Review: The Queen of Poisons (The Marlow Murder Club, #3)

I very much enjoyed the first book in this series; the second book a little less, and this third instalment a little less again!

Although I love the three fiesty woman who star in this book (particularly Judith Potts, a fearless septuagenarian), that wasn’t enough for me to enjoy the book. It felt very much like a colour-by-number painting: superficial and formulaic. There were too many suspects, all of whom could have a possible motive, and we spent a lot of time with Suzie jumping to conclusions, Becky hiding behind Suzie and Judith firing questions at suspects left, right and centre. It felt disjointed and the pace was irregular. I had to suspend my disbelief a few too many times for comfort.

However, any book that champions women who are normally overlooked, I.e. of a certain age; of a certain ethnic background or made invisible by their husband’s job, still gets my vote. So, although this book was not Thorogood’s finest hour, I hope the next instalment rallies and returns to the originality of the first.

• Review
• Robert Thorogood