Total Books: 2 Total Pages: 522 Longest: 286 Shortest: 236
Genres: 2 (Mystery – 1, Thriller – 1)
This is the lightest book-reading month in terms of completed books and number of pages I’ve had in 3 years. I almost got a third in – but it’ll have to wait for my June list.
Lee Goldberg – Murder By Design
I’ve read several other thrillers by Lee Goldberg, but the protagonist in this one has the most interesting take on murders. Edison Bixby believes that the design of the man-made world enables crimes, including murder.
As an insurance investigator hired to review the case of a woman who tripped and fell to her death in a mall, Bixby believes she was manipulated to her death and the design of the mall made it possible and therefore not an accident, but murder. Convincing the police that a murder occurred is, of course, not straightforward. Bixby will have to find the killer to prove he is right or more people may die. Due to a brain injury, Bixby has no filter and the story is told from the viewpoint of an actor, Wally Nash, hired as Bixby’s assistant to intercede and smooth things over when he inevitably says something rude.
In this first of what appears to be a new series featuring Bixby, Goldberg provides his back story – his childhood, how he became wealthy, his brain injury, and his theories on design. With Wally as the narrator, playing Watson to Bixby’s Sherlock, it looks to be an entertaining series.
Robert Thorogood – Death Comes to Marlow
This is the 2nd in the Marlow Murder Club series which is also adapted for TV as a PBS Masterpiece series. I watched the first book in the series last fall, then decided to read it (Note 107). Similarly, I read this second entry after having watched its TV adaptation. The TV adaptations stick pretty close to the books.
I love the setting in the small English town of Marlow along the Thames Rivers. The quirky main characters – whisky-loving, nude-swimming, crossword puzzle editor Judith, Suzie the dog walker, and Becks the vicar’s wife. The trio with seemingly nothing in common who bonded in the first book while solving the murder of Judith’s neighbor are back. This time, a prominent citizen is crushed by a bookshelf in his locked study on the day before his wedding – while a huge celebration is going on outside where everyone hears the crash. The police declare it an accident/suicide, but Judith and friends are convinced it is murder and set out to find the killer.
I’ve already downloaded the next two books in the series.
Until next time, read what pleases you!
Notes By Nancy 
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