Last Updated on April 22, 2026
We’ve all known for a long time that if you can create a character or group of characters that really resonate with us readers, then you have fans for life.
And that is exactly what Robert Thorogood has done with his Marlow Murder Club series. Book three, The Queen of Poisons, picks up shortly after the end of the second when one of our intrepid trio actually witnesses a murder first-hand.
With the ladies already established as consultants for the local police, the investigation begins immediately, which is brilliant for those of us who just want to get straight into the who, why and how of it all.
I have to say that, once again, Thorogood has outdone himself, creating another cracker of a mystery with plenty of red herrings, twists and turns.
That isn’t to say it’s perfect – I’ll get to my mini gripe later – but it’s definitely a page-turner.
At this stage, Judith, Suzie, and Becks are becoming like old friends to me and with the fourth novel on the horizon, they just keep getting better and better.
Poor Geoffrey
We meet Geoffrey Lushington, the Mayor of Marlow, at a council planning committee meeting, which Suzie has attended.
Suzie, for her part, is only there to see how the whole process works, having had another madcap idea about building a hotel in her garden.
Anyway, as she sits in the gallery, the various committee members arrive, help themselves to tea and coffee, and, after a slight delay, begin the meeting.
Sadly for Geoffrey, he quickly keels over and dies. It transpires that he was poisoned with aconite, also known as “the queen of poisons” – hence the name of the book.
Everybody is stunned not least because the Mayor was well-loved and respected in the town. In fact, nobody has a bad word to say about him.
So if Marlow’s most wonderful man has just been murdered, the big question is why?? Who on earth could possibly have a problem with him?
It’s time for the ladies to go to work and figure out who is hiding secrets, who is lying and how on earth they managed to commit such a crime.
The Players
Thankfully, unlike some books I’ve read of late, the pool of suspects is kept nice and tight. You’re not going to lose track of who’s who, and all of the suspects are clearly defined. Hurrah!
First up, we have Debbie, a rather dour and gloomy accountant who was at the kitchen counter with Geoffrey when he got his coffee. She is the treasurer of the council.
Then we have Jeremy, who is a local architect and is basically just quite rude in all of his interactions.
Sophia De Castro is a beautiful and wealthy housewife and podcaster who is known for her gardening skills, one of which includes growing the most poisonous plants.
Next up is Marcus, an over-friendly estate agent who also happens to have a somewhat suspicious relationship with a less-than-reputable property developer.
And last but not least, we have a mysterious anonymous caller who seems to know more about what is going on than anybody else!
Including the property developer, we have our six suspects, and as the book goes on, you quickly realise that all of them have something to hide.
But which one of them was so terrified of their secret coming out that they would kill to keep it under wraps?
And Then There Was One
So, I’ve laid out the plot and the suspects and, like the previous books, the three sleuths eventually get to the bottom of what happened.
To be fair, each conclusion they reach is plausible, and all of the suspects could reasonably have committed the crime.
My mini gripe (the one I mentioned above) was the actual killer. For me, it stretched the boundaries of plausibility when almost any of the other potential culprits would have made a better murderer.
Not just that, but the way it was carried out made me wonder if Robert Thorogood hadn’t just created an out-of-the-box scenario simply because he could, and not because it was best for the novel.
I don’t think it completely ruined it for me as I had really enjoyed The Queen of Poisons up to that point. That said, I am really hoping that the next in the series, Murder on the Marlow Belle, isn’t as deliberately convoluted!
Speaking of Next in the Series…
And, speaking of the fourth book, Murder on the Marlow Belle is due out, in hardback, on January 16th, 2025.
It generally takes a few more months before books are available in paperback, so if you don’t want to shell out roughly £16.99 or $20, then downloading it on an e-reader is a cheaper option.
This is usually around half the price, but if you want it even cheaper, check if it is included in your subscription to Audible.
Once again the next book sees the ladies on the investigation trail. This time it is following the death of Oliver Beresford who, after an exclusive party on a pleasure cruiser, doesn’t return home.
Unlike lovely Geoffrey who met his end in The Queen of Poisons, Oliver is a rather awful man who wasn’t short of enemies, making it all the more difficult for Judith, Becks and Suzie to work out whodunit!
