The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

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. 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. 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. I really appreciated how well I got to know the characters within this one book. 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. As Acting SIO, Malik isn’t that confident in her murder-solving skills and starts to feel overwhelmed when the bodies start piling up.

Joining the three women, as a strong supporting character, is DS Tanika Malik. 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. Together, the three of them form a very strong circle and I really enjoyed the friendship between these three very different personalities. Judith’s new friends, Becks and Suzie, are just as unique and memorable. 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.īut she isn’t on her own for very long. She enjoys her job, loves being single, routinely swims nude in the Thames, and can’t do without her whisky. She’s intelligent, independent and definitely not your typical retiree. 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 charactersįrom the very get-go I fell in love with Judith Potts. When another body turns up, they realise they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club. 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. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. 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.

Judith Potts is 77 years old and blissfully happy. *** Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood