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The Marlow Murder Club
The Marlow Murder Club
by Robert Thorogood
Narrator—Nicolette McKenzie
Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and is known in Marlow as the eccentric old lady who lives in an aging mansion. As someone who sets crosswords for The Times, she excels at puzzles of all types. She unintentionally gathers two friends along the way of putting together clues that lead to the solution of several murders. Her unlikely friends are Susie, a rough-around-the-edges dog walker and Becks, the ultimate homemaker and vicar’s wife.
The three ladies grow individually and as a team through the course of their humorous escapades. I enjoyed this audiobook on a trip and several fun filled hours afterwards. The narrator did a good job of differentiating between the various characters. I never had to wonder who was talking.
For a book with multiple murders, The Marlow Murder Club managed to be humorous while engaging me in a complex mystery that I couldn’t solve. I liked that the protagonist was an older woman and that she could interact so well with the other ladies with whom she had so little in common. I’m going to add the second book in the series, Death Comes to Marlow, to my queue. The first book was that good!
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery, Humor
Notes: Contains bad language, but in British English so not as offensive to me.
Publication: First published January 7, 2021—Poisoned Pen Press
Audiobook released May 3, 2022
Death on a Summer Morning: an absolutely gripping cozy mystery novel
Death on a Summer Morning
by Betty Rowlands
Previously published as Deadly Obsession by Severn House, this cozy mystery by Betty Rowlands is being published anew as Death on a Summer Morning by Bookouture as part of a thirteen book series centered around Sukey Reynolds, a Scene of Crime Officer responsible for photographing and collecting evidence at crime scenes. Sukey has a nose for detective work which often leads her into scenarios that she is not prepared for, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend DI Jim Castle.
In this case, Sukey arrives at the home of a somewhat elderly man who appears to have fallen down the stairs. Both the man’s younger fiancée and his estranged daughter are convinced there is more to the story, but are at odds with each other in every other way. Meanwhile a headless torso is found in a watery ditch, and the police have the unpleasant and difficult task of identifying the body.
The characters in this book include Fergus (Gus), Sukey’s amiable son who is ready to enter university. Caught in time between teenager and adult, he acts as a sounding board when Sukey needs a listening ear. The plot moves quickly; the setting is important to the plot and well described. I ended the book satisfied with the outcomes, but wanting to read more in this series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: Although this book is #6 in the Sukey Reynolds Mystery Series of 13 books and it is my first Betty Rowlands book, I had no problem jumping into the series and already have another waiting in my queue based on my enjoyment of this book.
Publication: July 22, 2019—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
A short time later, the garden was empty of birds. They had all taken fright at the high, thin scream of terror and the crash of broken crockery and glass that shattered the peace of the morning.
“My father’s death was no accident; he was murdered.” The blue eyes that had made such an impression on Dalia Chen blazed with an almost fanatical intensity.
“In the hope that Sabrina will stop tilting at windmills, I’ll do what I can to get her and Elspeth to talk to each other.” …Fergus grinned. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall if those two ever get together. It’ll be the mother of all cat fights!”
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