User reviews

Having waded through too many sub-standard and lacklustre murder mystery dramas in recent times I was not optimistic that this would mount to much. How pleasantly surprised my wife and I were. Beautifully presented and shot along the River Thames and the small town of Marlow, this is well acted (on the whole), likeable and enjoyable. Don't expect this to be Morse or Lewis standard, it isn't as predictable as Death in Paradise and the acting, script and production is better than Sister Boniface, Madame Blanc and numerous other low key murder mystery farces. And don't get me started on the dreadful Johnny Vegas Murder series.....

A new British TV series premiered in March 2024. It follows a group of older women who form a club to investigate a series of murders in the picturesque town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire. While the premise is intriguing and the cast is talented, the show ultimately falls short of its potential.

The series stars Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist who becomes convinced that a murder has taken place in her neighbour's garden. When the police dismiss her claims, Judith enlists the help of local dog walker Suzie (Jo Martin), vicar's wife Becks (Cara Horgan), and DS Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew) to investigate the crime.

One of the show's strengths is its charming setting. Marlow, a real town along the River Thames, provides a picturesque backdrop for the mystery. The series was filmed on location, showcasing the town's historic streets, boutique shops, and lovely stretches of the river.

The cast delivers mixed performances, with bad the dog walker Suzie and somewhat DS Tanika Malik.

The show's writing and pacing leave something to be desired. The plot, while engaging at first, becomes convoluted and relies heavily on coincidence, especially in boring episode two. The reveal of the killer feels rushed and somewhat unsatisfying. Additionally, the characters, while likeable, lack depth and development throughout the series.

The show also struggles to find its tone, oscillating between cosy mystery and dark crime drama without fully committing to either. The attempts at humour sometimes fall flat, and the darker elements feel out of place in the otherwise lighthearted series.

Despite these shortcomings, The Marlow Murder Club has potential; with some refinement in the writing and a clearer sense of tone, the series could develop into a more compelling and cohesive mystery.

In conclusion, The Marlow Murder Club is a mildly entertaining, cosy mystery series that benefits from its picturesque setting. However, the show's writing and pacing issues prevent it from fully capitalising on its potential. While it may appeal to fans of lighthearted mysteries, it fails to stand out in a crowded genre. With some improvements, the series could become a more engaging and satisfying watch, but for now, it earns a respectable but unremarkable.

Rating: 6.25 out of 10 IMDb stars.

I knew nothing of the books so had no expectations at all.

Samantha Bond is pretty much always an actor worth watching and that led me to give it a go. Jo Martin I only knew from Dr Who, so not much to go on there.

The show is very much in the British groove of slower paced, gentle murder. It's a style that I enjoy very much for relatively unchallenging and 'pretty' crime.

I thoroughly enjoyed both parts, the acting was, I thought, very good, the plot was strong enough and it did of course look suitably 'British' - or to be more precise, 'English'. Nothing wrong with that, England does have some very picturesque towns and villages.

Less comedic than Father Brown and Sister Boniface, perhaps a little lighter than Midsomer Murders, I would happily watch more if they choose to make it.

Good, watchable and enjoyable, but maybe never going to be amongst the greats, it's still miles better than so many other shows.

If you're not sure, I'd certainly advise you to give it a go.

I haven't read the original books but decided to watch the show anyway, especially when I saw Samantha Bond as the main lead - I find her to be a wonderful actress.

At first I struggled a bit to find interest in the plot line as it was quite stagnant and there were constant dead ends that began to put me off of watching it altogether. Majority of the acting was well done though which turned me away from turning off the show! It was all very natural and most of the actors did a wonderful job bringing their characters to life. There were however certain parts where I slightly disliked both the dialogue and mannerisms of a couple of the actors but in the end, it didn't bother me too much.

By the second part of the story I became a lot more interested by the sudden plot twists and the pace that the story was now going. It definitely picked up near the end of the show, as the plot was finally coming together which made the ending very satisfying.

I don't watch modern murder mysteries often (between 2020 and present time) as I find that they can sometimes be very lost in translation from the original books that they're originally based on, so I didn't have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised with The Marlow Murder Club! It's a very good show for both casual murder mystery watchers (like myself) and crime fanatics that like a gripping, intricate storyline.

Whilst out swimming in the waters by her house, former archaeologist Judith Potts hears a commotion at her neighbour's house, convinced he's been murdered, she begins an investigation of her own.

I had high expectations for this, and it did not disappear, Robert Thorogood has a good pedigree, and has given us Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise, this is similar in tone, lighter, easy viewing.

Comedic in parts, but the balance of mystery and humour is spot on, they got it just right.

Each of the trio offers something, but it's Samantha Bond's Judith who gets the greatest focus, we learn a good deal about her, the other two will hopefully be explored in the future.

Well acted by all involved, it features a really nice cast, all play their parts well. Lots of well known faces.

Wonderful locations, definitely one of those where you get an insight into how the other half live.

All I can say, I only hope they make more of them, there's definitely scope for more episodes.

9/10.

I like Jo Martin and Samantha Bond so was excited to see this.

This is not a deep story, and the murder aside, you could have substituted almost any other crime in there - who stole the cookies for the bake sale - and it could have worked. Three people end up helping the police, of course using some life experience and knowledge coming from their individual jobs.

This reminded me of Murder, She Wrote when I used to watch it with my grandmother. Everything was just a happy fun time solving a mystery. None of the deeper darkness you'd get with Vera. Even Death in Paradise, as light as it can be, feels like more is at stake.

The acting can be hit or miss from character to character, or even scene to scene, but there are some good performances, even if not always believable. There are some very archetypical characters, and there are a couple deeper stories with the vicars wife and the SIA that I would love to see fleshed out more than the main character story.

If nothing else, it does a great job of showing off a bit of the UK I would have never heard of, painting that idyllic mythical calmer, gentler English country atmosphere.

If nothing else,

This is an interesting and greatly enjoyable effort. There are features reminiscent of other who dunnits - forcexmple the inquisitive outsider and the police officer too dense to accept their input (Father Brown) - but the writer(s) have done a great job bringing some credibility to the outsiders (more than one, hence the 'club'). The way in which the 'club' emerges is believable, and the individuals each bring something to the table to make the story work. The actors work well to make each of their characters engaging. The police do not come out well (so far) and unfortunately their negligence and incompetence is also not beyond belief. The location is wonderful (oh for a lottery win) and I liked the way in which real local celebs are used to add gravitas to rhexstory (for example. Sir Stanley Spencer, who lived and worked in nearby Cookhan). Looking forward to more from the club. Soon.

With the exception of Samantha Bond, who plays Judith, and Jo Martin, who plays Suzie, the cast in this is surprisingly bad. The actresses who play Becks and Tanika are particularly bad, as is the actor who plays DS Perry. And I'm afraid it spoiled the drama for me.

I've read the book (quite good), so was looking forward to the TV version. Unfortunately, it was adapted for the screen by the author, and I think it would have benefitted from someone else taking over. There are connections in the author's head that don't make it to the screen. A different screenwriter would have filled the gaps. Another problem is that some of the characters are completely different to the book. Becks, in particular, is almost like another character. In the book, she's a meek little mouse. Here, she's strident. So, the dynamic between the three main characters changes. Suzie is also quite different. In the book, she charges around like a bull in a china shop. Here, she's more considered.

Obviously, some plot points get abandoned in the adaptation, others are changed, and some characters are introduced (for no reason). It just all seemed a bit muddled to me. As I said, I think it would have benefitted from a screenwriter who hadn't written the source material.

There are (so far) two sequels to the first novel. The 2nd was disappointing. The third was just plain awful. So I won't be watching any more of these if they make them.

I was expecting a flop, how wrong was I !! It was set in stunning scenery, the acting was pretty good and it made me giggle in places. The characters jumped out of the screen they were so realistic and it was nice to see a very British series, that shone as much as the sun that was beating down on Marlow at the time of filming. There were times that I was expected pots of jam to sail onto the screen accompanied with the coral sounds of Jerusalem, which would have made me smile even more. The only reason I gave it a 9 and not a 10 is because the ending, I felt was a bit cheesy. Here's hoping they commission another series.

We really enjoyed this mystery from the writer of Death In Paradise - it is the same quality, if not better, yet a very different scenario. Being a double feature, there's plenty of plot but unrushed so it's entertaining without being too intense. The scenery and music are calming, making this very unlike Midsomer Murders / Vera etc, and the ending is multifaceted, with each character contributing. The four leads are excellent - different backgrounds and occupations integrating well. Episode two has a bit more humour, balancing out the tension as the storyline develops. I hope we get to see more soon.

I love murder mysteries. Always have. And the ones I love, I love because they don´t take themselves too seriously. If you get my meaning.

There are mysteries, crime series, where everything is deadly serious (no pun intended), and where one watches with a feeling of great uneasiness.

Not so with this.

Nothing will in my opinion ever compare to or live up to the standards of Midsomer Murders. That series has set the bar forever and so far nobody has beat it. However. In time this one may at least come close. The first episode did not impress me that much, in fact I found it kid of confusing. But by the second I was hooked and I know I will follow this series as I hope it continues. It is well made, it has all the necessary ingredients and it is just enjoyable! You find it all here. All from the nosy amateurs to the slimy suspects to the full-of-himself police officer.

This series takes four episodes to answer "whodunnit" and it works very well. It never feels as if the story is dragged along endlessly. It needs this amount of time and it feels very natural.

Keep on the lookout for this and more, it is well worth the time!

I confess I haven't read the books. I am though a big fan of Death In Paradise from the same writer once it clicked with me early on that it is basically Scooby Doo for grown ups.

This drama immediately felt more Agatha Christie in its setting and set up but didn't take long to struggle with its identity. It felt the cast would be struggling with the script which lacked conviction. I can suspend belief to enjoy a storyline, but this veered into scenarios I just found irritably daft more than anything. A shame as the main characters (the 3 amateur sleuths and the contrasting police detective) looked set to make it enjoyable but it never really kicked into gear.

All in all it just felt diluted not knowing whether to go murder mystery suspense or comedic. Somehow Death In Paradise manages to stay true to its identity - there's conviction in the characters whether long term or cameo and no matter how ridiculous it gets. This however somewhat dragged its feet. I'd give a second outing a go but hope it just really goes for it more.

Seriously, what's not to like about Samanatha Bonds? So far, I'm enjoying the plot. But once again, a clueless writer/set designer when comes to clergy. No English pastor's family could afford a Smeg mixer, or a L40 video game. No clergy daughter would be allowed to go to a pub at 17. The rector's is the usual clueless flibbergibbet. Clergy wife the only one w/ gumption. Nothing's changed since Joanne Trollope's "The Vicar's Wife", which should be required reading for authors wanting to put clergy into their stories. (Even Grantchester is rather a pompous twit in all his incarnations.) And the police doesn't know folks in the town she grew up in? Pul-eese.

The Marlow Murder Club series of books have been one of my favourite trilogies over the past few years, so hearing Robert Thorogood was working on a small screen adaptation had me interested and nervous in the same breath.

However, the nervousness was misplaced and within the first minute the pictures I had in my head of the location and main protagonists had come to life without disappointment. The casting of Samantha Bond as Judith Potts in particular was a stroke of genius.

The same can be said for both episodes. The story is very true to the first novel, which takes you on the many twists and turns.

I hope that Death Comes To Marlow and Queen of Poisons are next to come.

As ever, suspend belief that 'civilians' would be allowed to involve themselves in a Police controlled murder investigation, but this is a really good variation on the "murder mystery solved by amateurs" genre. Good characterisation and enough clues and half truths to keep it interesting. A few places where you want to shout "No, don't do that!" at the screen, but then, if they did the sensible thing, the story would only last half an hour.

Great location shots - but... I have to say, having often travelled through Marlow High Street, especially early on a Sunday morning, I can state categorically that it is never that empty during any day of the week!!!

And I should add...well acted, believable script and great locations. I love to see the more mature actors being given roles into which they can get their teeth. This really should be renewed and be a regular feature. I would say that everything about it was a delight and, truthfully, the plot strands came together convincingly and with no strain. Each character had enough backstory to make them well rounded without it ever being intrusive and disruptive of the main narrative. I also love the blend of comedy and thrills. I can't grasp how people criticise "shifts in tone " like it's a bad thing. This pulls it off admirably.

I binge watched all 5 episodes in one day. I can't criticize it at all. It was light, clean, funny, and kept me guessing. Everyone was great in their roles, the scenery was beautiful, and there was no tension or snarkiness. It was just FUN. Just what I needed. I appreciated that both husbands were supportive of their wives, both the officer's husband and the Vicar. And the dog walker's daughter, when she got home, was also nice. None of the typical obnoxiousness you so often see. And even though the ending was a bit of a surprise, I didn't feel 'cheated' at the reveal. I sure hope we get a second season of this!

This is a lovely series, interesting and fun Darknbut not oppressive. The characters are well cast and work well with each other and as cast. Samantha Bond is truly excellent in this role. It's nice that the police ssargent Tanika actual takes these ladies seriously. It's a fun watch and a cozy mystery: Series one is compelling and not to far fetched to be believable. It's a treat!. Randomly, kudos to Samantha Bond for her bold as brass swimming in her birthday suit In the river. It's nice to see the supporting characters actual support these women in stead of patronize them. I am very much looking forward to season 2.

I have been waiting to be able to watch this and it did not disappoint. This series looks beautifully filmed in lovely part of the world. The main characters were well developed and likeable. The story line was enjoyable and flowed well. I thought the acting and the script were very well done. All was geared to a nice enjoyable watch. The only negative I can say is it could have had more episodes or longer episodes so we could learn more about the characters and gone more in-depth into the story. I enjoyed it so much i will watch it again. Hopefully there will be a season 2 and we can learn more about the characters.

I'm surprised to learn the finale is this Sunday which means only about 4 episodes were programmed. But I did see where a second season is offered in 2025. So far quite enjoyable and especially enjoy the actress who played in Downton Abbey and a couple of mid-summer murder mystery episodes one at least maybe two. That's odd I was advised my review was too short usually I don't have enough room to write a review or make comments. The series reminds me of another series you had a really going back to World War II and the three women that had to decode these murders that were occurring. That was a great series though a little scary I must say because the women themselves were in danger.

As an avid reader of Robert's books, I am overjoyed at how you have transferred this work to TV. Very well done. The casting is perfect, and one could follow the plot true to the book. Good luck with the following two books, I look forward with great anticipation to your efforts. I will be first in line to buy the DVDs when you release them. Please pass on to Robert my congratulations on a great series, and I look forward to his next books in this and the "Death in Paradise" series. Can I humbly suggest you do the same with Merryn Allingham's "Flora Steel" and "Tremayne" series of books. They are also great English mystery series. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

Well that caught your attention but what do I mean by that?

My wife and have enjoyed Robert Thorogood's Death in Paradise for years and for the last couple of years Beyond Paradise as well. He's written over 100 episodes of Death in Paradise alone and it just amazes us that he continues to come up with different ways to kill people and (almost) stump the police until Neville or Humphrey or whoever eventually finds the solution. He's a brilliant writer or at least constructor of mystery scenarios.

And to be fair, the actual murder scenario in this two part series is very good. Yes, it was stolen from a very famous earlier piece that I won't name as it would be a spoiler but it doesn't detract from the plot. That isn't the problem.

Unfortunately, the problem lies with the investigation. The whole thing was such a disappointment that had us cringing at times because it was so ridiculous.

We're all used to the concept of an amateur or group of amateurs investigating and solving murders. It's a standard of the crime genre both in novels and on television series.

However, this only works if at least one or more of a number of conditions exist. Just to name a few:

1) the amateurs have some special expertise/skill that the police don't have 2) the amateurs have special knowledge of the crime that they can't get the police to take note of for whatever reason.

3) the police are incompetent 4) the police refuse to listen to the amateurs on the grounds the amateurs are indeed amateurs and should leave it to the professionals. This usually works best in period pieces and/or where the police are prejudiced against women or race.

5) The police have already investigated the "crime" and have concluded the death was accidental or suicide and don't want amateurs muddying their closed investigation.

6) A small town police force is involved which lacks the resources to do an investigation properly.

7) The novel or show is being done for comedy

I'm sure there other scenarios as well.

Here's a few examples of where amateurs investigating a murder actually do work:

The classic without compare, of course, is Sherlock Holmes who has the intellect and skills that the police don't have where even the police will admit he is their superior and welcome his assistance. That certainly doesn't apply here. Technically, he's an amateur but nevertheless an amateur whose involvement is credible.

Agatha Christie's Miss Marple where the murders usually occur in a small town where the police are out of their depth and where Miss Marple's special gift for understanding human nature from her advanced age gives her the insight to eventually work out the motive and who the guilty party is. That's not the case here.

Father Brown, where the local detective invariably arrests the wrong person week after week (a formula in its writing and borderline light comedy) and where Father Brown needs to investigate to insure an injustice isn't done.

J. K. Rowling's (Robert Galbraith) Cormoron Strike The Cuckoo Calls where the police have concluded the death was suicide and where the brother of the deceased pays a private detective to investigate. That's certainly not the case here in any sense. Strike, again, an amateur but at least he is a PI and his involvement is paid and against the wishes of the police who feel the matter is closed.

The 2012 series The Betchley Circle with murders set in post war London where a group of ex Betchley Park women (whose special intellectual gifts were recognized during the war but are ignored post-war) end up investigating as the police think a women's place is in the home. Not the case here.

Agatha Raisin where again the senior detective is an idiot and Agatha finds herself investigating to find the real killer and indeed eventually sets up her own private investigation business. Helps that the series is a bit of a comedy and never to be taken too seriously. Again, not really what's going on here. I'm not an Agatha Raison fan but at least it was better than this series!

Here we have three real amateurs (a dog walker, the wife of the local vicker and a retired archaeologist!) taking it upon themselves to investigate even though the police force is well resourced and are quite willing to listen to any facts the women have in order to further their investigation. They continually put themselves in danger for absolutely no good reason even though providing the facts to the DS at the police would have served to solve the crime eventually as she was happy to listen to any facts they had found but constantly begged them not to put themselves into such danger.

It just doesn't work and had us pounding our heads on nearby walls in total frustration at how ludicrous it all was. We only continued to watch because the actual mystery of the murders was intriguing and we wanted to know the who and the how. It was just so annoying to have it being investigated by these three women when this would have been great as a two part Death in Paradise episode or even as a standalone series with the young and inexperienced female DS solving it eventually!!!

If it had been played for comedy, it might have worked. If the local police had been idiots, it might have worked but that wasn't the case. If the lead DS had been a bigotted 64 year old male who hated women it would have worked but not when the lead DS is a woman herself keen to hear what the 3 amateurs had to say; it didn't work! If the women had had some sort of special skill set the police lacked it might have worked but not this dog walker, housewife and retired archaelogist.

It occurred to me early in the second episode when the three women strut into the police station wearing their special badges as newly appointed police assistants that this really should have come with an R12 rating: restricted to those under the age of 12 as that seemed who it was aimed at. Better yet, more believable as a tv series aimed specifically at teenagers based on three young teenage girls investigating where the police had proved themselves to be idiots and the kids were going to be the heroes; that would have worked wonderfully for a teenage audience..

The final scene with Judith is just absurd. She really had to sit in that house alone knowing what was going to happen? She couldn't, say, have had her friends and a few policemen waiting in the back room for the killer to arrive and confess? No, no, no, she had to face the killer by herself, unarmed and simply hoping throwing something in his face would be enough to turn the tables on the killer? How stupid are we supposed to be?

I'm sorry to have to be scathing but this deserved it. I can only assume that those few people who have given it a high rating early after it went to air are those who are either teenagers themselves or perhaps are the inevitable fake reviews that turn up from time to time on IMDB to encourage people to watch. Sorry, I'm probably being unkind to teenagers in saying that as nobody in their right mind, teenagers included, could watch this and felt it worthy of such praise as I was reading in those reviews.