Death comes to Marlow by Richard Thorogood sees the return of three amateur detectives Judith, Suzie and Becks.
Sir Peter Bailey is throwing a drinks party the night before his wedding to Jenny Page and Judith has been invited. When during the Party a sudden crash is heard, and Sir Peter is found crushed to death in his study by his cabinet. The door is locked, but when the Police arrive at the scene, they don’t think that his was murdered, they think that he took his own life. But Judith thinks differently and wonders why would Sir Peter kill himself the night before his wedding? Judith and her counterparts of The Marlow Murder club, decide to do an investigation of their own, with the annoyance of the SIO investigating the case of this locked room mystery.
Thank you, HQ, for a copy of Death Comes to Marlow. This is the second instalment in The Marlow Murder club. I have not read the first book in the series and at the start of this, there was some reference to the first book. So, at first it took me a while to realise what was going on. I would advise to read the first one first. But as I delved further into the story, I found this well plotted and well-paced addictive read. 4 stars from me.

I really enjoyed Death Comes to Marlow. I read The Marlow Murder Club and enjoyed that too but this is better. The 3 same amateur detectives are back, but this time the dynamics of the group have settled and the personalities are becoming more established. The 3 main characters make a good team here with each bringing something different to the story.

Alongside the characterisation is a great detective story too. I had figured out the “who” but not the “how” of this, which was quite pleasing. The “how” was quite ingenious but the reader had actually been given all the clues throughout the story to figure it out for ourselves if we’d been clever enough, which was satisfying.

I would definitely recommend this to friends and family. I hope there will be more!

I absolutely loved this book. Honestly, I think this series is better than THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB. Both series’ have the same concept of an elderly lady and her ‘gang’ solving murders for the police who are annoyed at them getting involved but end up being friendly with them.

There’s so many different suspects that each of them have to be ruled out some how. The whole process of how Judith and her friends do that is rather clever and entertaining. Some of it is purposely planned out but others are accidentally revealed.

I really liked the reveal at the end and how that part of the story was told. It didn’t seem very clear how someone could be murdered whilst locked inside a room that only they have the key for. However, the reveal of how that happened was very clever, I didn’t even have that idea in my mind!

Overall, a very enjoyable book and a great addition to the series. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Judith gets up to!

3 middle aged amateur sleuths get involved in solving a murder that the Police do not believe is a murder.

I love cosy crime, especially as the weather is getting colder. This was a really good read. I enjoyed the 3 female detectives and their friend in the Police. The dynamic between them all was well written and believable.

The enjoyed the pacing of the book and the twists and turns were well done. I enjoyed how it all came together and had had my suspicions about the suspect throughout the book.

The only downside is that I didn’t realise it was the second in the series so I felt I had missed on a bit of character development but I have now bought the first book and cannot wait to get to it 😊

The second novel in the Marlow Murder Club series and friends Suzie, Becks and Judith are plunged into another mystery. Well written and vibrant, the story is fast paced and the ending satisfactory. I love the female characters including detective Tamika and I look forward to reading The next novel.in the series.

Death Comes To Marlow is the second witty novel in 'The Murder Club' series by Robert Thorogood and heralds the return of Judith, Suzie and Becks, our intrepid and rather unusual sleuths.
Each woman has enjoyed a certain notoriety since solving a series of murders a few months earlier but their lives have since returned to normal and Judith for one is disappointed by this turn of events. As a result, she is excited to receive an invite from Lord Peter to his pre-wedding party for that afternoon. And she promptly invites Suzie to accompany her. Naturally, Becks is in attendance (as she wife of the local vicar, who will be performing the ceremony). Of course, once our three heroes are united, we know that it will not be longer before a "whodunnit?" occurs.
And we are not kept waiting as within minutes, the would-be groom, Lord Peter is found dead, inside a locked room. I will admit that this was the element to catch my attention as I do love a ''locked-room' mystery and this was a particularly well written story. And despite my best efforts, while I did guess the culprit or (culprits? ;)), I do not even come close to working out how the crime was committed. Very Agatha Christie in how all of the elements come together and there is great precision required for the elements to work.
I'm looking forward to the next outing for the trio.

The second instalment of the Marlow Murder Club, such an enjoyable book. Sir Peter Bailey is getting married and invites Judith (she of the wild swimming) to a drinks party on the eve of his wedding. So, she and her two companions Suzie and Bex) head off and hear an argument between Si Peter and his son, shortly after a huge crash is heard and Sir Peter is found crushed under a cabinet inside a locked room, very Agatha Christie! The Trio of amateur sleuths set off and try to solve the mystery. Wonderful characters who you would love to meet, Robert Thorogood writes fantastic dialogue, never a dull moment, lots of red herrings plenty of humour and a plot worthy of Agatha!!!

Cosy crime with a delectable bite is back with the Marlow Murder Club – aka friends Judith, Suzie and Becks. It’s very deathly (pardon the pun) quiet since their debut murder solving, and there’s nothing of excitement on the horizon bar the upcoming wedding of Sir Peter Bailey to his nurse, Jenny Paige. Which is all well and good, and Judith gets an invite, so agrees to attend. After all, free champagne is free champagne. But during the party, a noise alerts the trio to something dodgy… namely, the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study. As the door is locked from the inside, surely it's nothing more than a cruel accident. However, Judith is very, very certain it’s anything but. In fact, Sir Peter HAS to have been murdered, and she’s going to prove it, with or without her two best friends. You’ll enjoy how the trio work out the red herrings and separate fact from fiction. An entertaining read that’ll cause a few chuckles.

A welcome return of the murder club with a classic locked room mystery to solve.
The murder club are all guns blazing (well Judith is anyway) to solve the suspicious death during a party in a locked room and with all suspects theoretically accounted for.
As Judith assists the police (Whether they want her to or not) in their investigations she and her friends make a number of discoveries and suggest a number of possibilities non of which lead you naturally to the major twist at the end!
Loved every minute of it!

I absolutely loved book one in this series, so was excited to get back to Judith and her crime solving pals on another fun filled adventure. Even better than the first and with some brilliantly laugh out loud moments. Can be read as a standalone but in my opinion always best to read in order. loved it

A very enjoyable read with a great cast of characters although they're so different that I really can't imagine them as friends in real life. Judith is definitely the most interesting and I really enjoyed her cryptic crossword solving; it certainly added another dimension to the plot. The fact that the trio do the work of the police is certainly implausible but the book is clearly not meant to be taken seriously and is a great read if you can suspend your inner disbelief. The ending is excellent with all questions answered and I certainly hadn't come anywhere near guessing how it was done, very clever indeed!

Another wonderful book by a very accomplished author. I adore Death in Paradise and was overjoyed when the first Marlow Murder Club book was published, and it was clear that the author was going to branch out on a new series. What a series if you liked the first book you will love this one although you do not need to have read the first to enjoy this book, but the same characters are all here again. I love a good, locked room murder and this is one of the best. I did work out the murderer but not until just before the reveal, which was satisfying to me.
This is a book that you must read and in my opinion is far better than the Richard Osman books that he has so blatantly copied from this author and his previous TV writings and published Novels

Judith, an elderly but sprightly lady, is back in action with her friends, Suzie and Becks, and their police contact Tanika. Judith is invited at the last minute to a pre-wedding shindig of Sir Peter Bailey. Whilst there, Sir Peter dies by being crushed by a cabinet inside his locked study, with the key in his pocket. Judith is suspicious, given that he felt the need to invite her to his party and therefore must have felt in danger. Judith and co. investigate and discard the obvious suspects (son/heir, fiancee) until the ultimate reveal. This is a clever and humorous mystery which I really enjoyed.

A really satisfying cosy mystery. It was great to be back in Marlow again, Judith is such a fab detective - a bit like Marple crossed with Morse. I didn’t guess how the murderer did it in the locked room until it was revealed. Very clever and really funny too.

Glorious….
The second in this new series of mysteries, a return for The Marlow Murder Club and the unflappable, irrepressible, happy in her own skin, Judith Potts who continues her wild swimming for inspiration. An invitation to a garden party at a mansion in Marlow comes as a surprise to Judith but, as the friends gather, the gang is together once again and that can only mean one thing - murder! When Sir Peter is discovered in a locked room, very dead indeed, it’s up to the gang to sort the wheat from the chaff. From the author of the wonderful Death In Paradise series of mysteries (all first class reads), comes the next wholly entertaining, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable romp in Marlow, with a glorious protagonist and a colourful cast of supporting characters. Wonderful escapism.

I couldn’t put Death Comes to Marlowe, the second instalment of Marlowe Murder club, by Robert Thorogood down until I found out who the murderer was- much to the annoyance of the people around me.
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion
Judith, the seven-eight-year-old crossword setter and naked wild water swimmer is the amateur detective who finds herself with a puzzle of a death when she is invited to the pre-wedding party of Sir. Peter Bailey. But the only problem is while Judith is convinced this is murder, there isn’t any evidence to suggest the death wasn’t anything other than an accident. So of course Judith sets out to solve the mystery with the help of Suzie, a dog walker and burgeoning radio celebrity and Becks the vicar’s wife hiding her own little secret.
This is modern cosy crime at it its best- interesting with bizarre suspects, plenty of motives and red herrings, a locked room murder, a helpful cop and of course Judith.
Judith is not Miss Marple, she is a vibrant, determined older person battling her own demons but is someone happy with her choices and her life. The subplot involving the messages in the cryptic crosswords was fascinating in itself and made me want to dip my toes in trying a few out.
The plot races along with one little revelation after another and as expected there was plenty of humour and no gore. The book also somehow manages to touch upon serious issues such as privilege and misogyny but not in a heavy-handed way.
My only tiny gripe is Becks- her unique skill is her knowledge of the ‘middle classes but for some reason, I thought that some of the things she was talking about were far beyond the means of the average middle-class household (this is of course my own subjective view which could be very wrong!).
But that is a tiny gripe and I can’t wait for the next instalment and really hope this is turned into a tv show ( like Death in Paradise by the same author).
Perfect for Fans
A good murder mystery such as The Thursday Murder Club or a more modern take on Agatha Christie

The unlikely trio of amateur sleuths become embroiled in another Marlow mystery, when a local grandee is found dead on the eve of his wedding. The room is locked from the inside, the key is in his pocket - and none of the prime suspects can have done it....

And for good measure, DS Tanika Malik has been sidelined by her boss.

Another brilliant adventure, full of intrigue

Senior citizen crime busters, first devised by Agatha Christie in the shape of indomitable Miss Marple, have been very popular in recent years, thanks in no small part to Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. With his fictional heroines Judith, Suzie and Becks, Richard Thorogood introduces some equally compelling amateur sleuths (although, admittedly, two of them are not yet of retirement age). It soon becomes clear that Thorogood, who came to prominence as writer of the Death in Paradise T.V. series, is just as good in creating murder mysteries on his home turf. The story starts with Judith’s acceptance of a pre-wedding party in a luxurious Home Counties mansion. At least there should be a glass or two of her favoured whiskey on offer – but when Sir Peter Bailey, the aspiring bridegroom, dies in mysterious circumstances during the evening, a ‘locked room mystery’ begins for Judith, her friends Suzie and Becks, and their police contact Tanika Malik. In Marple-like fashion, this quartet of formidable women gradually eliminates one suspect after another to get to the heart of the mystery. With two additional minor plots that give Suzie and Becks well-deserved higher profiles, this is a thoroughly enjoyable, or should I write Thorogood enjoyable, murdery mystery. As soon as I had closed the book, I bought its predecessor in the series and devoured that one also. Huge thanks go to the publishers and to NetGalley for granting me a free ARC in exchange for this honest and unbiased review of what is a highly readable tome. More about Judith, Suzie and Becks, please!

I like Robert Thorogood's writing very much and think that, with Judith, Suzie and Becks, he's created an engaging set of characters. Although they often know better, or more, than the local police (which can be tedious in books of this kind), they are grounded firmly in the real world and understand that police procedure is also a real thing. Death Comes to Marlow is the second book in the series and sees the trio attempt to discover the truth of what caused the death of a man due to be married the next day.

The plot is twisty enough to keep readers guessing and, although, I had my suspicions about the murder, I didn't manage to put it all together before the end. The trio of sleuths are very different, and their personalities continue to be revealed throughout the book, which I'd thoroughly recommend.

This was a cosy, entertaining and very unbelievable read. A few pals trying to solve a seemingly unsolvable murder. Accept it for what it is and you’ll enjoy it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read it.