Cozy Mystery Archives - The Litertarian

If you are a fan of the Hulu Original show Only Murders in the Building starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, you’re going to love this novel. Set in a housing development called 10 Marchfield Square in London, mysterious murders have the tenants looking to find out the truth of the deaths.

10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte Book Cover

The proprietress discreetly hires two of the tenants to investigate the murder of the seedy gentleman who turns up dead. One is a cleaner, the other a washed-up crime novelist. Together, they track down leads and question everything until the truth comes to light.

What an enjoyable debut from Nicola Whyte! This book absolutely reminded me of Only Murders in the Building with ‘normie’, if eccentric, amateur sleuths investigating real grisly crimes. There is a lot to uncover, and strategic processes to follow, and the two lead characters really added some color to the story. In a whodunnit anything is possible, and it’s so fun to read a book where you must question everything you think you know.

I think this would be a great introductory book for those who are new to the cozy mystery genre, and the ol’ pros too. The web of suspects weaves and tangles in a way that satisfies and the ending is of course exactly as it should be.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: 10 Marchfield Square
Author:: Nicola Whyte
Genre:: Cozy Mystery
Publisher:: Union Square & Co.
Length:: 400 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 27m
Audiobook Narrator:: Nneka Okoye
Published:: April 1st, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars

If you liked this book, check out…

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders | Alexandra Benedict
Murder at Gull’s Nest | Jess Kidd
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Guide to Murderers | Jesse Q. Sutanto

A quaint coastal town. A missing person. A silent little girl who sees everything. A former nun who won’t let it go. Murder at Gulls Nest is a historical cozy mystery set just after the World Wars with suspects a-plenty, and secrets everywhere.

Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kidd Book Cover

I wanted to read this book in part because I don’t have much experience with what is colloquially referred to as a ‘cozy mystery’. I get it now. It’s essentially equivalent to an old episode of Murder She Wrote. It doesn’t mean that there is not death, or even gruesome things that happen or are described. It’s more of a slow methodical approach to solving a mystery by moving through each logical piece of the investigation. The absence of the ‘thrill’ element that makes a thriller. That’s what ‘they’ mean by low-stakes. The protagonist is not necessarily in direct line of danger. They just have a stake in finding out the answer to the mystery.

Our POV character is a nun who has left the cloister in order to track down her friend, also a former nun, whose letters have mysteriously stopped after implying in one of her letters that the people around her had everything to hide. Nora poses as an innocent guest in a board house with no knowledge of the place or agenda and tries to find out everything she can about the mysteriously missing woman who used to stay in the room there.

If she was trying to be subtle about her investigation, she failed. She wandered around that city asking direct questions that could only have raised red flags to someone trying to hide something. It was a full-fledged amateur investigation, but when a dead body turns up, the real authorities become involved as well.

While I enjoyed the story, I didn’t find myself very invested in the drama. There is plenty of mystery to go around, and I found a lot of the historical elements to be intriguing and interesting, but I didn’t feel engrossed. I think I would have enjoyed a more emotional experience. It almost reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes style novel, if that’s your thing. If you like finding clues and analyzing people, trying to crack the mystery before the characters, you’re going to love it.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this early reader’s copy from the publisher and netgalley, and I will be interested to read the next installment of this new mystery series by Jess Kidd.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Details

Title:: Murder at Gulls Nest (Nora Breen Investigates #1)
Author:: Jess Kidd
Genre:: Cozy Historical Mystery
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 336 pages
Audio Length:: 9h 30m
Audiobook Narrator:: Siobhan McSweeney
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: April 8th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars