Book Review: Marble Hall Murders

Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd’s Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children’s author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered—by poison.

To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother’s death inside the book.

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz will be published on May 13, 2025. Harper Books provided an early galley for review.

This is the third novel in Horowitz's Susan Reyland mystery series. I enjoyed the first two immensely, so I was excited to see this one coming.

It was comforting to settle back into Susan's publishing world, with all the meta references and such. I think that was part of what attracted me to this series in the first place. I like how Horowitz, through Susan, is able to discuss the publishing process and what goes into editing a submission.

Also, as with the previous two novels, we are treated to another story-within-the-story approach. Two books for the price of one. As a writer myself, I am in awe of how Horowitz is able to change up his styles so that he ends up writing as a totally different writer. In this case, it is through the style of Eliot who is troubled and using his art as an outlet. I like how Susan is able to point out the bumps in the work which, again, is a tribute to Horowitz who can write those into it. I liken it to watching a gifted singer purposely acting as a poor singer; it is a reversal of a honed craft.

This novel does a fantastic job of bringing together all the elements that came before in the series. All in all, it was a very enjoyable read. Will we ever see Susan and this world again? Never say never.