The Marlow Murder Club is set in the town of Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. It’s a very picturesque, wealthy town located on the River Thames and Thorogood’s descriptions do capture that perfectly. Marlow is also the hometown of the author, Robert Thorogood, so he is in the perfect position to be able to write about this town in great detail and from a real life experience. I loved the description of Judith’s house and you could tell it was, in its formative years, a grand place to live.
The book opens with Judith Potts, one of the main protagonists, out for her daily swim in the River Thames, and witnesses the murder of her neighbour Stefan. The police are skeptical; Judith, is seventy-seven, and a tad eccentric and loves a whiskey or three. Maybe she was mistaken? Or worse drunk? After all she was swimming naked in the Thames.
The story is about the investigation that Judith, and two of her close friends, Suzie and Becks undertake to find out who killed Stefan, and hence the conception of the Marlow Murder Club. Things hot up as two more murders take place and the police finally start believing Judith. One of the central elements is the inclusion of cryptic crossword puzzles that are related to the murders. Judith, being a profession crossword setter, has the skills and ability to decipher the clues and uncover the truth.
The Marlow Murder Club was definitely a page turner and kept me interested from the first to the last page. I found the main protagonists complemented each other perfectly and they worked well as a team. It really was an enjoyable read, and one that I would recommend to readers of The Thursday Murder Club, and other cozy crimes similar in style.
Star Rating
The Marlow Murder Club books in order?
The Marlow Murder Club (2021)
Death Comes To Marlow (2023)
The Queen of Poisons (2024)
Murder on the Marlow Belle (2025)
The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts (2026)
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