10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte - In a quiet block of flats in London, a resident is murdered and the landlady doesn't have confidence that the police will handle the case properly, especially since the victim was an unsavory smalltime criminal who was abusive to his wife. Wealthy Celeste van Duren is confident that none of her tenants could be the killer, and certainly not the widow, Linda, but that's what the police seem to think. So she recruits two of the tenants and tasks them with working together to investigate. Audrey is also Celeste's cleaner and has an eye for details and a knack with people. Lewis is a crime writer who has run out of book ideas, but he's got the background in procedure and research. And most definitely does not have a knack with people. Both Audrey and Lewis could use the money Celeste is offering, and when Linda is also murdered, they have an additional incentive to figure out what really happened and get justice for Linda.
The story is told with chapters alternating between Audrey and Lewis as the viewpoint character, with a few chapters from Celeste's viewpoint thrown in here and there. Audrey and Lewis are very different and their partnership for the investigation is uneasy at first, but as they track down clues they realize that each of the residents of Marchfield Square has something to hide, and conclude that it's most likely that the murderer was someone who lived there. They learn to work together and trust each other as they untangle the leads and work through the possible theories.
Inevitably they face danger as they uncover those who had motive and close in on the killer. The growing friendship and trust between Audrey and Lewis is sweet and the glimpses of how Celeste cares for her tenants are endearing. Although there are three murders and the story moves along crisply, I'd still consider this a cozy mystery much more than a thriller or suspenseful mystery. Certainly there are some tense scenes and the closer the amateur detectives get to the solution, the more I was kept on the edge of my seat to see which parts of the theories were right and wrong, and if my solution was the same as Lewis and Audrey's. There is definitely an intriguing twist at the end, one that made me hope there might be a sequel at some point, but even if there isn't, the ending struck a great balance between a satisfying wrap-up and a tantalizing question or two left unanswered.
The comparisons to Only Murders in the Building are apt and I found myself picturing a couple of the characters looking very much like the beloved residents of the Arconia.
From the publisher:
The Paris Apartment meets Only Murders in the Building in this debut murder mystery with an intriguing cast of characters inhabiting a quirky block of flats in modern-day London.
When a minor criminal is murdered in the smallest residential square in London, elderly heiress and landlady Celeste van Duren recruits two of her tenants to investigate. Her cleaner, Audrey, knows everyone and is liked by all, while failed writer Lewis is known by no one. He hates his job, hates his life, and he's not that fond of Audrey either―but Celeste is persuasive.
As they hunt for clues in and around the Square, they discover everyone has something to hide, including their fellow residents. Audrey and Lewis must find a way to work together if they're to find the killer in their midst. Assuming of course, there's just the one . . .
Cozy crime enthusiasts will not be able to get enough of Marchfield Square and its residents.
This is a book published in 2025 (#52) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.
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