Book Review - The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Title: The Marlow Murder Club
Series: Marlow Murder Club #1
Author: Robert Thorogood
 
Description: Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.
 
One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.
 
Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.
 
When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…
 
Review: We meet Judith Potts, a 77-year old woman living by herself in a giant mansion, who created crosswords for a living. When she finds her neighbor dead one day, she knows for sure he has been murdered. But the police think it’s suicide. Judith goes out and tries to solve the murder herself and gets the help from two new friends.
 
With amateur sleuths as your leading characters, it’s very important to make them interesting and likeable. Judith is one of the loveliest female characters in a murder mystery I have ever read about. I loved her from the start. Together with her partners in crime Suzie and Becks, she forms such a great team. A group of very different people who become close friends.
 
It's difficult not to compare “The Marlow Murder Club” to “The Thursday Murder Club”, because it follows similar themes and follows elderly amateur sleuths. This book is a bit faster paced and more ‘action-packed’, but not better or worse than “The Thursday Murder” and I liked it equally.
 
Judith tries to solve these murders like a real puzzle, where he job as a crossword puzzle designer comes in handy (how cool is that job by the way). And I loved trying to solve it with her. I really loved “The Marlow Murder Club”. It already has a sequel out, which I will definitely watch. Maybe we have a new favorite series on our hands here.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5