About The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts
Straight after solving the murder of the theatrical Oliver Beresford in Murder on the Marlow Belle, a stranger appears on Judith’s doorstep and accuses her of murdering her husband many decades prior. The woman claims to be Judith’s death husband’s daughter from his mistress, hellbent on uncovering the truth about her father’s demise once and for all. And, given Judiths’ avoidance about what happened all those years ago in the books so far, the accusation doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Are the tables turning on our beloved sleuthing senior?!
My review
The last Marlow Murder Club book ended on the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers, and we dive straight back into the action in The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts. Our puzzle-whizz protagonist Judith is the key suspect in a murder this time around, bringing the action much closer to home than the characters are comfortable with.
And, despite this new development understandably taking up a lot of Judith’s time in this book, there’s also a brand-new case to solve alongside it as another prominent Marlow resident bites the dust. However, her friends Becks and Suzie have to do more of the heavy lifting this time around as their inside woman in the police, Tameka, is also out of action. This change in direction gives Judith’s friends more agency and depth, shaping them as individuals instead of as an extension of Judith.
While Judith will forever remain my favourite of the friendship group, it’s great to see Becks and Suzie’s personalities shine through as they take over the sleuthing reigns. Becks in particular is a force to be reckoned with and I’m glad she’s finally breaking free from her label as “the vicar’s wife” as she is a kick-ass investigator in her own right with great ideas and unafraid to put them into action. After four books (and two series on TV) this development was much-needed and so appreciated! I also absolutely adored that they’ve been pulled brought into Judith’s puzzling world and I’m excited about future puzzles and wordplays in the books already.
One of the things I love so much about Robert Thorogood’s writing is that it’s both gripping and fast-paced; he doesn’t waffle on with unnecessary plot points or background information but gets straight to the point (save the occasional red herring, of course, to keep everyone on their toes). This is the perfect formula for readers to don their own investigative hats as they follow along on the adventures with Becks, Suzie, and Judith. And makes the inevitable conclusion – whatever it may be – immensely satisfying as you feel a part of the action. It’s a very clever strategy and one that has me hooked on the Marlow Murder Club for however long Thorogood will release new stories!
Disclaimer: This book was gifted to me, but this has not impacted this honest review.
