by J.M. Landon

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

Are you the type of person who likes to dive into a mystery where you cannot figure out who the killer is before the reveal? This book definitely will keep you guessing.

Set in England, three friends end up helping the police solve yet another murder in their small town of Marlow. The police chief knows they will get involved anyway so she recruits them as police consultants on this case. Judith, a long-time widow, creates crossword puzzles for a living; as an empty nester, Suzie enjoys taking on projects – one after the other; and Becks is the vicar’s wife and well-networked with everyone in Marlow. The case is to figure out who, why, and how the chairman of the city council drops dead at a council meeting, which Suzie is attending. The three friends are given police lanyards which identify them as consulting with the police, but they think it gives them carte blanche to actually interview witnesses and peruse the crime scene.

With their own incident room set up in Judith’s house, including a push-pin board and index cards to keep track of their suspects and findings, even they are stumped. They are beginning to feel as though they are looking for a murderer that doesn’t really exist. But indeed, he must because the chairman is dead from poison in his coffee.

For a while, it seems as though the circle is spiraling bigger rather than zeroing in on the killer, but these women beat the police to tie up all the clues and loose ends. Judith literally cracks the case with wordplay she has developed as a puzzle smith.

This is a delightful book with solid characters who leave you wanting to go on another adventure with them. Please take on this book and see if you can solve this mystery before the reveal.

You can click here to purchase this book.

To enter to win a copy of The Queen of Poisons, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “poisons” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 29, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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J.M. Landon is retired and blissfully at work on the ‘great American novel.’ She’s worn many hats through her career including: wife, mother, piano teacher, middle school teacher, university professor, painter, jewelry maker, and dragon tamer. She has eight published short stories.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.