Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Put on your thinking cap. It’s time for another round with the brainiest trio of amateur sleuths on either side of the Atlantic. Malik gets another call saying there has been another shooting in Marlow. She heads over to the victim’s house, and finds a man called Iqbal Kassam dead. He was a taxi driver. The group attends Iqbal’s funeral. They are told that Iqbal was supposed to inherit some money from his neighbour, an old man called Ezra. Except someone made Ezra change his will and give them the money instead. They need to figure out who this other person is. Never a dull moment, lots of red herrings, plenty of humour and a plot worthy of Agatha !!!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Detective Malik learns that the gun used to kill Stefan was an old WW2 gun. It hasn’t been found yet.
With Judith Potts, the principal sleuth among the Marlow Murder Club, author Robert Thorogood adds to the fine tradition of crossword solving lying at the heart of a murder mystery. The writer is well-known for his work on the TV series Death in Paradise. Like the show, Death Comes to Marlow is set in the present day and begins with Judith – or ‘Pepper’, as she’s known in the crossword world – puzzling over the purpose of a secret assignation that seems to have been arranged through the corner clues of the latest Marlow Free Press crossword. Malik finds a medallion in Iqbal’s mouth. It is identical to the one found on Stefan’s body, and this one says Hope instead of Faith. Judith heads over there and meets Antonia Webster. She’s working at the gallery before she goes off to uni. Antonia tells Judith a sus looking man came to the gallery a little bit ago. He and Stefan had a tense conversation. Judith and Antonia look up Elliot Howard and Antonia confirms that’s the man. Read a full summary of The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood below. If you can’t remember what happened in The Marlow Murder Club and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place. What happened in The Marlow Murder Club?Given this close association it’s no surprise that just as detectives and detective fiction have provided the answers to many crossword clues, crosswords have featured prominently in many notable murder mysteries. Arguably, the most famous crossword in crime fiction appears in Agatha Christie’s Curtain, where Captain Hastings’ attempt to solve a cryptic clue inadvertently causes him to intervene in a murder attempt, although other examples are available. 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. A woman is spying on Malik from the bushes. She says her name is Suzie Harris and she is Iqbal’s dog walker. She agrees to look after the dog for the time being. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The gang figure out that Andy Bishop shredded information about Ezra’s will. Ezra’s two witnesses both died in March the previous year, but the will was dated in May. Sus.
Detective Malik reveals there has been another murder. It’s Liz Curtis. The body had a bronze medallion on it saying “Charity”. Apparently Danny Curtis was up in Nottingham at the time, so it couldn’t have been him.They fill Malik in. Malik says Bishop couldn’t have killed Iqbal because he was in Malta at the time. It proves fortuitous, however, that Judith has to return home earlier than expected, as it enables her to answer a phone call from Sir Peter Bailey, a local bigwig. He invites her to his pre-wedding party that afternoon, ostensibly so that he can thank her for solving a series of local murders the year before, although Judith immediately discerns that there is far more to the invitation than meets the eye. Putting aside all thoughts of crossword puzzles, Judith ropes her best friend Suzie Harris, a part-time dogwalker and local radio celeb, into attending the party with her. Never a dull moment, lots of red herrings, plenty of humour and a plot worthy of Agatha!!!' Reader review, Judith goes to speak to Howard and makes up a story about him spilling her drink at the Regatta and owing her money. She asks about the argument with Stefan and he confirms it happened. Elliot calls Stefan a fraud and a liar. Emma the dog arrives just in time and pins Danny to the floor. The police arrive and Andy, Elliot, and Danny are all arrested.
Friends. Sir Peter cannot be left for dead like that…Judith and the Marlow Murder Club are on the case. As anodyne as a village fair and as fiendishly clever as one of the many crossword clues embedded in the story. Holiday festivities are now January doldrums when Judith gets a call—Sir Peter Bailey, a prominent Marlovian is inviting notable citizens to his house the day before his wedding to celebrate. Judith says that Danny killed Stefan for Elliot, and Elliot killed Iqbal for Andy. It was a weird trio murder! They were all on the same rowing team at school, which is how they knew each other.
Leave a reply
Second in the military crime series featuring Special Agents Scott Brodie and Magnolia "Maggie" Taylor, after The Deserter (2019). Brilliant, brilliant book . . . this was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time ’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An absolute joy to read. Funny, entertaining, and beautifully written” —B. A. Paris, for Marlow Murder Club Judith looks Stefan up online and finds he was in a “bust up” at the Henley Regatta. He got into a fight with Elliot Howard, the owner of an auction house.
Great Deal 
New Comment