Penny is a 50 year old woman who is also a recently divorced mother.
She is doing her best to support her parents who live in a house that has seen better days as well as her 19 year old son is is at Uni and ex-husband treats her as his personal therapist.

Sissy and Heath, Pennys parents need money and with a basement which with a bit of updating is soon fit for a tenant.

Cooper Brownlow agrees to move in and before long is flirting with Penny. For a woman who feels invisible, who can blame her for falling under his spell?

But all too soon, Sissy and Heath are complaining to Penny about their new tenant. He's making noise and having visitors at stupid O' clock and they are convinced that he has been in their home.

When they raise their complaints with the letting agents, they are ignored and the Police appear to think that Sissy and Heath are doddery old fools who make complaints about nonsense every other day.

There are more twists and turns in this book than a rollercoaster. and there isn't much more I can say without spoilers.

But I very much enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it to all.

When she receives a frantic phone call from her parents one night, with express instructions NOT to call the police, Penny rushes over at once. But they haven't had a fall. They haven't forgotten their computer passwords. They've killed someone. And his body is lying in the garden, right next to the rose bushes.

I have such conflicting feelings about this one, but I am going to see it was, overall, a very fun, very quick read. It did take me a while to get into it, as the first half struggled to keep my attention at many points, but then things picked up and it was so much better for me. As far as characters go, I only consistently liked Penny's parents, while everyone else had their moments. The story itself was definitely interesting and took some turns I wasn't expecting at all.

A bit late, but still – many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton & NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun read that kept you going through the different twists and turns. Easy going despite the matter and fully recommend

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Penny's elderly parents have a house which is in disrepair, and they cant afford to do all the repairs. But they have lots of room, and an annex, so decide to get a lodger, called Cooper. But Cooper isn't as nice as what he seems.

This isn't the usual writing for this writer, but it was very enjoyable. The characters were all well written, and I especially liked Penny's parents, they added humour to what could otherwise be a very dark storyline. The story was well written, but Penny could be infuriating in places due to her actions. The story was well paced, as well as being a very easy reading book. Would recommend.

A Good Place to Hide a Body - Bad Sisters meets The Good Life in this fresh and funny thriller
by Laura Marshall was such a good that I also bought the audiobook on audible in order that I could enjoy it again. A fresh and unique premise with a razor sharp wit and immaculately woven storylines that had me equally howling with laughter and gasping at the twists

The premise hooked me in and as soon as I started reading, I was enraptured. Penny is relatable, looking after her aging, eccentric parents (the horticultural/ allotment politics had me laughing so hard) However, these two are far from what we would expect of an elderly couple, especially when they call Penny in a desperate panic imploring her to come and help. There was a dead body in their garden and they were responsible. This was not their usual type of request and as such, sets off a glorious rampage to resolve the problem.... but don't walk on the roses!

I loved this book and the narration by Karina Fernandez is chef's kiss! Absolutely recommend and then some!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the outstanding Laura Marshall for this incredible ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

The synopsis of A Good Place To Hide A Body really intrigued me, as did the more unique aspect of the book having an older protagonist than we're used to seeing. Not to mention the fact that it mentions that it's the protagonists' elderly parents that actually do the murdering. But unfortunately something about the book just didn't hit quite right. I think books such as Sweetpea by C J Skuse and How To Kill Men And Get Away With It by Bella Mackie had me expecting sarcastic, witty banter and some dark comedy moments but that's not what this book gave.
The book started off quite strong and I was enjoying it but then it sort of lost it's steam and began to slow a bit and things became a bit boring. I don't think the Son having a drug addiction added to the storyline and could have easily been left out. Especially as it wasn't dealt with well and was only very superficially and stereotypically written about.
I did really like Penny's Mum and Dad and feel like if the story had been focused on them then there would have been the witty banter and comical gold moments that I was craving.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest opinion.

I enjoyed this book as a lighthearted read but felt as though it was another in the same vein of titles launched since Bella Mackie's How to kill my family which didn't quite live up to the same quality and uniqueness. The relationships within the book felt a little forced and the main character I couldn't warm to.

You know within the first few pages of a book whether or not you are going to like a new-to-you author. Despite the present-tense narrative in this (I sooo do not like it), I really did like this author's writing.

The characters are all very well presented and real: some of them unpleasant and menacing, some endearing and others focussed and really rather smart. But all of them entertaining. The plot is well metered…Penny's parents decide to let their basement flat out to help with their bills but discover their new tenant is not entirely a model one.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it would have been worthy of the fully five stars but for the too many, and if I'm honest, unacceptable, mistaken use of the subject pronoun when the object pronoun should have been used. Too many 'for Martin and I' (as an example…it should be for Martin and me, of course): six instances in total. If the author misses these, the editor very definitely shouldn't.

That aside, Marshall has very definitely secured a place in my read-more-of list, if not for a very enjoyable book, for thanking her readers in her acknowledgements…always a special touch.

I wasn't looking for tips or anything, but I did do a bombastic side-eye when A Good Place to Hide a Body cropped up in my NetGalley recommendations. Unfortunately, far from being a manual it's actually Laura Marshall's fifth novel. Less-unfortunately it's a brilliant thriller that I finished within six hours.

A Good Place to Hide a Body follows Penny and her family as they navigate their way through a life-altering, infuriating scenario at the hands of a stranger named Cooper who'll remind absolutely all of you of your very worst ex.

Never mind dealing with neighbours from hell, Penny's parents inadvertently find themselves with the tenant from hell. It was horrifying to read the insidious way that Cooper weedled his way into their home, gradually revealing himself to be a dangerous, narcissistic turbo-twat of the highest order, and I was equally as annoyed as I was frustrated at every wall they ran into in their desperation to get him out.

Supporting characters provided excellent plot support, and this was a nice linear read that felt punchy, pacy and was an absolute page-turner. A Good Place to Hide a Body was such a thriller to me, and I found myself desperate for Cooper to get his comeuppance; he embodied so many traits of the worst kinds of people it was thrilling to know that he'd inevitably be popped off.

Much as I knew he was on course to get what he deserved, the way it all happened was full of twists so nothing was completely predictable. Penny and her parents were so regular, normal people with normal lives, going through normal mundanity, that it really tickled a little part of my brain in an appealing way. Despite being a fictional book, there was a tiny spark of thought...'this could happen to anyone'...and that's what made it extra enjoyable to me.

Rating: ✨✨✨✨

3.5*
A Good Place To Hide A Body is a great read, on so many levels. It's packed with surprises and dark humour, but also makes you reflect on family, loyalty and how far you'd go to protect your family -- even the ones who are sort of stressing you out.

Penny's parents are a bit short on cash. She'd like to help them but is rather strapped herself. So she suggests that they do up and rent out the studio under their house. It has its own entrance but it's a bit small and shabby, so they can't afford to be too fussy about who rents it, but they are initially quite charmed by Cooper, who moves in.

Unfortunately, things go rather downhill from there, until Penny receives a call about a dead body. It needs to disappear, and she needs to make it happen before things go from bad to worse.

Marshall is an accomplished writer who delivers in terms of pacing, plotting and dialogue. It's an entertaining, gripping read.

Thanks to the author, publisher @HodderBooks and Netgalley for the ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

#AGoodPlaceToHideABody #NetGalley #bookreview #lauramarshall HodderBooks

A fun and feisty read. A Good Place To Hide a Body gets you thinking about who you let into your home! I really enjoyed the family dynamics and wondering what I would do in this situation!

A different vibe for this book by Laura Marshall this time and I have to say that I absolutely loved it! This is a darkly humorous book with some great twists and turns that made me think quite deeply about aging and how far we go to protect those that we love. I spent the first half gripped by the horrific situation Penny and her parents found themselves in and the second half hoping that they would get away with everything that followed. I found the ending quite abrupt but apart from that it was perfect!

The title sucked me in right away here! A good read, had me hooked from the start! Nice writing style, would read more by this author!

4.5★s
A Good Place To Hide A Body is the fifth novel by best-selling British author, Laura Marshall. Penny Whitlock’s parents are finding it difficult to make ends meet and, while she would like to help out, at fifty, recently divorced, working from home as an accountant and trying to support her nineteen-year-old son as he attends Uni, she’s pretty much in the same boat.

Their once-beautiful Victorian is now dilapidated, but the cellar has a kitchenette and small bathroom, and with the help of handyman Bob, is made fit for a tenant. The letting agent brings around Cooper Brownlow, fifties, fit, attractive and rather charming. And is he flirting with Penny? Mandatory payments made, he moves in.

But Sissy and Heath soon have complaints: noise, visitors at all hours, and has the man been inside their house? Penny has seen the baggie of weed in his sock drawer, but feels it would be unreasonable to criticize a harmless indulgence. But things don’t improve, and Penny is a bit distracted by his attentions, and makes what is, in hindsight, a poor choice.

Also distracting her, a nineteen-year-old son who seems more interested in smoking weed than attending Uni, and an ex-husband who appears to think she can act as his therapist regards relationship problems with his new, much younger girlfriend.

When the complaints come from the tenant, though, Penny’s suspicions are aroused, and what she discovers in a clandestine visit to the basement annexe is disturbing. The agent’s sympathies lie with the tenant, who is expertly covering tracks and getting his version heard before the Whitlocks get a chance to speak. And the guy has a six-month lease. What now?

Much more can’t be said without spoilers, but there is a body, and it needs to be hidden if a prison term is to be avoided. It gets moved about a bit, Penny’s not sure if the young, smart Detective Constable is fooled by their story, and she learns that her parents are perhaps not as frail as she has believed up to now. Marshall gives the reader plenty of black humour in a tale that would translate well to the screen. Very entertaining.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

📖 NetGalley Review

A Good Place To Hide A Body by Laura Marahall
Hodder & Stoughton, 4th July 2024

This fun read centres on Penny and her elderly parents, who are having some financial difficulties. In light of this, they decide to rent out their basement to a seemingly respectable middle-aged gentleman. A decision which they have cause to regret. The synopsis alone gave me Pacific Heights vibes. For anyone not around in 1990, it's a fantastic film where Michael Keaton plays the lodge from hell. Anyway, I digress.

One evening, Penny receives a frantic phone call from her father asking her to go over to see them. To cut a long story short, the lodger has been killed!

This book explores the problems of ageing and sharing your home with strangers. It's hilarious in some parts, especially when Penny and her father are trying to hide the body. The literary style is pleasing, and the story flows with ease.

Penny is likeable and believable. I found myself empathising with her a great deal, and her mother Sissy is a brilliant character too, full of fun and wit.
It's a not too serious thriller I'd highly recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Laura Marshall for providing an eARC via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

I thought this was an okay read.it kept me entertained ,and was a pretty good paced book.it didn't really grab me, but I wouldn't put anyone off reading it either.

“Everyone is capable of murder, they just need to meet the right person”
An addictive read with brilliant short snappy chapters
Although I didn’t gel with any of the characters, it was a still an entertaining mad caper which was so funny
The perfect summer holiday mystery
Thanks @lauramarshallauthor @hodderbooks & @netgalley for the funny, entertaining read

Laura Marshall is an absolutely delight. Dark, intense, atmospheric but just so exciting. I've held Laura Marshall to such high expectations and she never lets me down, coming in with another killer thriller with a fast pace, amazingly grey characters and explosive twists.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A thriller with humourous undertones, well-written with plenty of twists and turns. A recommended read.