The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols

 The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective

Book Summary

The perfect summer read, full of charm and heart, written in the vein of The Thursday Murder Club or Only Murders in the Building but with a southern California twist.

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who’s hiding secrets.

The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form “The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective” to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found. Full of eccentricity, humor, community, The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective will keep you hooked until the last page.

My Thoughts

I’m sorry, but The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols is a boring book.  It had a good premise with the charming square, the quirky landlord, and the colorful tenants. I enjoyed the picturesque descriptions of Santa Barbara. I did not like that the author continually repeated certain defining qualities about the characters (the ex-con, the agoraphobe, the perfectionist, shy and lonely,  fat and rich, and so on). The characters  lacked depth and felt like caricatures especially the police officer.   The point-of-view changes from chapter to chapter and then there is the portion written in script format (that’s when I was ready to call it quits).  

There were so many chapters (ninety-nine) for a book that is only three hundred and fifty-two pages long.  The dialogue often felt forced.  The story fell apart when the author added contemporary social commentary (called “woke ideology” by some people) because it further distracts the reader (or, in my case, going what does this have to do with the murder).  The author does not seem to have any love for law enforcement (she gives them a good bashing).  The whodunit lacked substance.  The best part of a mystery is solving the whodunit (at least for me), but this one fell short. Fiction usually helps me escape daily life, yet The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective didn't provide that.

The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective is available from Amazon*.  If the summary of The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective appeals to you, I suggest you download a sample to judge the story for yourself (while it did not appeal to me, you may love it).  Thank you for dropping by today.  I, unfortunately, must do some housework today.  I do not mind doing the laundry, but I am not a fan of sweeping and dusting (I keep trying to teach the cat to dust, but she prefers to nap).  Tomorrow I am featuring Changing Seasons for the Country Nurse by Kate Eastham which comes out August 22.  I hope that you have a merry day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

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