Arsenic and Old Lies
Ratings1
Average rating5
A dead body in the study, a terrible wrong to put right, and a trail that leads to murder…
London, 1928. Mystery writer and amateur detective Marius Quin is reeling from his friend’s murder in his own home. Forced to stay away from the case, he’s in urgent need of distraction when fate points him towards Felicity Mortimer, a woman imprisoned for poisoning her husband fifteen years earlier.
Marius soon becomes convinced of Felicity’s innocence, and when he discovers a key witness with his throat cut, it’s clear that the real killer is still on the loose. Determined to uncover the truth, Marius drags his partner-in-crime-solving, Lady Bella Montague, (not to forget his basset hound, Percy) to a manor house deep within the New Forest. But what dark secrets are concealed at the picturesque estate where Felicity once lived?
As their search for answers stirs up more violence, can Marius and Bella expose a deadly plot before death stalks the halls of Rhinefield House… again?
A captivating and atmospheric 1920s mystery that will delight fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey, and Lee Strauss.
Series
Featured Series
2 primary books#5 in Marius Quin Mystery
Marius Quin Mystery is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2024 with contributions by Benedict Brown. 1 book is still to be released. The next book is scheduled for release on .
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Storm Publishing very kindly invited me to read an advance copy of Arsenic and Old Lies, and after reading the synopsis I was only too happy to accept. That was a good decision on my part, because I adored this book. With a title like that, how could I not? (I love the play on that old classic, Arsenic and Old Lace.)
The main characters in the book, and indeed the series, are friends Marius Quin and Lady Bella Montague, who are private detectives. Marius also happens to write murder mysteries. The book opens with Marius returning from a weekend away, to discover a body in his study. The deceased is none other than Gilbert Baines, Bella's fiancé. 🗡
Finding himself shut out of the investigation into Gilbert's death, Marius returns to his writing, and it is while seeking inspiration from old newspapers at the library, he stumbles upon what he deems to be a miscarriage of justice. 🗡
The subsequent investigation undertaken by Marius and Bella makes for interesting reading, not least because the trial Marius read about is based on a real life one. Sadly, the outcome of both differed.
Set in the late 1920's, Arsenic and Old Lies is a fast paced, thrilling read. There's quite the cast of characters, all of them interesting, and all harbouring secrets. There's also a dog, an adorable Basset Hound called Percy, who is Marius's faithful friend. 🐶
There are twists aplenty, and some welcome humour of the dark variety. 🗡
It has become a habit of mine when reading ARCs, to come into a series somewhere in the middle. Arsenic and Old Lies is book 5 in this series. I haven't read the four books which precede it, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much information. I will circle back to read them eventually. 🗡
Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
