Murder on the Marlow Belle is book 4 in the fantastic Marlow Murder Club mysteries series by Robert Thorogood. The book series has recently been turned into a TV show and both formats are wonderful and worth checking out.
Title: Murder on the Marlow Belle
Author: Robert Thorogood
Series: Marlow Murder Club book 4
First Published: September 16, 2025
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Genres: mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with an ebook via Netgalley for review purposes. ***
Verity Beresford is worried about her husband who didn’t come home last night, so she goes to Judith Potts for help. Oliver, founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, had rented The Marlow Belle, a private pleasure cruiser, to host an exclusive party for the Society, but no one remembers seeing him disembark. When Oliver’s body washes up on the Thames with 2 bullet holes in him, it’s time for the Marlow Murder Club to leap into action.
Oliver was, by all accounts, a complicated fellow, with a reputation for bullying children during play rehearsals, & he wasn’t short of enemies. Judith, Suzie, & Becks are convinced they’ll find his killer in no time. But things are not as they seem in the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society, & this case isn’t so clear-cut after all.
The Marlow Murder Club is back
I’m always excited to dive back into a Marlow Murder Club book! The trio of Judith, Suzie & Becks are so much fun & work well together, despite the differences in their backgrounds & personalities.
This story is a semi-locked room mystery – the victim & all the suspects are on a cruise together when the murder occurred. There are lots of new characters introduced but it never felt crowded. All the new characters felt distinct and it was easy to keep track of everyone. I loved meeting the new characters and seeing the trio interact with everyone.
The murder and the twists along the way were really engaging and kept me turning pages. The Marlow Murder Club stories are always very well-written and this one is no exception. The plot moves along quickly and whether we’re dealing with the current murder, or looking at character backstories, it’s never a dull read.
Head-strong Judith
Judith is as stubborn and head-strong as ever. While Judith remains one of my favourite new amateur sleuth characters (and is deftly portrayed by the brilliant actress Samantha Bond), there are moments when I wish she wouldn’t be so focused. One example is when Judith kept poking into the murder, even after Tanaka had begged her not to as Tanaka could lose her job.
I did like that Judith’s mysterious background continues to be shown in small drips. Her past experiences may in part play into how she acts currently and I hope that we get to see more of her backstory soon. The ending of Murder on the Marlow Belle does give us a hint that we’ll be finding out A LOT more about Judith in the next book. I can’t wait!
