Readers Guide to Murder on the Marlow Belle

My Readers Guide to Murder on the Marlow Belle will have Jen’s Quick Take, a character list, and the Murder on the Marlow Belle ending explained. Will you love this fourth book in a beloved British cozy mystery series?

Cover of Murder on the Marlow Belle: an illustration of a boat on a blue sea

Readers Guide to Murder on the Marlow Belle

Table of Contents

Jen’s Quick Take to Murder on the Marlow Belle
Character List
Spoilers for Murder on the Marlow Belle and the ending explained

Jen’s Quick Take on Murder on the Marlow Belle

Original photo of four Marlow Murder club books on a patterned tray

Murder on the Marlow Belle is book four in the Marlow Murder series by Robert Thorogood
All the books celebrate small town British life. This installment features an amateur drama society and a riverboat.
The series is cozy, and Murder on the Marlow Belle features a locked room mystery of sorts.
This is the highest rated book in the series so far. My personal favorite is Death Comes to Marlow.
Most of the readers I follow on Goodreads agreed with me that the solution to the mystery was a little bit convoluted (explanation below)
But there’s a great teaser at the end for book five!
Publication date: September 16, 2025. Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for my advance review copy!

Character List for Murder on the Marlow Belle

Bulletin Board with Marlow Murder Cover on it

Recurring Characters

Judith Potts: crossword puzzle creator and wild swimmer
Becks Starling: wife of the vicar
Suzie Harris: dogwalker and single mum
DI Tanika Malik
DS Brendan Perry
Chloe: Becks’s daughter
Colin: Becks’s husband

New Characters:

People on the boat

Verity Beresford: Oliver’s wife
Oliver Beresford: the murder victim and founder of the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society
Lizzie Jenkins: famous actress and former MADS member
Duncan: technical director of MADS
Sally Boulton: member of MADS
Lance Goodwin: owned the Marlow Belle; dated Suzie
Toby Vincent: garage mechanic

Other Characters

Andy Ford: lockkeeper at Cookham Lock
Mrs. Mary Eddingham: member of MADS
Rob Hooker: drama teacher
Joanne Dawkins: single mum to Jade
Rebecca Lewis: artist
Dylan Hatfield: local teen

Spoilers for Murder on the Marlow Belle and the Ending Explained

Original photo of The Murder on the Marlow Belle on a blue shelf with red books

Well! Murder on the Marlow Bell got pretty wild at the end. And a bit out-there!

We had a locked room murder in which all six people on the boat (besides the murder victim) had motive and opportunity.

Who Killed Oliver in Murder on the Marlow Belle?

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By nearly the end of the book, the women accuse the murderer: Lizzie Jenkins.

Andy Ford (the lock keeper) and Lance Goodwin (owner of the Belle) were small time weed growers and dealers. Oliver knew their secret.

Lance saw Lizzie shoot Oliver, but couldn’t go to the police because of the drugs.

What Was Lizzie’s Motive?

Lizzie recently learned that at age seventeen, she had earned a place at RADA but that Oliver, her former lover, had intercepted the letter.

When Lizzie went to her cabin at 6 PM, Oliver came in with a gun. He was angry that Lizzie’s book didn’t mention him and all he did to further Lizzie’s career.

Oliver told Lizzie that he was setting up her murder as the perfect crime. And he had lined up evidence to frame everyone: Duncan‘s pistol, Verity scarf, and the bullet in Toby‘s cabin.

Oliver had a terminal illness, so he didn’t care how things ended up.

Lizzie overpowered him and got the gun, shot Oliver, and tossed his body overboard. (She was toughened up by her time as a youthful heroin abuser.)

But wait! There’s more…

Though Lizzie thought she shot Oliver twice, but one of her shots missed. Oliver didn’t die.

Artist Rebecca Lewis, who was painting by the river as the boat (and Oliver) drifted by, took the gun out of Oliver’s hands and shot him again.

Why did Oliver have the gun that shot him?

He managed to grab the gun before Lizzie tossed him overboard.

But why would Rebecca want to kill Oliver?

Rebecca served as a youth leader in town when Lizzie was a teen. Rebecca was the one who intercepted the RADA letter. She now felt guilty, so when she saw Lizzie go past on the boat, drinking champagne, she waited for the boat to come back. Then when she saw Lizzie shoot Oliver and throw him overboard, and then realized Oliver was alive, she decided to help Lizzie out by shooting him again and throwing the gun in the river.

What is with the ending?

Seems like Judith has a big secret! We knew this already, as she’s very evasive about her past, but I guess book five will reveal all!

Questions? Comments? Are you watching the series on PBS?

Readers Guide to Murder on the Marlow Belle