The Marlow Murder Club is the first book in a new series by author and screenwriter, Robert Thorogood, well known as the creator of the BBC 1 Murder Mystery Series, Death in Paradise. I was really attracted to the premise because of the unique protagonist – read on to find out more!
Title: The Marlow Murder Club
Author: Robert Thorogood
Series: The Marlow Murder Club #1
First Published: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher
*** Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Judith Potts is 77 years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.
One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.
Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.
When another body turns up, they realise they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…
The Marlow Murder Club is a filled with great characters
From the very get-go I fell in love with Judith Potts. She’s intelligent, independent and definitely not your typical retiree. She enjoys her job, loves being single, routinely swims nude in the Thames, and can’t do without her whisky. What a lady! After she hears a gunshot on her neighbour’s property, she gets impatient with the police’s slow response and decides to investigate the (supposed) murder on her own.
But she isn’t on her own for very long. Judith’s new friends, Becks and Suzie, are just as unique and memorable. Together, the three of them form a very strong circle and I really enjoyed the friendship between these three very different personalities. They all seem to have their own flaws and sadnesses, but I think together, they prop each other up and bring out the best in each other.
Joining the three women, as a strong supporting character, is DS Tanika Malik. As Acting SIO, Malik isn’t that confident in her murder-solving skills and starts to feel overwhelmed when the bodies start piling up. Unlike many stubborn law enforcement characters, she’s ends up trusting Judith, Suzie and Becks, and works with the women, rather than against them, to solve the investigation.
A serial killer and a twisty resolution
I really appreciated how well I got to know the characters within this one book. Books that are starting off a series generally feel a bit slower as they have to set up so much – the town, the main characters, the supporting characters – but The Marlow Murder Club never flagged. It never felt like too much information and yet I felt like every character was fully-fleshed out in the short span of time allowed.
There was plenty to keep the momentum going: a serial killer (with three very unrelated victims!), an antique murder weapon, and a religious token left with each body. The pacing was almost perfect – the combination of action, character building, the murders, the investigation – it was never bogged down and never too break-neck fast. I enjoyed every minute of it and genuinely felt sad that the book came to an end.
The author, Robert Thorogood, is a well-known screenwriter and I think his experience really shows through in how well the characters jump off the pages. I could definitely envision this series as a TV show – the characters are strong enough, even after just one book.
As for the murder – I didn’t quite have the motive or exact details worked out but I had the general idea of how the murder was accomplished about halfway through the book. It was a lot of fun to read through to the final conclusion and see how everything worked out. I can’t say much more without giving away any spoilers, so I won’t.
As I said, I felt a little adrift when the book came to an end. But I happy to find out that Book 2, Death Comes to Marlow, is set to come out at the end of the year. The perfect Christmas gift!
Quote from The Marlow Murder Club
