Book Review: The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood (The Marlow Murder Club #3)

 

Rating:⭐⭐⭐

The third installment in Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club series, begins with the death of Geoffrey Lushington, the mayor of Marlow, during a town council planning meeting in which Suzie Harris was one of the attendees. She is quick to summon her friends, Judith Potts and Becks Starling to the crime scene. It quickly becomes evident that the mayor was poisoned and as local law enforcement embarks on their investigation, DI Tanika Malik, well aware that no amount of warning would deter them from pursuing the case, engages the Marlow Murder Club as “civilian advisors” which allows them to conduct their investigation in collaboration with local law enforcement.

The narrative follows our amateur sleuths as they go about finding the killer. The suspect list is long and finding the culprit won’t be easy but our motivated ladies leave no stone turned as they delve into the lives of the deceased mayor who appeared to have been well-liked by those who knew him, his associates and anyone who might have held a grudge.

Having enjoyed the previous books in this series, I was looking forward to reading The Queen of Poisons. Though there are a few aspects of the story that implausible, I didn't mind having to suspend disbelief and chose to go with the flow. I do like these characters and have enjoyed following their antics in the past, but I struggled to finish this book. The premise was intriguing and while I usually enjoy investigations that involve multiple suspects, in this case, the plot becomes too convoluted as the narrative progresses. The pacing was uneven and I found the writing a tad repetitive with subplots that served no purpose other than to distract us from the primary narrative. Though I found the final reveal interesting, plot development was weak and the motive behind the murder wasn’t quite convincing.

I do appreciate the humor that the author injects into these stories and though I didn’t dislike the book in its entirety, this installment is the weakest among the three novels in the series. However, I won’t give up on the series yet and will await the next installment.

For those who are new to the series and the characters, I would recommend reading the preceding books before you read this one.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.