Murder on the Marlow Belle – Robert Thorogood

Published By: HQ
Pages: 336
Released On: 16/01/2025

Verity Beresford is worried about her husband. Oliver didn’t come home last night so of course Verity goes straight to Judith Potts, Marlow’s resident amateur sleuth, for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had hired The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, for an exclusive party with the MADS committee but no one remembers seeing him disembark. And then Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with two bullet holes in him – it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.

Oliver was, by all accounts, a rather complicated chap with a reputation for bullying children during nativity play rehearsals, and he wasn’t short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, and Becks are convinced they’ll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, and this case is not so clear-cut after all. The gang will need to keep their wits about them to solve this case, otherwise a killer will walk free …

*****

Thanks to HQ for the advanced proof of this title in return for an honest review.

I looooooooove this series so much. It started with The Marlow Murder Club (2021), followed up by Death Comes to Marlow (2023), and then The Queen of Poisons (2024). There are comparisons to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, which was bound to happen if you write a cosy crime novel featuring retired characters. But I’ve often said I prefer the Marlow books ever so slightly. I wonder if it’s because I love watching Death in Paradise (which Robert wrote), and therefore am already a fan of his writing, who knows.

I am lucky to receive advanced copies of books and am always very grateful for whatever I receive, but this was one that I was desperate to get my hands on, and was willing to fight for it. Luckily the lovely people at HQ sent me a copy before things could get scrappy.

I started reading this at about 1am during a night where I couldn’t get to sleep, and I instantly got lost in it, and finished it within a matter of hours. It really helped the long night zip along.

There are a few bits that are slightly unbelievable, but I don’t much care. I find the cosy crime genre requires a bit of…you have to suspend belief a bit, and that’s what makes it fun. Back in the days of Miss Marple for instance, there were bits that quite clearly could never have happened and yet in context it really works and what makes it so enjoyable, and I find that is the case with this series.

We have characters old and new. This gives us the familiarity of returning to the series, to people we know, but keeps it fresh so it’s not just repeating the same story.

One thing I’ve always liked about this series is how many women are front and centre. It’s known that the majority of crime books and films etc. show men in the main roles, as police or criminal, and that’s fine, I have no problem with that. But there is definitely an imbalance in my experience. And in this series, we have a female police officer, and the group of older females in a civilian capacity. And I think that’s what helps it stand out in a busy genre.

With the amount of thrillers and crime books I read, you’d think I would be a natural at working out the killer. But yet again, Robert has foxed me. I had my suspicions and some were proved right, but I did not get the biggy, and that’s impressive that he manages to do it again and again.

On a related note, I was excited about the first book being made into a TV show but I was slightly disappointed. Not that it was bad. It was good with some good actors in and whatnot. But I preferred being able to imagine myself what was happening or work it out myself on the page, and so I felt that excitement was slightly lost on the screen.

I have recommended this series to so many friends and family and will continue to do so. This ends in a satisfying way but also with a cliff-hanger that hopefully promises another book. I really don’t want this series to end.