Book: Death Comes to Marlow
Author: Robert Thorogood
Pages: 387
Read on: Kindle
Read in: ~4 hours
Plot Summary: It’s been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks – AKA the Marlow Murder Club – since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne.
But during the soiree, there’s a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study.
The study was locked from the inside, so the police don’t consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she's concerned, Peter was murdered! And it’s up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again.
Things I Liked:
1. I had really enjoyed the first book in the Marlow Murder Club series (review here) and so, I couldn't wait for the second book to be out! And the second book's premise did not disappoint! A locked room mystery!!!! What is not to love?! A man dies suspiciously on the eve of his wedding locked inside his own study by a heavy cabinet falling on him. Since he was all alone inside the room, the police assume it is an accident but something about the way Sir Peter dies does not sit well with Judith, especially, because just that morning Sir Peter had called Judith- made famous by her solving of the series of murders in Marlow- and asked her to come attend his engagement party even though he didn't know her. So, obviously, since no one else seemed to think this was murder, Judith, Suzie and Becks aka the Marlow Murder Club starts investigating.
2. There were a few nice red herrings and plausible motivations, especially, those of Sir Peter's family- his wastrel of a son- Tristam, his ambitious daughter, Rosanna, who won't inherit because of patriarchal laws, his wife-to-be, Jenny, a penniless nurse, who might benefit financially from his death and his ex-wife, who was still resentful about the divorce and being left almost penniless. So, between all of these people, there is no dearth of motives behind the crime.
3. The 'how' of the murder were far more interesting and difficult to figure out than the why and who. The why and who, I figured out at the ~20% mark when a particular bit of information was mentioned but the how was more interesting, especially, because of the locked room aspect of it.
4. This is a fast-paced and highly riveting book and there is never a dull moment! There is also a second murder, which raises the stakes and makes the narrative all the more interesting.
5. The characters are developed with just the right level of detail. We know enough about everyone to gauge motives but not in excessive, unnecessary detail that gets boring and pointless in a crime thriller. Of course, it was nice to revisit the ladies and see how their lives had changed after their last adventure.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. Like I said, it was way too easy to guess who the killer was! Like just too too easy. It shouldn't be like that! So, I am gonna dock half a rating point for that!
Rating: 4/5
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