The Marlow Murder Club: The first novel in a gripping new cosy crime and mystery series from the creator of the hit TV series Death in Paradise (The Marlow Murder Club Mysteries, Book 1)

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The main characters sympathetic enough but indifferent as personalities and didn't manage to captivate me! While swimming one evening she hears a gunshot echo across the garden of her neighbor, local art gallery owner Stefan Dunwoody. My reading buddies Jan and Marialyce felt the same, simply unbelievable and not worth the reading time. Judith, not entirely convinced, goes exploring and finds the body of her neighbor at the base of his garden on the other side of a dam along the river. The official investigator is a very patient and competent woman who I wished had even more characterization.

Judith's mansion lies on the outskirts of the little town of Marlow and one thing her prestigious property offers is plenty of privacy. What did I expect from a book featuring murder and an elderly woman who likes to swim nude in the Thames and set crossword puzzles for her local paper? A refreshing read that whilst murders may occur it isn’t packed with gruesome details and foul language. I admire the creative spin Thorogood was going for, but the ambitious attempt to do something different with the “whodunnit” made the culprit reveal a little more convoluted than I would’ve preferred. None of these people were aware that there was a seventy-seven year old woman swimming nearby entirely in the nude.In fact, when she is convinced that she heard an altercation and a gunshot at her neighbor, Stefan Dunwoody’s house, she goes above and beyond to be sure that he is ok. When the local police don’t believe her story, Judith and two unlikely friends decide to investigate for themselves. Beck's husband ignores her as a person and he and her children just expect her to do everything for them. The police are baffled but the ladies are able to find some initial clues (this is so typical of cozy mysteries), and after the police hit a wall in their investigation the ladies are officially brought into the case.

It's during this nightly routine that Judith Potts hears an altercation from her neighbours house that oddly the police just brush a side as possible suicide. Eventually, as the case garners national attention she relents and takes in the trio as “civilian advisers” to help in the case.

Yes, they both involve at least one elderly woman amateur sleuthing a crime, and Judith has a similar spitfire personality as Elizabeth in the TMC, but I think all the characters stand alone in the two series. And the plot is quite involved, which is really good because it keeps the reader guessing as we see not one but three murders in this sleepy little town. Unfortunately, in this story the events took a downhill turn when it became slapstick, silly and OTT. And I loved that it was hinted at that she had some sort of delicious secret in her past that has something to do with a locked room and a dead husband.