I have to admit what first drew me in wasn't the cover, it was the title and the blurb. This sounded like it was going to be such a fun read and that was exactly what I got!
I was invested in this right from the start and my interest didn't lessen the more I read.
This felt like such an easy read, mainly because of the writing style and the pacing. Both of which I really enjoyed.
You could really feel the tension and atmosphere build and build right up to the end.
Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of our main character Penny as I found her to be so naïve and because of that irritating. She really didn't come across like she was in her fifties. At times I wanted to reach into the book and giver her a shake.
However I did like the parents Sissy and Heath. They were the real stars of this book and I loved reading about them.
I also feel like this book could have benefitted from chapters from Cooper's POV. As there weren't any, I felt like I didn't really know anything about him or his motives and because of this his character seemed to lack any depth.
There also weren't any surprises for me plot wise. It all seemed pretty obvious from the start how it was all going to play out so nothing was very shocking for me.
That being said I did have such a fun time reading this. The whole thing felt so entertaining and if you like a domestic thriller this should be right up your street.

I flew through this book. The chapters were short and snappy and the story was continuous - after the prologue - so you just wanted to keep on reading.

The opening chapter is current time and then it rewinds telling the story up to present day. The prologue was 👀 but as I continued the chapters I kind of forgot about it and got immersed into the story. I had to keep reminding myself of the title of the book.

My heart went out to Sissy & Heath. There is nothing worse than bad neighbours let alone one you’ve welcomed into your own home.

Cooper was your typical smarmy guy and boy did he pull the wool over my eyes. The way his story tied in with Penny & Zach’s was good.

The lengths they went to, to cover up their crimes were incredible. I love the unassuming culprit and the way they played on their stereotypes.

Fab read especially if you love sneaky pensioners.

Such a fun and refreshing take on a thriller. Laura Marshall’s writing and storytelling is great. A great summer read if you enjoy thrillers.

Penny is trying to hang onto her job to support her son at university.
She has recommended to her elderly parents to take in a lodger for them to stay in the family home.
This all snowballs into a nightmare of a phone call from her dad about a dead body.
Penny is the central character who has to respond to many life changing calls.
You are routing for Penny’s parents they become the unsung stars.
If you find yourself in need of help, call Sissy.
A book you will pick up and want to read in one day.
Thank you NetGalley and (Hodder & Stoughton) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

An interesting and enjoyable read, with a number of twists and turns. You are invested in Penny the main character and also become involved with her parents. The issues with her parents, ex-husband and her son are skillfully woven into the story. Getting a lodger for her parents to help with the finances is the start of their problems. The story romps along and as well as the humour there are some tense and some darker parts. You cannot help but ask yourself 'What would I do?'

Really enjoyed this book! A great author generally. I loved the dialogue between Penny and her parents and the humour used by them as well as their take on what's important in later life!!! I also loved the surprises Penny's parents presented towards the end of the story, for me they took centre stage in the plot. Some other important issues handled throughout the book including parent separation and drug addiction which tied into some of the plot nicely. Well worth a read!

Because there are many other reviews explaining giving a short synopsis and emphasising the strengths of this book, I will mainly focus on my personal experience.
From what I remember, this is the first time I have read a book by Laura Marshall.
Secondly, mysteries and thrillers are not my main go-to-genres, but I like a challenge.
This was not a challenging (boring) read at all. For me what stood out is Marshall’s craft. How she makes the characters and the story world come alive, how she vividly describes the details, and the dialogue reads natural. The sub-themes around suburban life, mid-life, the difficulties in retirement were a bonus, and I enjoyed the dry wit.
5/5 for these aspects.
4/5 for characterisation and plot.

I love reading Laura Marshall's books, getting hooked after reading her outstanding debut Friend Request. I was very excited to see she had a new book out, and the synopsis of A Good Place To Hide A Body sounded like a perfect book for me. It is fair to say I devoured it in less than 24 hours, picking it up whenever I had a spare moment and then not being able to go to sleep until I had finished it! Wow; what a story!
The book opens with a slight expansion on the synopsis. We know that Penny (a 50 year old recently divorced mother of teenage son who has just started university) gets a call from her parents that there is a body and she mustn't call the police. The timeline then jumps back three months so we can see what led up to that point. Then we leqrn about the aftermath. This wormat works exceedingly well. The characters are believable, a mixture of likeable and those who you wouldn't be sorry if didn't survive until the end of the book! Lauren writes these so well.
A great thriller, with a lot of suspense and with a good sense of humour as well.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a brilliant thriller that was easy to read in one sitting.

At the beginning of the book we get a glimpse into the event and know that at some point there will be a body but we have no idea who it is or what has happened. it then changes to 3 months prior and we are taken on a whirlwind of a story taking us through the events to got us back to the present.
This one is a real page turner and hard to put down, every time you think you have a handle on where you think the book is going to go something else comes out that completely changes what you think. I found myself thoroughly entertained and anxious (in the best way possible) to see what was going to happen next.
There is a lot of humour used later on in the book that I found very funny and the character development was very well done.

Definitely recommend to thrillers lovers who like to have no idea what is going on.

The book starts with Penny Whitlock receiving a phone call late one evening that every tweenager dreads - a panicked plea for help from her dad to come quickly. Part of that generation who divide their time between supporting their kids who are away at university and their own elderly parents - all whilst holding down a full-time job - Penny's marriage has broken down and she's juggling everything pretty much single-handed. So the last thing she needs when she was about to hunker down on the sofa for some much needed down time is to have to manage some kind of parental crisis. The break in her dad's usually strong, unwavering voice tells her that something is very wrong.

Rewind three months, and the journey which results in the traumatic phone call is relayed to the reader. In a nutshell, Penny's parents are struggling to make ends meet in order to keep their home maintained -Penny has suggested downsizing and all that resulted in was a degree of frostiness from her mum. How could they possibly walk away from a lifetime's work cultivating their precious rose garden?? Penny then comes up with the idea that her parents get their annexe up to a habitable state in order to rent it out. An idea which well and truly comes back to bite her when they end up with Cooper Brownlow as their tenant.

There aren't a huge number of characters in this book, but each of them plays an integral part in the story. Obviously, Penny is the keystone that links everyone else together, and her parents are fabulously well drawn by the author - some dark humour and witty comments in particular from Sissy, Penny's mum keep the lighter side of this murder mystery alive. And dad Heath is just so lovely, I constantly wanted to hug him. On the flip side we have Cooper, their drug dealing ex-convict tenant and his associates who make life pretty intolerable over the short term of the lease offered by estate agent Julie and her team of one, the shiny suited, acne afflicted Dean. Add in Penny's ex-husband and his new wife Elaine with the usual irritations extended families can cause, it's no wonder Penny feels like she's trying to keep too many plates spinning.

I would almost describe this as a cosy murder mystery, but it offers a bit more grit than that. Set in a suburban location that the majority of us can relate to, Laura Marshall has written a credible story with a hint of comedy, the feel of which very much reminded me of Belinda Bauer's book Exit (if you haven't read it, you really should!). Some decent 'heart in mouth' moments keep your attention all the way through, and I definitely recommend this book if you want something lighter, but still crime oriented. Also, bonus points from me for the cover illustration, which is a perfect fit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.

This is the first book I have read by this author. The cover and title of the book drew me in immediately and I was jubilant when I was granted a copy to review.

Penny is a recently divorced mother of 19 year old Zack who is a bit too fond of recreational drugs. She's already juggling several plates including a demanding boss, and her elderly parents Heath and Sissy are only adding to the worry. They decide to rent out their small basement flat for some additional cash and find a lodger in charming middle-aged Cooper Brownlow. Penny feels at first drawn to Cooper, but this is no romance novel. In fact, there is an unsettling scene in which Penny feels she can't say no to Cooper's sexual overtures out of fear what he might do if she did.

We know that a body needs to be hidden but how did it get to that point? The first half of the book tells us about Cooper, the tenant from hell and the attempts to oust him, the second half what happens after his death. You'd think after Penny helped her parents with the body, the story would calm down, but the opposite is the case. The tension ramps up when more and more people come to look for Cooper and the police becomes involved.

This was right up my alley. It's brilliantly written, with Cooper's outrageous actions dominating the first half and twists and surprises coming thick and fast all through the second half of the book. Penny often annoyed me, but I adored Heath and Sissy, the fun alternative parents who display some surprising criminal energy, especially when Sissi uses her age to her advantage to appear dottier than she is.

This is pacy and entertaining and full of dark humour, with a satisfying outcome. It's a quick and gripping read - I finished it in a day. Hugely recommended.

I loved this dark, fun and entertaining read by this talented author.
The writing style is unique and will draw you in very quickly.
It’s one of my favourites this year and I’d definitely recommend. It’s more than worthy of 5 stars.

What a fun read this is and certainly a book that kept me turning the pages trying to work out how it was all going to end!
I’m not revealing any big secrets by saying that a murder occurs and a body needs to be disposed of but it’s what happens before the murder and what happens afterwards that make this such a engrossing story.
When Penny’s parents ring her and tell her something awful has happened she races round to their house to help.
The book then flashes back to the lead up to the event, Cooper, her parents’ new tenant moves in and everything takes off. It soon becomes apparent he is not a very nice person.
It would be a shame to reveal too much about the plot but suffice it to say it is very fast paced with a lot of black humour.
There’s also a theme of parents’ relationships with their children- Penny learns to see her parents in a different light, as independent people and comes to realise that her own son, Zach has many problems which she has been ignoring due to her blind belief in him. She cannot see his faults. Another mother also maintains that her son can do no wrong despite his obvious shortcomings.
I loved the author’s writing style which had me hooked from the start and her character development was excellent. Heath and Sissy, Penny’s parents were fabulous!!
I highly recommend this book and have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

This was the perfect book for me right now! A nice, light, easy-to-read book after the hefty ones I've read lately!

From the title, you can guess what happens in the book - someone gets murdered. However, the story as to how it gets to that point is entertaining yet twisted.

I really enjoyed it, so much so that I read it in one sitting!

A dark and in places amusing read.

Penny thinks her elderly parents are a little needy and getting in the way of her life. However, this time when they ring she realises they really do need her.

The books begins with the "body" and works backwards for three months. Just as I was beginning to think there wasn't much to the plot we catch up to the present day, then it really became a page turner. Every time I thought I must be near the end of the book there was another twist. In the end this book definitely became a thriller.

The best drawn characters for me were the parents. Surprises up their sleeves at every turn. Whilst a lot of current books have older people solving crimes, in this case they are involved in the crime. Penny was a little judgemental about everyone and certainly very tardy with her work. However she did take a lot of risks that had me holding my breath at times.

This is the second book I have read by the author and another winner.

We meet Penny and her parents, Heath and Sissy. Penny is a single mum to nineteen year old Zach and is only managing to keep a roof over her head after the break-up of her marriage. Heath and Sissy live in a rambling Victorian house where they are struggling to pay the bills, never mind the upkeep of the property. After putting their heads together they all decide that renting the self contained apartment in the basement to a lodger would be a huge help financially.

Of course, with the genre of this book, you can guess that the lodger turns out to be one from hell making all their lives a complete nightmare and getting no help whichever way they turn. I truly felt sorry for Penny’s parents and was as eager for the lodger to be gone as they were. My blood riled at the things that they get up to. None of them anticipate how it will all end with a body on their hands that they need to get rid of.

Well, this was just a pure delight to read. So much so I devoured it in an afternoon. Some characters will surprise you and many a time I couldn’t sit still as the threat of them being found out was very high and makes for some nail-biting reading. There are some unexpected twists and turns that made it totally impossible to put down. I adored Heath and Sissy although I’m still not quite sure if I would love to have them as parents or not!

A Good Place to Hide a Body was a highly entertaining and fun read that was so refreshing. I loved the dark humor and the mounting tension, yet it was also quite endearing in parts. It kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the very last page and I would love to see it made into a film or series. A very different crime thriller that readers are going to love and be thrilled in equal measure!

The title and book cover is enough to hook you from the start.
I’ve received this from NetGalley and so happy I got it.
It’s a really great read.
Penny is a great character and her love and compassion for her family is what makes this crazy story believable.
How she perceives her family evolves as the story snowballs and runs out of control. I couldn’t wait to finish it and the story kept me hooked and didn’t disappoint. Every twist and turn was well thought out and just when you think it’s all over… it isn’t! Love Sissy & Heath and how they hide in plain sight throughout, playing on people’s perceptions of the elderly.

It’s a fast paced, funny, really great read!

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.

This book was a diverting way to pass a few hours in an airport. Although the characters could be abrasive at times (including the very judgemental main character Penny), I found that the plot hung together well and the narrative went places I didn't expect in terms of culpability and ethics.

I loved this book!! It's a real "on-edge" read with some dark comedy thrown in for good measure. We meet Penny and her elderly parents. Her parents need some extra income and Penny comes up with the idea of renting out their basement annex. Cooper, their new tenant seems, at first, perfectly suitable. However it's not long before it's obvious he is the tenant from hell, and getting rid of him isn't going to be easy.

This was such an addictive read! Once started, I couldn't put it down! I liked Penny's character, and loved her parents - Penny's mother was so funny and played her part very well! The storyline begins with a little flash-forward, but then we go back to before Cooper arrives and the storyline from there flows so well, building up the tension as it moves along. I have to admit that whilst I did find parts of the story funny, it was definitely a dark sort of humour, the kind that perhaps you shouldn't really be laughing at! I felt really uncomfortable with her parents storyline, and felt a sick dread in my stomach as I read as to what Cooper was doing and how their lives were becoming unbearable.

There were lots of twists and turns in the storyline and it was very cleverly worked out. I had my heart in my mouth several times throughout the book and whilst I had some idea where it was all heading, I didn't work it all out right!! Without giving away any spoilers, the ending was perfect and rounded everything off nicely! I thought it was my first book by this author, but I had actually read one other book some years ago. I will definitely be reading more though as this was one I really enjoyed! Full of suspense and some nerve-wracking moments, I'd certainly recommend this book!