The Marlow Murder Club

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.

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.....

The first season was pretty good and gave us a 4-part mystery.

Season 2 gives us three 2-part shows that are more annoying than anything. There's no depth to the stories or the characters. The women come off as meddling busybodies more than sleuths.

In a small village like Marlow, the local residents would likely run every time they saw any of these women on the street, let alone answer their doors and answer their questions.

There's a big difference between being eccentric and being annoying and these female characters have crossed the line into being very annoying.

And the backstory about the dead aunt's love story was pathetically stupid.

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.

I've read and really enjoy the books this series is based on, but I feel like the characters have been ruined in the series. Judith job has changed, and this I feel has changed her character, her background is different and she doesn't feel like she fits her character. Suzi is great, but I just feel she was a bit rougher around the edges, but barely got to know her as a character. Her relationship was changed with her daughter which I didn't like. Becks was just completely off! In the books she much more devoted to her family and husband. She's also incredibly timid, but gets pushed by Judith to do things, which really brings out a better side of her character.

Overall I feel like they changed all the best parts of the book, and made a bit of a wishy washy series.

Not a bad watch, but it's nowhere near as good as it should been.