10 Marchfield Square
a Telegraph Best Crime Book of 2025
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A WATERSTONES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Cosy and classy in equal measure' JANICE HALLETT
'Oozes charm, wit and bloody murder' JONATHAN WHITELAW, author of THE BINGO HALL DETECTIVES
'Beautifully unguessable ... bursting with life ... brilliant!' ALEX HAY, author of THE HOUSEKEEPERS
Audrey Brooks loves people. She even loves clearing up their messes - which is lucky, as she works as a cleaner. The only thing more satisfying than making a new acquaintance smile is shifting a particularly stubborn stain.
Lewis McLennan finds people irritating. Especially people like Audrey. His writing career is in the toilet and he hates his day job. His closest relationship is with his coffee machine and, frankly, he likes it that way.
The only thing they have in common is that they both live in the smallest square in London. And that one of their neighbours is currently lying dead on his kitchen floor.
The police think the victim's wife did it. Their landlady, Celeste, is having none of that. And so a very unwilling detective duo is born. In theory they have the skills to find the real killer - if they don't kill each other first. But should they be looking closer to home? After all, how well do you know your neighbours?
The perfect mystery for fans of Tom Hindle, Janice Hallett and Kristen Perrin.
**Audrey, Lewis and Celeste return in MURDER LIKE CLOCKWORK - available to pre-order now!**
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A fan of Richard Osman’s novels or TV crime caper Only Murders in the Building? Then this one has got your name written all over it. A genteel gated community in London is rocked when one of the neighbours is killed in his kitchen. Cleaner Audrey—who knows everyone on the square—teams with a washed-up crime writer Lewis, and this unlikely pair set out to solve the mystery. This is a wholesome (despite the blood) whodunnit, conveyed with charm and panache, and a cast of oddball and free-spirited characters who spring vividly to life. It’s all the more impressive when you learn that this is the debut outing for new British talent Nicola Whyte.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Whyte's devilish debut revolves around a series of murders in a London flat complex. Every resident of 10 Marchfield Square agrees that Richard Glead was a terrible and violent man, so when he turns up dead on his kitchen floor, "the only mystery... was why no one had killed him before." Each of Richard's neighbors have alibis: most were gathered to watch fireworks, while reclusive crime writer Lewis McLennon was on a video call, and Richard's wife, Linda, was volunteering at an animal shelter. Then, when Lewis ventures into the Gleads' apartment late one night after hearing footsteps, he finds Linda dead with no visible injuries. The police conclude that her death was a suicide somehow brought on by the guilt of killing her husband, despite her alibi, but building owner Celeste van Duren isn't willing to believe any of it. To investigate, Celeste asks Lewis to team up with her cleaner, Audrey Brooks, whose people skills complement his crime expertise. During their inquiry, a third person dies, making motives even murkier for suspects both within and outside of the building. Whyte gets everything just right, constructing memorable characters and landing several shocking plot twists. Readers will be just as hard-pressed to identify the culprit as Lewis and Audrey—and they'll have a marvelous time trying.
