From the first book in the Marlow Murder Club series there has been a mystery about one of the three detective ladies who solve murders. In The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts, Robert Thorogood provides the answer to the padlocked room in Judith’s riverside house, her messy archive and dislike of intrusive questions. When someone from Judith’s past knocks on her front door, it can only mean trouble. Meanwhile celebrities are being shot in Marlow. First a famous footballer then a bestselling author. Who will be next? A local politician? A fading television presenter? Detective Sergeant Tanika has been suspended and her deputy, Brendan Perry, who is now running the investigation, disapproves of the interfering trio and threatens to charge them with wasting police time. So they are on their own. Top defender Gary Wise is shot dead in the woods behind his house. His mobile phone is missing. While Becks and Suze question his wife Bethany, Judith doesn’t say a word which is definitely not normal behaviour. Then thriller writer Mike Saxon is killed in exactly the same way. Are they being blackmailed by the same person? Or could their unhappy wives have pulled the trigger?
When Becks and Suzie confront Judith about her strange mood and her unexpected visitor, Judith tells them the woman has accused her of committing murder years ago. Eleni Paphides claims to have evidence of Judith’s guilt that she will present to the police. So there are two major plots unravelling at the same time, complicated further when Judith disappears at a particularly crucial time.
There are red herrings galore, complicated crypic crossword clues from Judith, plus impulsive guesswork by Suzie and thoughtful caring suggestions from Becks. The final chase is a bit convoluted but has an unexpected ending as both plots are finally spliced together. Rather unlikely in places with a few jumps in credibility, but still fun to read.
I finished this quickly in twenty-four hours, just the job for my muddy brain in a summer heatwave. As always, Judith’s quiet puzzle-solving and hints to Becks and Suzie challenge me to work out what she means. But this time the secrets are deeper, the characters are edgier, the morality is harsher and I couldn’t predict the answers or the killer. Is this fifth book the last in this series?

Here are my reviews of the other books in this series:-
THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB #1MARLOWMURDERCLUB
DEATH COMES TO MARLOW #2MARLOWMURDERCLUB
THE QUEEN OF POISONS #3MARLOWMURDERCLUB
MURDER ON THE MARLOW BELLE #4MARLOWMURDERCLUB

… and from the Death in Paradise series:-
A MEDITATION ON MURDER #1DEATHINPARADISE
THE KILLING OF POLLY CARTER #2DEATHINPARADISE

If you like this, try:-
‘Murder in First Class’ by Helena Dixon #8MISSUNDERHAY
‘A Mansion for Murder’ by Frances Brody #13KATESHACKLETON
‘Big Sky’ by Kate Atkinson #5JACKSONBRODIE

And if you’d like to share a link:
#BookReview THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR OF JUDITH POTTS by Robert Thorogood https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-af0 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-