Death Comes to Marlow (The Marlow Murder Club Mysteries, Book 2)

I received this book for free from the reading agency, just asking for a review - which I was more than happy to do. I thoroughly enjoyed Death Comes to Marlow and for me it was the perfect summer holiday cosy mystery read!
The story flowed with ease from the very first chapter and I settled into to an enjoyable reading adventure. The book follows three friends and their attempts to unravel, what I know know is called ' a locked room mystery'. Although this is the second book in the series, you can read this as a stand alone. That being said, I am now going to buy the first and third books in the series as I enjoyed this one so much:-)
Thanks for the opportunity to read this and I would definitely recommend to all 'cosy mystery' fans.

I really struggled with this review as I wanted to be fair, but I really did not like this book. I have to admit to having not read the first book in this series, "The Marlow Murder Club" but that doesn't really matter, the book does stand alone. Plenty of other people seem to have enjoyed it, but to be honest, it wasn’t really my cup of tea- I suspect the audience is the same as for his Death in Paradise fans, and I like my murders with just a touch more grit! Having grown up in Berkshire, I did enjoy seeing some places I know brought to life in the book.

At one point one character decries that there is lots of poverty in Marlow, but I’m not sure that the author knows what poverty actually is. The attempts to inject social issues into the text felt a bit clunky for this reason- well meaning but flat. I really did not like how Suzie was characterised in particular- as the "dumb" one just also happens to not be as well off as her friends- it was distasteful, especially in the midst a cost of living crisis.

The plot of the murder itself was decent enough, it’s a classic locked room mystery. However, there is a lot of build-up and protracted questionings of people leading to a somewhat rushed denouement. It needed a bit more editing, it feels like it was brought out in a rush. The characters all have little “whacky” traits, but to be honest I found them slightly aggravating and felt that it distracted from the story more than it added life to the characters. I was a bit disappointed all told, not least because I twigged who did it quite early on (and why) and then had to plough on through what felt like a lot of filler to find out if I was right, in the hope that I wouldn't be (I was).

'Death Comes to Marlow' is the second in this cosy mystery series by 'Death in Paradise' screenwriter, Thorogood. In the first book, 'The Marlow Murder Club', three chalk-and-cheese women - Judith, Suzie and Becks - were brought together by a murder in their hometown of Marlow. This second book is set a year later and the most exciting thing on the social calendar is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey. Judith is surprised to be invited to attend the party before the big day, but she and her friends are more than willing to enjoy a bit of free champagne at his house alongside the River Thames. But during the soiree, they hear a crash from inside the house and when they rush to investigate, they find Sir Peter crushed to death in his study.

This is the author's take on the classic locked room mystery trope. Judith, in particular, is convinced that it was murder and there are plenty of people in Sir Peter's family who were not thrilled about his remarriage. But the study was locked and the key was found inside the study. How could anyone have killed him?

I was invited to read and review this book by the publisher, Harper Collins, facilitated by The Reading Agency.

“This book is Number #2 in a series, and as I hadn’t read the first book, I got it from the library and read it before I started to read this one.
As a reader of crime, thrillers and the new genre ‘Cosy Crime’, I was properly up for reading “Death Comes To Marlow”.
The characters involved are charming, endearing and are mainly female. Cannot get away from the fact that the author is quite forthrite in his support of females and explores some of the unfairness still experienced by females in today’s society. It’s not done in a preachy way, but done in an empathetic way which means he strikes a chord on many levels for me as a female in modern society of the 21st century. It’s so light touch and done so subtly, that it never detracts from the story and absolutely never puts off the reader.
I found the book engaging - wanted to keep going to find out ‘whodunnit’.
I really love the references to crosswords: the setting of, the clues and solving them. It’s a whole world in itself.
The characters themselves are great fun, and the witty one liners either spoken by or about the characters give you some great laugh out loud moments. There are more serious moments to the book delving a bit deeper into the characters’ backgrounds, but the enduring quality of the friendship forged between this ragtag trio of amateur sleuths is really something uplifting.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this book. It is such an easy read, but at the same time some nice intricacies in the plot. A very engaging and “chortley” book.