The Queen Of Poisons by Robert Thorogood

 

When the mayor of Marlow is poisoned at a council planning meeting suspicion falls on the other members of the committee who were present at the time. The big question is why would anyone want to murder someone who doesn't have a mean bone in their body and goes out of their way to help anyone?

I'm a late convert to the Marlow Murder Club, having only started the series in June this year. I do think that completing all three books in the series in such a short time period has helped make the characters much more vivid for me. The third book in the series, The Queen Of Poisons, is my favourite. 

We have a light-hearted tone from the very beginning with Suzie deciding to attend a town planning council meeting in order to find out how they are run. Suzie has a hair-brained side hustle in mind and hopes that the meeting will give her some insight into gaining planning permission.

When the mayor of Marlow collapses and dies during the meeting Suzie realises he's been poisoned and immediately springs into action, calling Judith and Becks so they can begin investigating. With only a small group of people present at the meeting, the focus of the investigation falls on them and it would appear that each of them is hiding a secret.

I liked the focus being on a small group of suspects as this allowed me to become fully immersed in the investigation, rather than trying to keep track of a variety of characters and plot lines. There are still a number of twists and quite a few wrongful accusations as we see the intrepid trio investigate while also trying to deal with problems in their personal lives. Becks has a mother-in-law who refuses to leave and Suzie is hoping to build a pod hotel. As for Judith, not only does she still have a room full of old newspapers she is reluctant to discard but she's also received a letter from an old gentleman friend who wants to re-establish contact.

Throughout the story, each character plays to their strengths. Suzie is like a bull in a china shop, blurting out whatever enters her brain. Judith simply refuses to take no for an answer. Becks is the ever-present mediator, the one who tries to calm any situation. 

Police Inspector Tanika Malik is also present. Having realised that the trio, particularly Judith, are unstoppable she enlists them as civilian advisors from the very beginning. Tanika hopes that this will give her some semblance of control over the ladies, how wrong she is!

The Queen Of Poisons by Robert Thorogood will be published on 18th January 2024. My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for a review copy.