We are briefly departing from my history book recommendations and heading back into mystery- it is one of my favourite genres and I always get a positive response! As someone who reads a lot of mysteries, I’ve noticed that I strongly gravitate towards those with fully developed characters. Good or “bad” characters, I’m more connected to the story. And with these characters and this story, I was locked in from the beginning. Read on for my full review of 10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.
10 Marchfield Square, Nicole Whyte
The Paris Apartment meets Only Murders in the Building in this debut murder mystery with an intriguing cast of characters inhabiting a quirky block of flats in modern-day London.
When a minor criminal is murdered in the smallest residential square in London, elderly heiress and landlady Celeste van Duren recruits two of her tenants to investigate. Her cleaner, Audrey, knows everyone and is liked by all, while failed writer Lewis is known by no one. He hates his job, hates his life, and he’s not that fond of Audrey either—but Celeste is persuasive.
As they hunt for clues in and around the Square, they discover everyone has something to hide, including their fellow residents. Audrey and Lewis must find a way to work together if they’re to find the killer in their midst. Assuming of course, there’s just the one . . .
Why You Should Read This…
If you reference OMITB and you set your book in my favourite city in the world, I will always give it a try. And as I expected, I loved it! We have Celeste, the landlord of the smallest square in London, who is dealing with multiple murders in her building and a few tenants who are willing to help her solve the mysteries. As you would expect, the characters are at the heart of the mystery, and we get a real range- they feel like actual people (not wholly good or wholly bad). In many mystery novels, characters are rather stock figures that you can reasonably predict what they will do; in 10 Marchfield Square, you are left guessing often. (Which, quite frankly, is what I want!)
One aspect that I found more unique for mysteries is that there are multiple POV- you don’t get that a lot in mystery novels, and I very much enjoyed it. It allows you to investigate more (through our main characters) and to look at the murders through different eyes.
Nneka Okoye’s narration was also fantastic. She has a fairly steady voice, meaning that you aren’t distracted but she also clearly differentiated between characters. She has been added to my list of narrators to keep an eye out for!
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Thursday Murder Club series or Only Murders in the Building!
♠
Want more related books? Head to my Only Murders in the Building reading list!
Is 10 Marchfield Square on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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