The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood: Plenty of laugh-out-loud humour, superb plotting, and a final dramatic reveal – book review –

What she doesn’t expect is to witness the popular Mayor of Marlow, Geoffrey Lushington, dropping dead on the floor just as the meeting moves into full flow. It looks like he was poisoned, but who on earth would want to murder such an amiable fellow?

Think classic crime with a lively, contemporary vibe and you have Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club, a team of enchanting amateur sleuths comprising the adorably eccentric crossword buff Judith Potts, prim – and only occasionally improper – vicar’s wife Becks Starling, and the ever-practical and doggedly determined dog walker Suzie.

In Thorogood’s entertaining and enjoyable new outing, featuring all the perfect whodunit ingredients plus a larger-than-life cast of characters, the daring detective trio find themselves hot on the trail of an elusive and devious killer.

It’s when traces of aconite – also known as the queen of poisons – are found in the Mayor’s coffee cup that the police realise he was murdered. But who did it and why would anyone want to kill Geoffrey Lushington who was noted for his impish sense of humour?

The police bring in Judith, Suzie and Becks – the three bad pennies who always turn up when there’s a murder – to investigate as Civilian Advisors right from the start, so they have free rein to interview suspects and follow the evidence to their heart’s content, which is perfect because Judith has no time for rules and standard procedure.

But this case has the Marlow Murder Club stumped. What would be the motive to murder the Mayor and how did the killer even get the poison into his coffee? With fears that someone else could now be in danger, the murder club face their most difficult case yet.

Thorogood’s latest cosy, clever murder mystery is a true winter warmer as the intrepid crime-crackers prove once again that they are a top-class team, facing clues, suspects, red herrings and fascinating twists and turns on their journey to nailing the culprit.

And there is a fourth female player in this addictive slice of escapism in the shape of the sorely tested and long-suffering DS Tanika Malik who must negotiate not just the task of finding a killer but operating in the shadow of the indomitable murder club.

Add on Thorogood’s heartwarming and celebratory exploration of the often maligned older woman, plenty of laugh-out-loud humour, superb plotting, and a final dramatic reveal, and you have the perfect read to fill the long, dark evenings.

(HQ, hardback, £16.99)