The Queen of Poisons - The Marlow Murder Club #3

The Queen of Poisons is the third book in Robert Thorogood's Marlow murder club amateur sleuth cozy series. Released in the USA 4th June 2024 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is an interesting and engaging cozy featuring a 77 year old (but quite young at heart) protagonist and her two unlikely allies, a brash young(ish) professional dog walker radio personality, and the local vicar's wife. The poisoning of the village mayor (at the council meeting, how outré!) sees the trio once again drawn into investigation, this time with the blessings of the local constabulary.

The main mystery plot-line has a fair number of parallels with golden age books from yesteryear and readers of the Golden Age will be able to think of half a dozen which are quite similar. That being said, it *is* a clever plot device and the author does it a good turn.

The characterizations are well rendered and distinct. The main character is a cruciverbalist (crossword setter) and the prose is cleverly wrought with fun wordplay throughout. Additionally, she's the type of person who takes charge (often just stampeding ahead recklessly), is an excellent sculler, strong and brave, and isn't afraid to take chances (although some of them will have readers shaking their heads in disbelief). 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 9 minutes, and is expertly narrated by Nicolette McKenzie. She has a clear, well modulated, and nuanced voice and does an impressive job with a myriad of local (English) accents, both male and female. Despite having a full cast of varied characters, it's never a problem to keep them sorted during the read.

There's a distinct Agatha Raisin vibe, and fans of MC Beaton, Deanna Raybourn, and Richard Osman will probably like this series as well. The resolution and denouement were as expected, but satisfying nevertheless. This is the third book, there's a fourth book due out from the same publisher in second quarter 2025, making this one a good candidate for a binge/buddy read or book club project.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.