What a fun read this is and certainly a book that kept me turning the pages trying to work out how it was all going to end!
I’m not revealing any big secrets by saying that a murder occurs and a body needs to be disposed of but it’s what happens before the murder and what happens afterwards that make this such a engrossing story.
When Penny’s parents ring her and tell her something awful has happened she races round to their house to help.
The book then flashes back to the lead up to the event, Cooper, her parents’ new tenant moves in and everything takes off. It soon becomes apparent he is not a very nice person.
It would be a shame to reveal too much about the plot but suffice it to say it is very fast paced with a lot of black humour.
There’s also a theme of parents’ relationships with their children- Penny learns to see her parents in a different light, as independent people and comes to realise that her own son, Zach has many problems which she has been ignoring due to her blind belief in him. She cannot see his faults. Another mother also maintains that her son can do no wrong despite his obvious shortcomings.
I loved the author’s writing style which had me hooked from the start and her character development was excellent. Heath and Sissy, Penny’s parents were fabulous!!
I highly recommend this book and have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

This was the perfect book for me right now! A nice, light, easy-to-read book after the hefty ones I've read lately!

From the title, you can guess what happens in the book - someone gets murdered. However, the story as to how it gets to that point is entertaining yet twisted.

I really enjoyed it, so much so that I read it in one sitting!

A dark and in places amusing read.

Penny thinks her elderly parents are a little needy and getting in the way of her life. However, this time when they ring she realises they really do need her.

The books begins with the "body" and works backwards for three months. Just as I was beginning to think there wasn't much to the plot we catch up to the present day, then it really became a page turner. Every time I thought I must be near the end of the book there was another twist. In the end this book definitely became a thriller.

The best drawn characters for me were the parents. Surprises up their sleeves at every turn. Whilst a lot of current books have older people solving crimes, in this case they are involved in the crime. Penny was a little judgemental about everyone and certainly very tardy with her work. However she did take a lot of risks that had me holding my breath at times.

This is the second book I have read by the author and another winner.

We meet Penny and her parents, Heath and Sissy. Penny is a single mum to nineteen year old Zach and is only managing to keep a roof over her head after the break-up of her marriage. Heath and Sissy live in a rambling Victorian house where they are struggling to pay the bills, never mind the upkeep of the property. After putting their heads together they all decide that renting the self contained apartment in the basement to a lodger would be a huge help financially.

Of course, with the genre of this book, you can guess that the lodger turns out to be one from hell making all their lives a complete nightmare and getting no help whichever way they turn. I truly felt sorry for Penny’s parents and was as eager for the lodger to be gone as they were. My blood riled at the things that they get up to. None of them anticipate how it will all end with a body on their hands that they need to get rid of.

Well, this was just a pure delight to read. So much so I devoured it in an afternoon. Some characters will surprise you and many a time I couldn’t sit still as the threat of them being found out was very high and makes for some nail-biting reading. There are some unexpected twists and turns that made it totally impossible to put down. I adored Heath and Sissy although I’m still not quite sure if I would love to have them as parents or not!

A Good Place to Hide a Body was a highly entertaining and fun read that was so refreshing. I loved the dark humor and the mounting tension, yet it was also quite endearing in parts. It kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the very last page and I would love to see it made into a film or series. A very different crime thriller that readers are going to love and be thrilled in equal measure!

The title and book cover is enough to hook you from the start.
I’ve received this from NetGalley and so happy I got it.
It’s a really great read.
Penny is a great character and her love and compassion for her family is what makes this crazy story believable.
How she perceives her family evolves as the story snowballs and runs out of control. I couldn’t wait to finish it and the story kept me hooked and didn’t disappoint. Every twist and turn was well thought out and just when you think it’s all over… it isn’t! Love Sissy & Heath and how they hide in plain sight throughout, playing on people’s perceptions of the elderly.

It’s a fast paced, funny, really great read!

I thought this was an okay read.it kept me entertained ,and was a pretty good paced book.it didn't really grab me, but I wouldn't put anyone off reading it either.

This book was a diverting way to pass a few hours in an airport. Although the characters could be abrasive at times (including the very judgemental main character Penny), I found that the plot hung together well and the narrative went places I didn't expect in terms of culpability and ethics.

I loved this book!! It's a real "on-edge" read with some dark comedy thrown in for good measure. We meet Penny and her elderly parents. Her parents need some extra income and Penny comes up with the idea of renting out their basement annex. Cooper, their new tenant seems, at first, perfectly suitable. However it's not long before it's obvious he is the tenant from hell, and getting rid of him isn't going to be easy.

This was such an addictive read! Once started, I couldn't put it down! I liked Penny's character, and loved her parents - Penny's mother was so funny and played her part very well! The storyline begins with a little flash-forward, but then we go back to before Cooper arrives and the storyline from there flows so well, building up the tension as it moves along. I have to admit that whilst I did find parts of the story funny, it was definitely a dark sort of humour, the kind that perhaps you shouldn't really be laughing at! I felt really uncomfortable with her parents storyline, and felt a sick dread in my stomach as I read as to what Cooper was doing and how their lives were becoming unbearable.

There were lots of twists and turns in the storyline and it was very cleverly worked out. I had my heart in my mouth several times throughout the book and whilst I had some idea where it was all heading, I didn't work it all out right!! Without giving away any spoilers, the ending was perfect and rounded everything off nicely! I thought it was my first book by this author, but I had actually read one other book some years ago. I will definitely be reading more though as this was one I really enjoyed! Full of suspense and some nerve-wracking moments, I'd certainly recommend this book!

This book is a dark (but also almost funny?) thriller about an elderly couple who accidentally rent out their annexe to a wrong'un. I loved that all of the characters in this book were kind of awful, to varying degrees and in different ways. It didn't take me long to power through since I couldn't put it down, and some of the twists were so wickedly clever I didn't see them coming. I've already started recommending it to friends!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The blurb is all that is needed to recommend this book, and drew me in instantly.
I finished this quick read in a day because each time I thought the story was finishing, another shock came along to turn the story on its head.
I'm really enjoying older people as main characters in books lately and just loved this so much, especially Sissys character, who is definitely one to call if you ever needed a good place to hide a body!
Fantastic read that kept me hooked throughout.

I absolutely love this style of writing and A Good Place to Hide a Body did not disappoint. This book had me continuously guessing how it would go and made me want to keep reading to the end. Penny’s parents are old and in need of extra cash to look after their big run down house. She suggested they get themselves a lodger, after taking their advice, they find a lodger from a letting agency suggested by an acquaintance. Penny and her parents end up with the lodger from hell who has a whole different side to him. One night, Penny gets a call from her parents and their lives changes. Where is a good place to hide a body?

This was a very different kind of read from Laura Marshall than other books of hers that I have read. In saying that, I really did enjoy this dark but funny story. It will make you think twice about getting a lodger, no matter how much you might need the money.

Penny will do anything for her elderly parents. But getting rid of Cooper is harder than it seems. He is the tenant from hell, and manages to get away with it everytime. But one night, her parents find a permanent solution and Penny needs to help them clean it up.

Penny’s mother Sissy was hilarious! I loved how she used her age to her advantage. There are some dark themes here but overall this was a fun, quick read.

Thanks so much Hodder and Stoughton for my advanced reading copy. Publishes on July 4th, the perfect binge read.

The blurb for Laura Marshall’s A Good Place to Hide a Body hooked me at once, “Everyone is capable of murder. They just need to meet the right person.” Penny’s parents have killed someone and they need help with the body. Oh, dear, don’t you hate it when that happens?

Penny is fifty years old and divorced, but finds her parents’ new male lodger unsettlingly attractive. She doesn’t want her parents to have to take in a lodger but the family doesn’t have enough money for them not to do so. Penny describes her emotions as midway between desire and panic but we then see the family’s relationship with the lodger starting to sour. Penny’s parents start to become scared. Marshall does such a good job of articulating Penny’s thoughts and her parents’ growing fear and frustration, that I found the first few chapters awkward to read. The reader can really empathise with the parents’ impotence when a lodger’s behaviour is unacceptable. The law (understandably) protects tenants and makes it difficult to get them out; but what can landlords do when a tenant makes their life a nightmare? Given the book’s title, I have no doubt you can guess.

Although there are moments of humour, I would not describe this book as a comedy. Perhaps my imagination is too vivid but I found the predatory behaviour towards Penny’s parents unsettling. However, I think that is a remarkable compliment to the author – I know this is a novel; it’s fiction; but I am still living the action with the characters, even though, frankly, some moments are quite surreal (in a good way!). It’s a great read and I am very grateful to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for letting me have a free copy in return for an honest review.
#AGoodPlacetoHideaBody #NetGalley

For women in Penny's generation, it's normal to have to help out your parents every once in a while, but for Penny, it's become a little more serious. When she receives a frantic call from her parents in the middle of the night telling her not to call the police she rushes over. Only to find her parents in the garden with a dead body, which shows that anyone can be capable of murder if they find the right person.

This was a really good read, fast-paced and fun, although also managing to deal with some hard-hitting topics, including addiction and grief. I didn't enjoy the character of Penny to begin with. I really struggled with the way she spoke to her parents and the way she treated them, but as the characters developed, I began to like her more. I loved Sissy and Heath Penny's parents, and Sissy was by far my favourite character, and it just shows you that sometimes you should fear the ones you least expect. Highly recommend.

ARC review

This could be a good easy holiday read
Nothing too complicated and a bit different from your standard thriller
A few twists and kept me interested

Bloody hell, that was brilliant!

I've become really picky about my thrillers since having a baby - I used to read it all, and now there's lots I won't go near with a 10-foot barge pole - so I stick to the comfort of romance novels and HEA's. Every few months, though, something piques my interest, and I remember why I love thrillers quite so much; this novel did EXACTLY that.

Books that start with a prologue introducing the ✨️main event✨️ have a habit of being really slow-paced, so the build-up is more dramatic. The same isn't to be said for AGPTHAB. It was engaging and interesting from the first page - I think the fact I read the entire thing over a span of three hours speaks volumes. The characters are mundane, and everyday people - as I'm noticing is the case throughout Marshall's work - but I think that's what makes the story so exciting? These 50- and 70-year old's with allotments and office jobs have a HUGE secret??? I am GRIPPED.

I really enjoyed the fact that there were multiple twists. The big part of the story was placed in the middle, as opposed to the end, and that really helped with the pacing of the story and the wanting to know what could possibly come next.

I implore everyone to add this to their TBR's, pre-order, and read as soon as it's published. I hope you love it as much as I did. And never, ever rent out your annexe... you never know what could happen...

Mixed feelings about this one, I found it humorous and an easy read but also a bit predictable, I found the character of penny to not be very believable, just felt she was not acting in a way in which she should in certain situations. I loved sissy and heath they were a great asset to the story, their relationship was lovely and I loved sissy's character. All in all an easy to read humorous but predictable story

I did enjoy the book and found myself wanting to know what would happen next.

I liked the characters of Penny and her parents, Zach was infuriatingly teenage and Martin provided some giggles.
The story was quick paced enough to keep me entertained but I did feel there were twists at the end just for twisty-sake.

This is a hugely enjoyable novel! I loved it. There’s lots to relate to in Penny’s life - her love for, but also exasperation with, elderly parents, her teenage son starting to go off the rails and then…a dead body! I couldn’t put it down (the book not the body, fortunately). Penny is a sympathetic main character with lots going on. I enjoyed the way her view of her parents develops as the story progresses. There are plenty of surprises, some strong, feisty characters and a particularly objectionable one. A Good Place to Hide a Body kept me entertained throughout and I would highly recommend it.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.