move in, things change. Three weeks later, a dead body is found in the neighborhood.

What a perfect summer read - grab some lemonade (or Diet Coke) and sit on the porch to enjoy this cozy mystery about a group of eccentric people who have formed a tribe to look after each other, no matter what. Told from the POV of each of the residents, along with the detective on the case, as well as with a version of a play being written about the happenings. This book is full of humor, likable characters, and an ending that had me so surprised - just delightful!

Adorable! In all ways. I loved the whole cast of characters and their POVs. Reminded me of Backman's My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry and I loved it very much. And the group text, lovely. Also reminded me of the Guild with Felicity Day. Very feel good :)

I’m sorry, but The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols is a boring book. It had a good premise with the charming square, the quirky landlord, and the colorful tenants. I enjoyed the picturesque descriptions of Santa Barbara. I did not like that the author continually repeated certain defining qualities about the characters (the ex-con, the agoraphobe, the perfectionist, shy and lonely, fat and rich, and so on). The characters lacked depth and felt like caricatures especially the police officer. The point-of-view changes from chapter to chapter and then there is the portion written in script format (that’s when I was ready to call it quits). There were so many chapters (ninety-nine) for a book that is only three hundred and fifty-two pages long. The dialogue often felt forced. The story fell apart when the author added contemporary social commentary (called “woke ideology” by some people) because it further distracts the reader (or, in my case, going what does this have to do with the murder). The author does not seem to have any love for law enforcement (she gives them a good bashing). The whodunit lacked substance. The best part of a mystery is solving the whodunit (at least for me), but this one fell short. Fiction usually helps me escape daily life, yet The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective didn't provide that.

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols is an enjoyable cozy mystery in a small neighborhood that kept me guessing. A small row of houses that circles a courtyard, creating a small neighborhood of strangers that Mrs. B, the landlord, rents to people who she likes but have nothing in common in present-day Santa Barbara. Each of them has their own story and, yet, for the most part, they are strays Mrs. B has pulled in to living here and they all keep to themselves. Then one night a shocking discovery of a body in the bushes outside their doors, the renters must work together to discover the killer. When one of their newest tenant is arrested, a group chat is created and they begin to try to piece together what happened and prove that their new neighbor didn't do it.

This is an entertaining, well-written, cozy mystery with eccentric, likable, engaging, unique, and diverse characters, relatable teenagers, humor, a touch of romance, murder, secrets, an intriguing mystery, unexpected twists, and a surprising conclusion.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#TheMarigoldCottagesMurderCollective #MCMC #StMartinsPress #NetGalley
#MinotaurBooks

This was such a creative and funny book with some soft and poignant moments thrown in.
This found family living in the little community they call The Marigold Cottages is filled with some very dysfunctional characters. And they all care for each other, especially the owner of the cottages, 80+year old Mrs. B who is a busy body but with a heart of gold and sees everyone as someone she can help out in some way. Mrs. B has been a widow for many years and even though her husband was a gambler in all things, the Marigold Cottages was his most profitable gamble and she and the other residents happily live there. Happily until one of the newest residents Anthony, formerly imprisoned for some aggressive stuff, is carted away by the police after a body is discovered with a smashed in head and blood pooling all over the sidewalk just outside their property lines. Mrs. B doesn't believe it one bit that Anthony did this terrible thing and wants the residents to prove it so! And so the Murder Collective is born and through in-person meetings and text threads, they start to work it out.
There are some really fun characters who have their own personal issues and those are offered in the multiple POVs. Backstories and relationships are described as the reader tries to put together the who's and what's of the murder. These backstories, if the reader is clever enough, will shine a light on the why's and who's. I, honestly, vacillated back and forth between several possible suspects and that's what makes this story and these characters so compelling. The author has done a wonderful job giving each one a uniqueness and especially capturing the teen belonging to Ocean, a single mom, who's trying to raise her two children under the watchful and loving eye of Mrs. B. Sophie is a young woman who has gone through a most disturbing event and all of the other residents are her support team as she finally takes her life back (this was fabulous!!), and a wealthy Lily-Ann living estranged from her husband and trying to find her own strength of purpose and acceptance of her personal choices. Nicholas knows more than he is telling and it will surprise the readers! And then there is Hamilton who is grateful for Door Dash and Amazon deliveries so he never has to leave his cottage except for doctor's appointments. His character is wildly eccentric! The reader even hears from the detective who has arrested Anthony, sure that he is the guilty person.
With a very satisfying ending, it is a really fun story, perfect for a rainy day or a beach read. I hope there will be more installments coming!!
4.5 stars!

The Marigold Cottages are run by Mrs. B a woman who only rents to people she likes. She has a variety of tenants who love their little bungalows and the area they are living in. When Mrs. B rents to Anthony, a violent ex-con, her regular tenants feel unsafe. Their happy lives are changed when a dead body is discovered in their neighborhood. When Anthony is arrested everyone begins to feel safe again. Mrs. B, who has a soft spot for Anthony, doesn't believe he committed the crime decides to confess. Her tenants who care for the old woman begin to investigate the crime themselves. They get together and not only start looking into the crime but really begin to get to know each other. When a second body is found they wonder who is lose in their community. Follow along to see if they can solve the crimes and make sure Mrs. B stays out of trouble.