A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall

Penny Whitlock is in her early fifties and recently divorced, she now finder herself juggling work, her young adult son, Zach and her elderly parents, Sissy and Heath, who could really use some extra income to help with the upkeep of their property. Penny has a great idea, why don’t her parents rent out the self-contained downstairs basement annex to a tenant, the rent would help her parents get some extra cash.

It was a great idea but Penny did not realise her parents were going to get a tenant from hell, almost as soon as Cooper moved in their lives became a living nightmare.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. I have read many books by Laura Marshall and I could not pick my favourite as I love them all.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton Publishers for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review

This was such a fun read, perfect for a lazy day of reading. I really enjoyed the whole thing; the concept, the characters and the tongue in cheek vibe throughout.
The story touches on some dark themes but with compassion for the human condition, and also a slightly gritty edge. I think the author did a great job of balancing all of the elements.
I’m not going to risk spoilers, I think the synopsis says enough.

They say never judge a book by it's cover and I did.. I assumed this was a light hearted, funny book about an elderly couple who accidentally killed someone. Well I was completely wrong and will happily admit it.

A Good Place to Hide A Body is the 5th standalone book by Laura Marshall and is published in July 2024.

The story is narrated by Penny. She's in her 50's, divorced, has a teenage son Zach and her elderly parents, Sissy and Heath are requiring more of her time as they struggle with getting older, physical limitations and the financial implications of maintaining their large family home.

Unable to help them financially herself, they decide to rent out the self-contained annex in the basement and that's where handsome, charming and single Cooper turns up. He seems too good to be true and could he be the answer to their money worries? Err, NO.. he is literally the beginning of the problems and soon Penny and her parents find themselves terrorised by the very person they hoped could help.

I don't want to go into much detail because you need to read this for yourself. Yes, there is some humour and light moments and yes it's a really enjoyable book which I read in one sitting, but the underlying feeling throughout this book is of dread and tension. The horrific actions and behaviour of the tenant simmered in pure evil and my heart broke for both Sissy and Heath.

I did mention the humour and light moments above and have to say Sissy deserves an award just for being "absolutely fabulous".

This is a wonderful book about being a parent and having parents and the complicated dynamics of family life. I absolutely loved it and have no hesitation in recommending A Good Place to Hide A Body.

★★★★★

Penny is a ‘sandwich generation woman’, beset on one side with caring for her ageing parents and on the other side with endlessly worrying about her troubled student son. Then, to make matters worse, her annoying ex-husband seems to still expect her emotional support at a time when she is turning 50 and is feeling invisible to the opposite sex. The very last thing overstretched Penny needs is a late night phone call from her father informing her that he needs her help to dispose of an unexpected dead body. Can she cope or will it be the last straw?

‘A Good Place to Hide a Body’ is a book of two halves, I found the first half (before the body is dead!) to be quite stressful and not the cosy light hearted comedy I was expecting, however this all changes once the deed is done and Penny’s parents start to relax and revert to their normal loveably eccentric selves and surprise her with their strength and ingenuity.

Utterly believable and well written, brimming with memorable characters and dark humour, ‘A Good Place to Hide a Body’ is a satisfying and very enjoyable read. Well worth diving into.

Many thanks to all concerned for letting me read and review this terrific novel.

A Good Place to Hide a Body is an excellent book if you love your crime thrillers, but you need something just a little bit lighter. It's not quite cosy crime, but neither is it dark and twisted, Laura Marshall has done an amazing job of making the reader feel sick to their core with dread one minute, and then amused by all-to-relatable family dynamics the next.

Yes, there are a few details that will mean you need to stretch the bounds of believability, but this book is pure escapism. Despite the odd raised eyebrow I still ploughed through it like it was due back to the library and I couldn't afford a late fee.

The characters are relatable, grounded and whole beings. I personally loved Sissy, and there is a part of me that hopes to be causing mayhem and keeping everyone guessing just like her when I'm older.

An amusing, insightful and gripping thriller.

Such a fabulous read!!

Penny is divorced and desperately trying to hang on to her job so that she can hang onto her flat and provide a home for her son. She is also on call, 24/7, for her elderly parents and this takes up a huge amount of her time. On the receiving end of a call from them one evening asking her to rush over and NOT call the police, she does just that while her mind conjures up all sorts of scenarios she is racing towards. However, she hasn't counted on the one thing which has actually happened - murder.

Oh, what a great read this is! So much happening, so much angst and yet there is humour threaded throughout. I laughed, I was shocked and I empathised with almost everyone. Beautifully written, this is one I definitely recommend. In my experience, most readers have discussed or thought of ways of disposing of a dead body - it comes with the territory, much like writers - and this is definitely a very entertaining read. 5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder Stoughton for the ARC

What a delightful and fun read. The story had me gripped from the first page and I couldn't put it down. Read it in a few hours. The book was so engaging and I loved the fact that the main character was a bit older. An everyday person who becomes wrapped up in something one definitely wouldn't expect. Just from the synopsis you know the book is going to be good, and it didn't let me down.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I absolutely raced through this book. I’ll be honest, I was expecting it to be more comical and far-fetched, along the lines of Bella Mackie & Katy Brent, but I feel it was a more serious thriller than those. And although I wouldn’t describe this book as a comedy in any way at all, there was some dark humour at times.

The behaviour and character of Cooper infuriated me. The fact that the police and letting agents didn’t believe what he was up to, I could feel the frustration and fear of this happening in real life, and the worry of when and how it would ever stop. I felt really sorry for Sissy & Heath, and could feel Penny’s heartache over the whole situation.

Although not a main character in the story, I found Penny’s ex husband Martin especially funny.

I was sad to finish this book as I loved everything about it. I can’t recommend it enough.

I have to admit what first drew me in wasn't the cover, it was the title and the blurb. This sounded like it was going to be such a fun read and that was exactly what I got!
I was invested in this right from the start and my interest didn't lessen the more I read.
This felt like such an easy read, mainly because of the writing style and the pacing. Both of which I really enjoyed.
You could really feel the tension and atmosphere build and build right up to the end.
Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of our main character Penny as I found her to be so naïve and because of that irritating. She really didn't come across like she was in her fifties. At times I wanted to reach into the book and giver her a shake.
However I did like the parents Sissy and Heath. They were the real stars of this book and I loved reading about them.
I also feel like this book could have benefitted from chapters from Cooper's POV. As there weren't any, I felt like I didn't really know anything about him or his motives and because of this his character seemed to lack any depth.
There also weren't any surprises for me plot wise. It all seemed pretty obvious from the start how it was all going to play out so nothing was very shocking for me.
That being said I did have such a fun time reading this. The whole thing felt so entertaining and if you like a domestic thriller this should be right up your street.

I flew through this book. The chapters were short and snappy and the story was continuous - after the prologue - so you just wanted to keep on reading.

The opening chapter is current time and then it rewinds telling the story up to present day. The prologue was 👀 but as I continued the chapters I kind of forgot about it and got immersed into the story. I had to keep reminding myself of the title of the book.

My heart went out to Sissy & Heath. There is nothing worse than bad neighbours let alone one you’ve welcomed into your own home.

Cooper was your typical smarmy guy and boy did he pull the wool over my eyes. The way his story tied in with Penny & Zach’s was good.

The lengths they went to, to cover up their crimes were incredible. I love the unassuming culprit and the way they played on their stereotypes.

Fab read especially if you love sneaky pensioners.

Such a fun and refreshing take on a thriller. Laura Marshall’s writing and storytelling is great. A great summer read if you enjoy thrillers.

Penny is trying to hang onto her job to support her son at university.
She has recommended to her elderly parents to take in a lodger for them to stay in the family home.
This all snowballs into a nightmare of a phone call from her dad about a dead body.
Penny is the central character who has to respond to many life changing calls.
You are routing for Penny’s parents they become the unsung stars.
If you find yourself in need of help, call Sissy.
A book you will pick up and want to read in one day.
Thank you NetGalley and (Hodder & Stoughton) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

An interesting and enjoyable read, with a number of twists and turns. You are invested in Penny the main character and also become involved with her parents. The issues with her parents, ex-husband and her son are skillfully woven into the story. Getting a lodger for her parents to help with the finances is the start of their problems. The story romps along and as well as the humour there are some tense and some darker parts. You cannot help but ask yourself 'What would I do?'

Really enjoyed this book! A great author generally. I loved the dialogue between Penny and her parents and the humour used by them as well as their take on what's important in later life!!! I also loved the surprises Penny's parents presented towards the end of the story, for me they took centre stage in the plot. Some other important issues handled throughout the book including parent separation and drug addiction which tied into some of the plot nicely. Well worth a read!

Because there are many other reviews explaining giving a short synopsis and emphasising the strengths of this book, I will mainly focus on my personal experience.
From what I remember, this is the first time I have read a book by Laura Marshall.
Secondly, mysteries and thrillers are not my main go-to-genres, but I like a challenge.
This was not a challenging (boring) read at all. For me what stood out is Marshall’s craft. How she makes the characters and the story world come alive, how she vividly describes the details, and the dialogue reads natural. The sub-themes around suburban life, mid-life, the difficulties in retirement were a bonus, and I enjoyed the dry wit.
5/5 for these aspects.
4/5 for characterisation and plot.

I love reading Laura Marshall's books, getting hooked after reading her outstanding debut Friend Request. I was very excited to see she had a new book out, and the synopsis of A Good Place To Hide A Body sounded like a perfect book for me. It is fair to say I devoured it in less than 24 hours, picking it up whenever I had a spare moment and then not being able to go to sleep until I had finished it! Wow; what a story!
The book opens with a slight expansion on the synopsis. We know that Penny (a 50 year old recently divorced mother of teenage son who has just started university) gets a call from her parents that there is a body and she mustn't call the police. The timeline then jumps back three months so we can see what led up to that point. Then we leqrn about the aftermath. This wormat works exceedingly well. The characters are believable, a mixture of likeable and those who you wouldn't be sorry if didn't survive until the end of the book! Lauren writes these so well.
A great thriller, with a lot of suspense and with a good sense of humour as well.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a brilliant thriller that was easy to read in one sitting.

At the beginning of the book we get a glimpse into the event and know that at some point there will be a body but we have no idea who it is or what has happened. it then changes to 3 months prior and we are taken on a whirlwind of a story taking us through the events to got us back to the present.
This one is a real page turner and hard to put down, every time you think you have a handle on where you think the book is going to go something else comes out that completely changes what you think. I found myself thoroughly entertained and anxious (in the best way possible) to see what was going to happen next.
There is a lot of humour used later on in the book that I found very funny and the character development was very well done.

Definitely recommend to thrillers lovers who like to have no idea what is going on.

The book starts with Penny Whitlock receiving a phone call late one evening that every tweenager dreads - a panicked plea for help from her dad to come quickly. Part of that generation who divide their time between supporting their kids who are away at university and their own elderly parents - all whilst holding down a full-time job - Penny's marriage has broken down and she's juggling everything pretty much single-handed. So the last thing she needs when she was about to hunker down on the sofa for some much needed down time is to have to manage some kind of parental crisis. The break in her dad's usually strong, unwavering voice tells her that something is very wrong.

Rewind three months, and the journey which results in the traumatic phone call is relayed to the reader. In a nutshell, Penny's parents are struggling to make ends meet in order to keep their home maintained -Penny has suggested downsizing and all that resulted in was a degree of frostiness from her mum. How could they possibly walk away from a lifetime's work cultivating their precious rose garden?? Penny then comes up with the idea that her parents get their annexe up to a habitable state in order to rent it out. An idea which well and truly comes back to bite her when they end up with Cooper Brownlow as their tenant.

There aren't a huge number of characters in this book, but each of them plays an integral part in the story. Obviously, Penny is the keystone that links everyone else together, and her parents are fabulously well drawn by the author - some dark humour and witty comments in particular from Sissy, Penny's mum keep the lighter side of this murder mystery alive. And dad Heath is just so lovely, I constantly wanted to hug him. On the flip side we have Cooper, their drug dealing ex-convict tenant and his associates who make life pretty intolerable over the short term of the lease offered by estate agent Julie and her team of one, the shiny suited, acne afflicted Dean. Add in Penny's ex-husband and his new wife Elaine with the usual irritations extended families can cause, it's no wonder Penny feels like she's trying to keep too many plates spinning.

I would almost describe this as a cosy murder mystery, but it offers a bit more grit than that. Set in a suburban location that the majority of us can relate to, Laura Marshall has written a credible story with a hint of comedy, the feel of which very much reminded me of Belinda Bauer's book Exit (if you haven't read it, you really should!). Some decent 'heart in mouth' moments keep your attention all the way through, and I definitely recommend this book if you want something lighter, but still crime oriented. Also, bonus points from me for the cover illustration, which is a perfect fit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.

This is the first book I have read by this author. The cover and title of the book drew me in immediately and I was jubilant when I was granted a copy to review.

Penny is a recently divorced mother of 19 year old Zack who is a bit too fond of recreational drugs. She's already juggling several plates including a demanding boss, and her elderly parents Heath and Sissy are only adding to the worry. They decide to rent out their small basement flat for some additional cash and find a lodger in charming middle-aged Cooper Brownlow. Penny feels at first drawn to Cooper, but this is no romance novel. In fact, there is an unsettling scene in which Penny feels she can't say no to Cooper's sexual overtures out of fear what he might do if she did.

We know that a body needs to be hidden but how did it get to that point? The first half of the book tells us about Cooper, the tenant from hell and the attempts to oust him, the second half what happens after his death. You'd think after Penny helped her parents with the body, the story would calm down, but the opposite is the case. The tension ramps up when more and more people come to look for Cooper and the police becomes involved.

This was right up my alley. It's brilliantly written, with Cooper's outrageous actions dominating the first half and twists and surprises coming thick and fast all through the second half of the book. Penny often annoyed me, but I adored Heath and Sissy, the fun alternative parents who display some surprising criminal energy, especially when Sissi uses her age to her advantage to appear dottier than she is.

This is pacy and entertaining and full of dark humour, with a satisfying outcome. It's a quick and gripping read - I finished it in a day. Hugely recommended.

I loved this dark, fun and entertaining read by this talented author.
The writing style is unique and will draw you in very quickly.
It’s one of my favourites this year and I’d definitely recommend. It’s more than worthy of 5 stars.