Quick moving closed room murder mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie. While part of a Robin Lockwood series, I didn’t find it necessary to have read any of the previous entries. I have previously enjoyed Margolin’s writing, and while this novel was entertaining, it didn’t seem to be at the level of past works.

Recommended for fans of Margolin.

This was the first book by this author that I have read. It was really the title that caught my eye. I am not usually a procedural/legal thriller fan, but I found myself taken with this book from the get-go. We use the comparison of mystery novels to the great Dame Agatha quite often. I am not comparing the writing perse, but the plot. A spooky mansion, a murder in a locked room mystery, and multiple suspects, gives this novel the Christie/Clue Effect.

I also love the back plot of this book, the innocence project, helping to get innocent people out of prison, that were falsely accused and bringing the real criminals to justice. After the first part of the book, I wasn't sure how this was going to go but it definitely took a path of mystery.

I will surely go back and read the previous books in this series.

I adore Therese Plummer and her narration.

Here’s one way to come up with a plot for a book: Take 100 pieces of paper and on each one write a trope. Throw them all into a bowl and mix really well. Pull out 20 at random. Line them up at random. There you go. Instant plot outline.

As I was reading Murder at Black Oaks, I concluded that must’ve been how Phillip Margolin wrote this novel. We have two different cases of an innocent person on death row, an escaped murderer patient from a mental hospital, dark and stormy nights, a creepy mansion in a remote area with poor cell phone reception, an invalid who won’t leave the creepy mansion, a disfigured butler, a werewolf legend, a locked room murder, and more. It’s all very B-movie and reminiscent of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

One thing that angered me about this book is the ableism. One of the main characters is described multiple times as “wheelchair-bound” and is single because “how could anyone ever love a cripple?” That character has barely left the house in 30 years because apparently in 2022 in Oregon it’s too difficult to leave the house in a wheelchair. *facepalm*

Along this line, the butler is described as terrifying because he has burn scars on his face. And of course he’s evil, because, you know, that’s just the way it’s supposed to go when you want to use every cliché there is.

My further complaint is the cringey identification of anyone non-white in the novel. For instance, six police officers pull up to the mansion and the author makes sure to let us know that one is African-American and one is Hispanic. Why? Same thing with everyone in the court— a judge, another judge, and African American judge, a few more judges. So are we to assume all the judges whose ethnicities were not described are white? Because white is the default of all characters in a book unless the author describes them as otherwise?

I did finish the book because I was entertained enough to want to know who the murderers were and how the locked room mystery was solved. That part was clever. The main character, a lawyer named Robin, is interesting and likeable. I was rooting for her.

Thank you NetGalley, Minotuar Books, and Macmillan audio for giving me this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I am giving Murder at Black Oaks two and a half stars rounded up to three.

For a very short book, this packed a whole lot into. The author did a great job of telling a story (honestly multiple stories) without any extra fluff to distract the reader/listener from the main point. As someone who doesn’t know a ton of “lawyer speak” I found this easy to follow and informative. I loved the characters of this and found the storyline to be fun. I loved that it included a trial as well as a spooky history of Black Oaks. Honestly this book has something for everyone and it ties it up perfectly in a story that isn’t too long. Highly recommend and looking forward to reading more from this author.


This review has been added to Goodreads, Literal and Storygraph, as well as Barnes & Noble and Amazon. This will be posted to my instagram (@busywithmybooks_) within the week.

Thank you for allowing me to listen to this story!!

Robin is a talented defense attorney. She has been summoned to a meeting by retired District Attorney Francis Melville at his home at Black Oaks. Black Oaks is a mansion with a strange past. But, Robin has been called for a legal matter. Francis knows he put the wrong man behind bars decades ago. He wants Robin to correct his mistake.

There are a lot of moving parts to this novel and I enjoyed every one. I loved the creepy setting of the house and the weird legend. Then there is the case. Jose was wrongly accused of killing his girlfriend. It derailed his whole life. But, Robin is successful and brings Jose back to Black Oaks. Then the real story begins…you will have to read this to find out!

Now, I did figure it out. However, I enjoyed the intensity and the quest to find the killer…was it a family member, the legend, or an outsider?!?! READ IT!

The narrator, Thérèse Plummer, is excellent. She is one I will be on the look out for!

Need a good mystery with a creepy feel… THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for an honest opinion.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

As far as I’m concerned, there’s always a lack of good legal thrillers out there, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to listen to Murder At Black Oaks.

The premise is an extremely interesting one and something that definitely would weigh on an attorney. After years of feeling he can’t right a wrong unless he risks being disbarred, retired District Attorney Francis Hardy feels he has the opportunity to correct an injustice that's taken place. So he summons Attorney Robin Lockwood to see if she can help.

The narration was done beautifully by Therese Plummer. And I was caught up in the story immediately.

However, for those of us who like more legal banter than mystery, this may not live up to expectations. The legal issue was handled fairly quickly and the locked-door mystery took over.

My Concerns
I’m not sure when it started going off track for me, but probably the last half of the book started feeling a little too much like the story flipped to what felt like a gothic, atmospheric, rainy, locked-door, whodunit. It was still good, just felt a little unexpected and didn’t quite flow.

The legal part of the story was almost jumped over in the first half of the book.

Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a legal mystery, this might let you down. If you’re after more of a closed-door whodunit with a touch of legal, this is your book. I have to admit, I haven’t kept up with this series, but it is easily a standalone book.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the audiobook to review and the ability to freely post my thoughts.

Robin Lockwood, a successful attorney in Portland, is called upon by a retired attorney to help him get an innocent man released from prison. This attorney lives in isolation in an old mansion in the foothills of the Cascades, a very spooky mansion indeed. While this is a legal mystery, it also includes some ethical dilemmas. The characters at times seemed a bit shallow/stereotypical (particularly the attorney's daughter and the man on death row). The story seemed to drag a bit in the middle, but came to a rather surprising conclusion. Overall, not too bad a mystery.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

4.25/5

Thank you Macmillan audio for the advanced listening copy!

Retired District Attorney Francis Melville summons defense attorney Robin Lockwood to his creepy manor, Black Oaks, to ask for her help in righting a wrong from his years as a young DA. Melville has a secret that he's held on to for many, many years, and he needs Robin's help to release it. Suddenly, we find ourselves at a chaotic dinner part at Black Oaks with a surprising group of guests. When a murderer strikes, Lockwood is forced to confront who may be behind this and why.

This story was wild! There were a number of mysteries all wrapped into this fast paced, quick read. I deeply enjoyed the way this story was told: great detail, short chapters, quick pace. This read similar to an Agatha Christie, where the author wants you to know where everyone was at the time of certain events, so you can make your own deductions. Even then, there were a number of twists and surprises that I did not anticipate. This story has everything you need: a creepy manor complete with a curse, a myriad of characters and motives, and a locked room mystery to solve. I definitely want to read the other Robin Lockwood books if they're anything like this one!

This was my first Philips Margolin's book, and won't be my last. This is the sixth book in the Robin Lockwood Series. This is an excellent Legal Mystery Thriller. The cast of characters is impressive. The plot is well crafted, and captivating. I liked the suspense, and the twists and turns. Thérèse Plummer did an outstanding job with the narration. I am looking forward to listening to the first books in the series. I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, a Macmillan Audio production, for an honest review. If you like Legal Mystery Thriller, this one is for you.

I really enjoyed the first half and the lawyer aspect of this. The helping an innocent man get off and the story there. And then it changed to a lock room mystery. It felt like two stories in one and kind of lost me. It was too much going on and i wasn’t hugely into the second half. The plot kind of got lost on me

I liked the idea of Murder at Black Oaks, however I think the execution fell short. It started out strong but the middle was full of a lot of unnecessary detail about a lot of characters that really muddied the storyline for me. The middle was confusing because there were so many people named who all had very minor roles and who had a detail or two listed that just wasn’t necessary.

I felt some of the writing was a bit off with some terms like the female main character needing to “man up” just felt unnecessary in 2022. Overall I wanted more but I feel it needed a bit more editing.

Defense attorney, Robin Lockwood is asked to Black Oaks Manor by Frank Melville, a retired DA. Frank has been looking into wrongful convictions, and has asked Robin to help with a particularly personal case. When a gathering of people converge to celebrate a victory, a murder occurs and a "locked Manor" mystery ensues.

This is my first Margolin book, and I am curious if the others take 50% of the book to set up the murder. I wasn't sure where this was going, but once the said death is pronounced, the rest of the book was a fast paced police procedural/Gothic murder mystery! The atmosphere in the 2nd half was creepy and mysterious.

The narration was done extremely well, capturing the tension of Robin while seamlessly inhabiting the other various characters. I listened to this at 1.75X speed and had no problems.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC of this book. It was a good introduction to Robin Lockwood and now I want to go back and catch up! That said, I feel like it can be read as a standalone as well. This book and audio are available now!

So I had no idea this was part of a series when I requested it. However, that really didn't affect my enjoyment at all. This is a short well-written crime thriller that is part legal thriller, part locked in mystery. It reminded me of classic mysteries without it being cliché. The story opens when Robin Lockwood, a defense attorney, is asked to meet with a retired DA who wants her to help set right a wrong - he knows that a man he prosecuted and put on death row is innocent, and he wants her help to get him out of prison. But the DA's home is the creepy Black Oaks, a manor that resembles a haunted house more than a home. And that is the setting of our mystery.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I plan to start from the beginning with the series.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

I enjoyed the story, but I always want more from Robin. The first book I absolutely loved, but I feel that the series has lost some of its suspense and mystery as it has continued.

I picked up this book not realizing it was #6 in a series, but it seemed to stand alone ok. Overall, it was a decent whodunit. It had Agatha Christie vibes without the level of complexity. My biggest complaint was that there were a lot of parallel plot lines that didn't really connect except by proximity. This took away from the impact of the ah-ha moments and made the story a lot less cohesive overall. However, this was well-done and enjoyable as an audiobook and a good choice if you have a long drive or task ahead of you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC!

Murder at Black Oaks was a mildly entertaining whodunit. It had the typical elements of a murder mystery - several characters with plausible motives and their collective presence at the scene of the murder --- in this case a spookyish mansion. The novel starts out focused on the troubled soul of a star prosecutor who discovers that one of the persons he convicted was innocent but is ethically constrained by attorney client privilege from revealing his discovery. But the twist, if that is the right word, is that his moral predicament turns out not to be central to the story. The plot is good enough to retain the reader's interest, but too pedestrian to stand out from other murder mysteries.

In Murder at Black Oaks, author Phillip Margolin continues his Robin Lockwood series with an Agatha Christie like feel to the story. Defense attorney Robin Lockwood is asked to help free a man who was wrongly convict of murder in 1990. But she is asked to come former DA Frank Melville’s creepy home in the mountains. And then there’s the storm which has everyone stranded in the house with a murderer. And let’s not forget the escaped psycho murderer.
I love this series but this book – #6 in the series – had too many story lines. But is was a fun book to listen to The audio-book narration was very well done. I would recommend this book and the rest of the series. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed listening to Murder at Black Oaks. The story moved at just the right pace to keep me engaged. The characters were believable and likeable. The ending seemed to get a bit crazy with all the different storylines. I would definitely read another one in this series.

The premise of this book has everything I could dream of. Haunted mansion, murder, and an isolated setting.

Although it has so many of the things I love, unfortunately I did struggle to get through this audiobook. At times it felt as if I was reading a few different books put together and for me, personally, there were some continuity issues. I appreciate the overall idea of the book but I do feel as though it was a little ambitious.

I did enjoy the story of the mansion and the spooky setting it embodied. Also, any book that has a "trapped" atmosphere is something that instantly pulls me in further. This book is #6 in a series but I do believe you can definitely read it as a stand alone as I did.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of this book. Therese Plummer was the narrator and she, as usual, does a great job. This is a series of mysteries. Robin Lockwood is hired by Frances Melville to help free a man wrongly convicted of murder and sitting on Death Row. Robin in successful and at a celebratory dinner at Melville’s mountain manor, Melville is found dead in the elevator. Suspects abound. The clues are there, you just need to put them together. Margolin has five other books in this series and this one is just as good as the others. It’s not such an intensive read that you can’t put it down and come back to it, but I think you will want to finish it quickly.