The Marlow Murders – Winner of Best Crime Fiction at the 2024 National Indie Excellence Awards

Finalist for the 2024 Feathered Quill Award for Best Mystery Thriller

FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS, A HEARTSTOPPING MYSTERY FROM YOUR NEW CRIME FICTION OBSESSION: BIBA PEARCE.

Book blurb

Debby Morris, mother of two, goes to a Christmas party at historic Hollyhock Manor in Marlow, and never comes home.

A MISSING MOTHER.

Her phone, handbag and Santa’s elf hat are found in a park near the River Thames. The police issue a nationwide search, but Debby is nowhere to be found.

Three weeks later, Debby’s body, still in her elf costume, is discovered five miles downstream from where she disappeared.

A DETECTIVE ON THE BRINK.

Detective Rob Miller is pulled from compassionate leave and put in charge. He’s still reeling from his last botched case, and he knows all eyes are on him — waiting to see if he’ll crack.

Meanwhile, another body is found with their throat slashed . . . and a link is discovered between the two cases that changes everything.

A RACE AGAINST TIME TO STOP A KILLER.

Rob and his team will need to pull out all the stops to catch a twisted killer before anyone else dies

My (quick) thoughts

This is the second book in this series that I have read, the seventh book and I enjoyed it immensely.

The story is immersive and tells of a young women who goes missing, it takes up Detective Rob Miller’s story, after being off duty since his last big case which didn’t go well when he unwittingly brought a deadly force to the investigation, on his return to work. Rob is a good detective and he soon gets back into his job and along with his team, who are delighted he’s back, do their utmost to find out what happened to Debbie. So when another body is found things take an unexpected turn!

Finding connections turns the investigation in an altogether new direction. Will Rob and the team find out what happened? Will they stop the murderer before another crime is committed?

I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment, book eight in the series, which is sitting quietly on my TBR shelf.

This is a book and series I would happily recommend.

Book: Purchased

20 books of summer 2025

I have read The Marlow Murders as part of my 20 books of summer challenge.

My list of books being read for this challenge. 

20 books of summer has new hosts Emma of Words and Peace and you can read all about it on Annabel’s blog including all the rules and sign up. It’s a challenge I’ve always enjoyed and am sure I’ll continue to do so. 

The challenge takes place between 1 June and 31 August 2025

Information

Published: Joffe Books | 24 Oct. 2023 | 281pp

Buy: Amazon | Hive | Your local bookshop | Your local library

Author

Biba Pearce is a crime writer and author of the DCI Rob Miller, Kenzie Gilmore and Shrap Nelson series. Her books have been shortlisted for the Feathered Quill and the CWA Debut Dagger awards, and The Marlow Murders was voted best crime fiction book in the Indie Excellence Book Awards.

Biba lives in leafy Surrey with her family and when she isn’t writing, can be found walking along the Thames River path – near to where many of her books are set – or rambling through the countryside.

FOLLOW BIBA PEARCE ON

AUTHOR WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | TIKTOK
| INSTAGRAM | Amazon Author Page

Books

DETECTIVE ROB MILLER MYSTERIES 

Book 1: THE THAMES PATH KILLER | Book 2: THE WEST LONDON MURDERS | Book 3: THE BISLEY WOOD MURDERS |Book 4: THE BOX HILL KILLER | Book 5: THE SOUTH BANK MURDERS | Book 6: THE SOHO KILLER | Book 7: THE MARLOW MURDERS

A thrilling new mystery from the bestselling and award-winning author Biba Pearce

Book 8: THE PUTNEY BRIDGE KILLER (Buy)  – Published – 22 May 2025)

A brutal murder. A deadly secret. A killer who’s done this before . . .

DCI Rob Miller is called to a murder scene in the early hours of the morning. A young woman’s body has been discovered under Putney Bridge.

There are clear signs this was a brutal attack. The crime scene is especially unnerving for DCI Miller. It mirrors the victims of the Surrey Stalker — a sadistic predator Miller took down five years ago.

But the Surrey Stalker is dead.

This killer isn’t just copying the past — They know things only the original murderer could have known. They know police secrets and crime scene details that were withheld from the press.

With the media circling and a mole inside the force leaking information, Miller must untangle a deadly web of deception before the killer strikes again.

But as the body count rises and the noose tightens, one question haunts him:

Did he catch the wrong man all those years ago?

BOX SETS

DETECTIVE ROB MILLER BOX SET BOOKS 1-3 | DETECTIVE ROB MILLER BOX SET BOOKS 4-6

Other books

Kenzie Gilmore Crime Thriller series (books 1 – 9) | Dalton Savage Mystery (6 book series)