Oh my goodness, was this book a delight! I instantly fell in love with the characters of Judith, Suzie, and Becks and their unlikely friendship. This was truly a perfectly delivered cozy mystery with lots of fun details, characters you totally root for, and all sorts of shenanigans. I truly hope that this is the first of a series, because I really didn't get enough of the The Marlow Murder Club :)

Three ladies, three murders in a quaint English village. The three ladies make up the Marlow Murder Club, although they never name themselves as such. They are assisting the reluctant investigator, also a woman, until she gives in and deputizes them. This is a perfectly serviceable cozy mystery with quirky characters that I liked, and the murder plot is solid and even interesting, but the denouement drags on forever and the writing isn't great. Credulity is stretched to the breaking point; even I can't sustain belief this much and I'm a fantasy fan. More like two and a half stars, but I'm rounding up.

A cosy English mystery with a strong lead in Judith the 70 something writer of crosswords who lives in a mansion on the river in Marlow. Very much a puzzle story, plot driven, with strong but only sketched-in female characters. Entertaining,

Starting with one of the best opening paragraphs ever, the reader learns that 77 yr old Sarah is no stereotype, but an active thinking woman living in a small town, still working and in charge of her life. While swimming in the Thames, she hears cries of distress followed by a gunshot from her neighbor's home across the river. She swims home, grabs a boat and punts over to see what's going on. Not confident of the police, she picks up a couple of new friends, a middle aged dog watcher and a 40 something vicar's wife, and the three of them are hot on the investigation, not of a single murder, but three. This fast paced character driven book is a delight from the first word to the last. Lots of laugh out loud moments, appealing characters, pointed dialog, and not a dither to be found. A cozy mystery that's not cliched. I'm definitely looking for more from Thorogood!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A new cozy-ish mystery that takes place in England, the Marlow Murder Club starts when Judith, 77, overhears a murder. At first no one believes her, but then the body shows up. Soon she is investigating. She meets and befriends Suzie, a 50-something dog walker, and Becks, the vicar's wife. Two more murders happen and the trio must solve the crimes before one of their own ends up murdered.

I enjoyed what seems will be the first in the new series! I say that because the name of the club wasn't mentioned by the characters in the book. Aka although they investigated together, they never dubbed themselves the Marlow Murder Club. I would definitely read more in this series - the characters are fun, quirky, and the mystery was good!

In a very similar vein as the Thursday Murder Club, this book follows unlikely detective- 77 year old crossword creator, Judith Potts - as she attempts to solve (Miss marple style) and series of murders in her sleepy little town.

It’s a fun, cosy mystery if you are looking for something lighter, and like tea (and whiskey!) with your blood shed and murder.

Seventy-seven year old Judith Potts lives on her own in her mansion along the Thames. She compiles crosswords for the national newspapers for a living, enjoys her whiskey, loves jigsaw puzzles and swims the river in the nude when she pleases. While swimming one evening she hears a gunshot echo across the garden of her neighbor, local art gallery owner Stefan Dunwoody. She calls the police and upon initial investigation, they don’t find anything that would warrant suspicion and assume that Mr. Dunwoody is probably away for the duration. Judith, not entirely convinced, goes exploring and finds the body of her neighbor at the base of his garden on the other side of a dam along the river.

“Murders just didn’t happen in Marlow.”
Judith is on high alert when subsequently, two more people are found dead - Iqbal Kassam, a taxi driver and Liz Curtis, Olympic silver medalist and owner of Marlow Rowing Center. All three murders have the same signature and the weapon is determined to be an antique German Luger pistol.

“Nothing links a local art dealer, a taxi driver, and the owner of a rowing center.”
Is there a serial killer in Marlow? Is it someone they know? Is there any connection between the victims? Is the killing spree over or are there others whose lives are in danger? Initially, Judith isn’t impressed with Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik, who in the absence of a superior offer is assigned as acting SIO to the case, and decides to engage in her own investigation. In the course of her sleuthing, she is joined by Rebecca “Becks” Starling, the dutiful, prim and proper wife of the local Vicar and mother of two and straight-shooting dog walker Suzie Harris. Judith, Becks and Suzie - The Marlow Murder Club, is a force to be reckoned with and loads of fun to be around! Together they embark on an intense search for answers despite DS Malik’s warning to not engage in any “amateur sleuthing”. Eventually, as the case garners national attention she relents and takes in the trio as “civilian advisers” to help in the case. The Marlow Murder Club is relentless in their pursuit of any clue that could lead them to solve the murders. These ladies are sharp, attentive and do not shy away from either legwork or homework. They can (and do) give seasoned law enforcement officials a run for their money. They line up a list of probable suspects and leave no stone unturned in exploring every possible lead, often leading to risky situations. Their antics will either have you in splits or gasping in disbelief, or maybe both! Their unlikely friendship and camaraderie make for some delightfully heartwarming moments. The drama in the personal lives of the main characters felt a little out of place in some parts of the narrative and that is where the pace faltered a bit but not so much that you’d lose interest.

The author does a good job in keeping us guessing the identity of the culprit, throwing in numerous red herrings and enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and entertained till the very end. I adored Judith and admire her spunk! The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood is a fun cozy mystery with an interesting cast of characters, a good dose of humor (some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments) and a satisfying ending. I eagerly look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Thank You NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB is a lively, lovely read. The protagonist, Judith Potts, is 80-years-young and keeps her body fit by swimming nude in the Thames and her mind fit by setting crossword puzzles (I learned a lot about how crossword puzzles are created in this book). But when her neighbor is murdered and the policy seem to be trying to pass it off as suicide or misadventure, Judith won't let the matter go. She enlists the help of two other women, both with good reason to look for some adventure in their lives, but Judith forgets she has secrets of her own to protect. I loved everything about this book - the characters and the writing are superb!

The Marlow Murder Club follows an older woman and her two friends as they are trying to solve a slew of murders happening in their town. At times, The Marlow Murder Club was a fast-paced read that had me guessing and wondering what would happen next. At other times, The Marlow Murder Club was a snore that I was trying so hard to not skim through. There were minor details that the author spent way too much time on, while glossing over other details. Additionally, sometimes I hated the three main female characters. They seemed boring or too preppy or too whiny. Overall, it was a good murder mystery — this is partly because there are multiple murders to keep you going. The ending was a little lackluster, but a nice read nonetheless.

This book would appeal to readers of cosy crime mysteries. However, I found the pacing to be a bit slow and the characters to not be that interesting, meaning that I quickly lost interest and did not care about the central mystery or the identity of the killer.

I really enjoyed this book! I like the writing style as well as the premise. The main character was hilarious.

Judith Potts is a seventy year old woman lives by herself in a home in Marlowe. She writes crossword puzzles for the Times paper, and is very good at it. Judith witnesses what she believes is the murder of her neighbor one evening while swimming in the river.

The police of course think she’s a meddlesome old woman who should mind her business. They don’t take her seriously at all. So she takes it upon herself to solve the murder. She receives help with her endeavor from her new friend Suzie and together they form the Marlowe Murder club. When another body appears, they believe there is a serial killer on the loose. Will the murder club be able to solve the case?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A delightful whodunit spiced with lots of English humor, three similar murders and an unlikely but adorable trio trying to unmask the person or persons responsible for the evil deeds.

An absolute pleasure from start to finish, craftily plotted (you will be kept guessing until the very end) and blessed with an exquisitely drawn cast of very colorful characters.

Highly recommended and to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever

Many thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen for this terrific ARC

From the title "The Marlow Murder Club", I was half expecting something similar to Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club" series. Instead, I am happy to report my assumption was wrong. Although both books reference murder clubs and both are excellent reads, they are different and singular, and since I am here to talk about the Marlow Murder Club, I will get on with my review. This book is a true gem. Thorogood has created unique characters and a skillful plot that will keep readers guessing right up until the end. There is seventy-seven year old Judith Potts, an overweight, yet fit swimmer and riverboat punter, who sets crossword puzzles for National newspapers. Fiercely independent, she lives alone in an old mansion along the Thames. Some of the things she enjoys are swimming naked in the river, a few whiskeys in the evening and exercising her inquisitive mind. During one of her evening swims, Judith hears a gunshot from her neighbor's property. After making a report to the police she learns her next door neighbor Stefan, a well to do art dealer, was the victim. However, the police want to treat the shooting as a suicide. Judith, convinced this was a murder, sets out to investigate. Before long there is a second victim shot in the same manner with the same ballistics, and the police have no choice to accept that there are now two murders in the quiet town of Marlow. Despite the police investigating the murders, Judith continues with her own search for the killer. During her inquiries she meets Suzie, a middle aged dog walker, and Becks the attractive, young, respectable and proper vicar's wife. Before long, Judith draws Suzie and Becks into the investigation and the three comprise the Marlow Murder Club. This book is a clever, intriguing and entertaining who-done-it; thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy.
Note: I did not realize until reading through the author's credits at the end 0f the book Robert Thorogood, is the was the creator of the popular English TV Series "Death in Paradise" so it's no wonder the plot is so cleverly devised.

This was a lighthearted, delightfully fun romp of a mystery. I loved the combination of Judith, Becks and Suzie. It is a quick read, and it appeals to the amateur sleuth in us all. Imagine a British Nancy Drew for the 40+ crowd.

Really enjoyable new read and I’m looking forward to reading more about Judith and her friends. I like when they’ve got seniors for a main character, especially when they’re active and happy and not sad. I also like that she has friends who are younger, but she’s the one with more zip. The mystery was definitely leading you towards the solution, but it was still fun.

It was my first book by Robert Thorogood and I really enjoyed it! Glad that it will be a series, I would like to meet Judith, her friends and their adventures one or several more time.

Judith is very unusual and interesting character - she is 77, she is a true example of active life for quite elderly age, she is not afraid of any obstacles and even is ready to solve a murder or maybe a serial killer case.

Overall it was captivating small city mystery, with some twists and intriguing ending. Easy 4 stars from me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with e-copy in exchange for honest review.

overall this book was an okay read. i'm not a huge fan of the main character because i do find her really annoying (shes everyone’s annoying grandmother who bothers you about everything and sticks her nose everywhere). maybe it's a small town thing, i wouldn't know. but the story was much too boring for me and i didn't really feel for any of the characters.

Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?
Never underestimate a pensioner whose life-long job has been to create puzzles and mysteries for others to solve. Judith is a 77-year-old senior, eccentric to some, who discovers that her neighbor has been murdered. Like Mrs. Marple, she is set on helping the local constable and really is quite witty. Along the way, she brings in new friends, Susie the local dog walker and Becks, the prim and proper vicar’s wife to help as they become the Marlow Murder Club, when it becomes evident there is a serial killer as it goes from one murder to three. However, it’s all very proper while they talk about suspects and motives while they have their tea and biscuits. The tongue in cheek and antics of these women put them at risk in their amateur sleuthing. Can they solve who the killer is and still stay safe?

I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy mystery. The delightful antics of the Marlow Murder Club made this a fun read. The three women were very clever and while solving the great mystery, had mysteries about themselves as well. Some good red herrings and twists and turns to keep it interesting. While toted as a stand-alone novel, I’m hoping that Thorogood carries on and the Marlow Murder Club find another mystery to solve in the future.

Many thanks to #netgalley #marlowmurderclub #robertthorogood for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Marlow Murder Club. The central characters are a trio of amateur sleuths in a small English village. We learn a bit about all of them as they uncover not one, but three seemingly unconnected murders. I can only hope this is the first of many novels starring this trio.

Nice mystery, enjoyable characters. The solution was mostly easy to guess with a few red herrings but I still really enjoyed the journey. Nice to have characters that aren’t perfect. Would read more in the series if there are more toco e.