A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall @HodderBooks @laurajm8 #AGoodPlacetoHideaBody #NetGalley

 

A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall

Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 4th July 2024

Book Description:

'Can you come round?' Dad says tremulously.

'Of course. Are you OK? Is it Mum?'

'No!' He almost shouts it. 'Just come quickly. The garden...the...body... we need you, Penny.'

For women of Penny's generation, being on hand for elderly parents is just part of life. But for Penny, things have become a little more serious...

When she receives a frantic phone call from her parents one night, with express instructions NOT to call the police, Penny rushes over at once. But they haven't had a fall. They haven't forgotten their computer passwords. They've killed someone. And his body is lying in the garden, right next to the rose bushes.

Everyone is capable of murder. They just need to meet the right person.

My Thoughts:

The book starts with Penny Whitlock receiving a phone call late one evening that every tweenager dreads - a panicked plea for help from her dad to come quickly. Part of that generation who divide their time between supporting their kids who are away at university and their own elderly parents - all whilst holding down a full-time job - Penny's marriage has broken down and she's juggling everything pretty much single-handed. So the last thing she needs when she was about to hunker down on the sofa for some much needed down time is to have to manage some kind of parental crisis. The break in her dad's usually strong, unwavering voice tells her that something is very wrong. 

Rewind three months, and the journey which results in the traumatic phone call is relayed to the reader. In a nutshell, Penny's parents are struggling to make ends meet in order to keep their home maintained -Penny has suggested downsizing and all that resulted in was a degree of frostiness from her mum. How could they possibly walk away from a lifetime's work cultivating their precious rose garden?? Penny then comes up with the idea that her parents get their annexe up to a habitable state in order to rent it out. An idea which well and truly comes back to bite her when they end up with Cooper Brownlow as their tenant.

There aren't a huge number of characters in this book, but each of them plays an integral part in the story. Obviously, Penny is the keystone that links everyone else together, and her parents are fabulously well drawn by the author - some dark humour and witty comments in particular from Sissy, Penny's mum keep the lighter side of this murder mystery alive. And dad Heath is just so lovely, I constantly wanted to hug him. On the flip side we have Cooper, their drug dealing ex convict tenant and his associates who make life pretty intolerable over the short term of the lease offered by estate agent Julie and her team of one, the shiny suited, acne afflicted Dean. Add in Penny's ex-husband and his new wife Elaine with the usual irritations extended families can cause, it's no wonder Penny feels like she's trying to keep too many plates spinning.

I would almost describe this as a cosy murder mystery, but it offers a bit more grit than that. Set in a suburban location that the majority of us can relate to, Laura Marshall has written a credible story with a hint of comedy, the feel of which very much reminded me of Belinda Bauer's book Exit (if you haven't read it, you really should!). Some decent 'heart in mouth' moments keep your attention all the way through, and I definitely recommend this book if you want something lighter, but still crime oriented. Also, bonus points from me for the cover illustration, which is a perfect fit.

My thanks to the publisher for providing an early copy of the book via NetGalley.

About the Author:

Laura Marshall is the Sunday Times top ten and Kindle No. 1 bestselling author of four psychological thrillers. Her books Friend Request, Three Little Lies and The Anniversary, have sold over half a million copies in the UK and been translated into twenty-five languages.

Her fourth novel MY HUSBAND’S KILLER, will be released in November 2022.

She grew up in Wiltshire, studied English at the University of Sussex and currently lives in Kent with her family.

For more information visit Laura's website www.lauramarshall.co.uk or find her at www.facebook.com/lauramarshallauthor or on Twitter @laurajm8.