Fabulous Fiction Firsts #812 - Debut Cozies

Sun, 07/24/2022 - 5:55pm by muffy

The Marlow Murder Club * * is a series launch for Robert Thorogood (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), a screewriter/novelist, and the creator of BBC One murder mystery series Death in Paradise.

77 year-old Judith Potts, a crossword puzzle setter for The Times, lives a contented life in the village of Marlow ever since inheriting a grand mansion from her great-aunt. One evening while out skinny-dipping on the Thames, she heard a gunshot coming from her neighbor Stefan Dunwoody’s garden. When the police found Stephen’s body in the river the next day, they called it a suicide. A suspicious Judith decides to investigate.  Soon she is joined by Susie Harris, a no-nonsense dog walker, and Becks Starling, the much put-upon local vicar’s wife. Together they called themselves the Marlow Murder Club.  Then more bodies turn up, suggesting a serial killer is on the loose. 

“How these women of a certain age unite to solve the crime is as entertaining and intriguing as the fair play mystery itself. The way the characters evolve as their relationships grow sets this light mystery above the pack.” (Publishers Weekly) 

Fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club will like the amateur sleuths introduced in this puzzle…While avid mystery readers might recognize the twist, the finale and its grand solution are worthy of Agatha Christie. (Library Journal) 

If you’ve binge-watched M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, and BBC’s Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (based on characters from the novel by David Cook) you would find Judith Potts simply irresistible. 

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook)

London, 1923. In this debut and series launch, Saffron Everleigh, the only female research assistant at University College London, hopes to follow in her famous father’s footsteps. Estranged from her family due to her ambition and slighted by her male colleagues at every turn, she finds in Dr. Maxwell, a kind and supportive mentor. 

One evening, Saffron attends a dinner party hosted by Sir Edward Leister, the donor supporting the biology department's forthcoming Amazon expedition, when Mrs. Henry, one of the professor’s wives drops to the floor, apparently poisoned by a toxin. As evidence points to Dr. Maxwell who brought back the suspected plant from a previous expedition, Saffron realizes it's up to her to clear Dr. Maxwell's name.  Joined by fellow botanist Alexander Ashton, a battle-fatigued WWI veteran, “(t)he duo investigate rancorous academic rivalries, libidinous faculty members, and gardens and greenhouses filled with lethal plants.” (Publishers Weekly)  

“An exciting debut with a determined protagonist whose future is sure to contain romance and mystery.” (Kirkus Reviews) Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anna Lee Huber.

* * = 2 starred reviews