Thank you to Robert Thorogood and team for this ARC. Queen of Poisons is the third book in the Marlow Murder Club series although it can be read as a standalone book, which is how I read it. I did not know what to expect from Thorogood, as I have never read one of his books before. I was not a big fan of this book and found myself dragging my feet to finish it.

This is written by an English author and takes place in the UK and I think there were some phrases, as an American, that were either poorly written/grammatical errors or English sayings that sounded off to me and made me pause to think about it. The actual story line was good just not very entertaining to me. Overall, I give it a 2.5/5. The best way I can describe it is The Golden Girls meets Nancy Drew. If that sounds fun to you then you might like it.

WOW, I couldn't read this book fast enough. The ending will leave you with your jaw dropped. This was already one of my favorite book series, but The Queen of Poisons took it to another level. This is by far my favorite entry in the series. In this book, your favorite, lovable characters are back in Judith, Suzie and Becks. Of course they have another mystery to solve by trying to figure out who killed the Mayor of Marlow. Robert Thorogood is the master of keeping you guessing all the way until the end. This book is such a great cozy mystery and I fall more in love with our main chapters in each new edition of this series. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next book to see what Judith, Susie and Becks get into next. My full review will be posted to my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readingbookswithwords/ on the US release day.

Loved this fun story! Book 3 in the Marlow Murder Club

The Marlow Murder Club reconvenes when the Mayor dies suddenly in front of a council meeting. Who would be so daring to poison Mayor Lushington? As civilian advisors, our old friends Judith, Suzie, and Becks come in to uncover secrets, make wisecracks and generally help and annoy the police in equal portions.

Great plot, perfect pacing makes this a fun read for any detective-want-to-be!
#thequeenofpoisons #robertthorogood #hq

The Marlowe Murder Club mysteries are a comfortable combination of “ buddy story” and cozy mystery. The gal pals who devote ( seemingly) every waking hour to chasing down a murderer are a bright, likable bunch but wholly unbelievable to this reader.

I love a mystery series. And, prefer them on the light, clever side, but this series strains my credulity a bit too much. How the police can condone this level of “ support” is far more than I can believe. The varying skills of the three amateurs is interesting and fun, but their supportive police friend is relegated to the role of subservient side-kick ( at best)..

These quirks are not enough to put me off a fun series, but the narrative is just too “ step-by-step” for my taste. I found the book to lack style, but the solution was a surprise. And complex.

This is a delightful mystery featuring three charming amateur detectives and set in an idyllic English town. Lots of suspects and a surprising solution make it highly recommended!

I did not love this book a much as the previous two, but its dialogue heavy nature will appeal to many readers. It's definitely a book I would recommend readers read as part of the series, and not attempt to go for it as a standalone. It is a positive addition to a library's mystery collection, and I appreciate that each character has a history and experience, despite still being fallible.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The three main characters were well developed and had unique personalities, making it a delightful read. Suzie's humor stood out to me, and the plot had many unexpected twists. The setting was charming, and I was satisfied with the ending, especially how two characters were handled. Overall, I highly recommend this novel.

When the Mayor of Marlow dies suddenly the police resignedly appoint Judith, Becks and Suzie as Civilian Advisors. As the trio investigates, Geoffrey Lushington seems beloved by all. Everyone in Marlow seems to have been helped out by Geoffrey, so who would poison his coffee? As the Marlow trio digs into the council members everyone else seems to be hiding a secret. As the secrets begin to unravel, embezzlement, blackmail and more come to light.

Can the Marlow Murder Club untangle the mess before a murderer gets away with killing an innocent man?

As I began to read the book it started like it would give me a sense of suspense. As the book progressed, by the time I finished the book this evening, I'd been waiting for it to end for nearly an hour.

I did not read the two books before this one so that could be why I did not connect to me like it should.

The book opens with a welcome change to the formula. Suzie witnesses the murder, Tanika Malik has been promoted to Detective Inspector and so has the freedom to bring Judith, Becks and Suzie in from the beginning as Civilian Advisors. This cut out a lot of unnecessary time that might have been spent on justifying the three friends' involvement and acknowledges their track record without stopping them from being free agents.

The chemistry between Judith, Becks and Suzie is even better in this book than in the first two. I love the close observation of how day-to-day life works and the dialogue worked so well that I found myself laughing out loud at it in places. I loved that we finally get to see Becks losing her temper as she tries to cope with having her mother-in-law invading her home for an indefinite period.

Overall, I got bored and when I get bored it takes me a while to try to finish a book.

In the third book of our usual gang, as always, there is Judith Potts, a woman in her 70s who swimming naked in the river, solving and making crossword puzzles, and enjoys living alone with her cat. Then there is Becks, a vicar's wife who has a good financial mind and tries her best to carry her dignity, most of the time. Lastly, there is Suzie, a woman in her 50s who is a dog walker, has a line in Marlow radio, and hates podcasters.

This time, they didn't pull into the murder, like before. To make things worse, Suzie is the witness of it, so, Tanika, the detective inspector of Marlow to prevent them from meddling and becoming a nuisance, does all of them including herself a favor, and hires them as civilian advisers for the case. This way, they have to act as law-abiding citizens, but is such a thing even possible for Judith?!

I found three novels of The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood to be enjoyable and mysterious, and each of which can be read as a standalone book. While I did like this book as much as the others, I couldn't give it a 5-star rating because of its psychological aspect which made me feel sad. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, so I won't go into detail, but overall it was still a very good read.

My huge thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for giving me the chance to read The Queen of Poisons (The Marlow Murder Club #3) by Robert Thorogood, I have given my honest review.

Detective Inspector Tanika Malik brings in Judith, Susie, and Becks as civilian advisors to help in her latest murder investigation. The question is, who would want to murder the affable mayor and how did the poison get into his coffee? It seems that everyone on the town council had secrets and the trio are determined to uncover those secrets and solve the murder. This was a fun fast paced cozy that had red herrings galore. I thought i had the murderer figured out, but boy was I wrong. I was very surprised by who the murderer turned out to be. The ending involving Beck's meddling mother-in-law was perfect. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in this delightful series.

As a huge fan of The Marlow Murder Club series, I was thrilled to be able to read an advance copy of this book. I loved it- the series keeps getting better and better. Everyone is a suspect, and they all have their own secrets. Many times I thought I had things figured out, but I never came close. This book could be read as a standalone, but it’s really worth reading the 3 books in order. Readers won’t want to have missed any of them. I highly recommend this book and the series.

This is such a fun cozy mystery series and is perfect for fans of "The Thursday Murder Club" which also has a fantastic set of characters! There are a good amount of red herrings in this one and I unfortunately was wrong about the final reveal. I don't know how many more books in htis series, but I am hoping for at least 3 more! I love the three female leads who each have their own unique personalities. While this could be read as a standalone, you would be missing the depth of characters if you don't read the other two books in this series. They are about 300ish pages, so not too long to get through!

Thank you so much to the author and netgalley for allowing me to read this early in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thorogood has written another fabulous mystery focusing on real, relatable women. Sometimes ridiculous, always loveable, Judith Potts never gives up until she's solved the puzzle. Suzie Harris struggles to accept that she's found happiness. Becks Starling is figuring out her new position in her marriage & family. Tanika has a new job to navigate & an ailing father to care for. But all three have each other - & of course a murder to solve, again. Judith, Becks, Suzie, & Tanika drive the story as much as the clues they uncover. Their successes are what make the story worth reading - & Judith's monologues, too.

This is such a fun series! The Queen of Poisons is an entertaining, easy to read, cozy mystery that is very cleverly done. I never would have guessed the ending! There are a lot of red herrings, and all the suspects have a secret, so it keeps you guessing all the way through. I will say that Judith can be annoying at times, but overall, I really like this crime-solving trio. Becks is my favorite because she is the sweetest and is always trying to follow the rules. This book could be read as a standalone, but if you haven't read the others than I highly recommend them!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

Out of respect for Judith I feel like I should use some fancy crossword worthy words to describe the book, but I had a bit of thinking scotch while finishing it, so I'm not sure that's going to happen. It was a great book though! A good third installment, clever and exciting all the way through. While the overall number of murders in Marlow may keep some tourists away, I hope to keep visiting Judith and her crime solving friends for some time.

Very entertaining cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns and a good mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

A fun, cozy mystery in the next of this series. Definitely a lot of red flags, entertaining characters, a well developed plot. For those who like Richard Osman’s Thursday Mystery Club Series.

I had such a good time reading this book. The three main characters are fleshed out and have rather colorful personalities, which was something delightful to read about. Suzie was particularly funny to me. The plot is very interesting and with a good number of twists. The setting is charming and I actually loved the ending. The way two characters are dealt with at the very end was very satisfying to me. I would highly recommend this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.