Set in the world of authors and publishing this murder mystery is as you'd expect from this author really good.

The story has drama, a suspected poisoning and a host of twisty red herrings to keep the reader guessing.

I loved it. I always enjoy a Horowitz novel and this did not disappoint.

Fans of Atticus Pünd will revel in this latest escapade.

"Marble Hall Murders" opens to find that life for Susan Ryeland has moved on - she's back in London, has her own flat, and is working freelance for a publisher. When a meeting with said publisher reveals that they are planning an Atticus Pünd continuation novel and want her to work with the author, she isn't immediately taken with the idea. Her experiences with Alan Conway didn't end well. But her curiosity is piqued when she learns the author is Eliot Crace, grandson of Miriam Crace who was the biggest selling children’s author in the world until her death twenty years ago.

And with that the reader is launched into another complex and twisting story-within-a-story as Susan discovers similarities between the novel and real life. As the story unfolds we learn that the Enid Blyton-like author wasn't the paragon of virtue the world believed she was. Eliot believes that Miriam was deliberately poisoned, and when he tells Susan that he has hidden the identity of Miriam’s killer inside his book, she knows she’s in trouble once again. Things only get worse when she becomes a murder suspect herself.

This book is everything fans of the series have come to love - a story within a story, the past influencing the present, with red herrings, clues and puzzles everywhere. It features a famous author and her dysfunctional family, suspicious allies, and perhaps the best police inspector yet. Pünd dazzles as usual, but a shadow hangs over him, and even a south of France setting can't help him as he uncovers lies and deceit. The author, as usual, litters the story with publishing inside jokes, name-dropping everywhere. Great stuff!

We also get to meet again characters from the previous books, and some loose ends are nicely tied up. If this is the last we'll hear of Pünd and Susan, it's a fine goodbye. Heartily recommended.