This is a wonderful series, with compelling interesting characters that are a lot of fun to spend time with, but Arsenic & Old Lies is a bit of a disappointment after the excellence of the previous book. While the central mystery is engaging and the two main characters wonderful as always, the tonal switch from the gravity of the events of the last book's postscript/this book's introduction to the more light-hearted central mystery didn't quite work for me. The central mystery seemed to be almost too much of a distraction for Marius and Bella.

Despite that, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and look forward to reading the next one!

What started as one mystery lead into a different direction then left on a cliffhanger.
Well written and you didnt understand who did it until the very last two chapters to fully grasp how it happens and why.

Another great case resolved by Marius and Bella. After the severance loss of her fiancee, Bella needs a distraction and Marius drags her off to New Forest in search of clues to free a woman who has been (wrongfully) incarcerated.

This was fast paced as always had a good deal of red herrings twists and turns to keep it the book engaging. Now that Bella is free again, I wonder if Marius will have the guts to take a chance at love.

#ArsenicandOldLies #NetGalley

The last thing Marius expected to find in his writing room was the murdered body of his partner’s fiancé. Bella and Marius had just returned from a successful case but the loss of her fiance devastated her. The prospect of a new case might take her mind off her loss after Marius visits a woman who has lingered in prison for 15 years for a crime she did not commit. Marius is able to confirm there had been a miscarriage of justice and just as he is about to meet with someone who can confirm this, the man is murdered and his house set on fire.

There is a cunning killer on the loose but Marius and Bella feel they must travel to the country home where everything seems to evolve. There are more secrets to be uncovered, some cruel and unconscionable ones but as they eliminate various players, one of their suspects is murdered. Now, the villain must be a family member, but whom? There are so many twists and turns, some that I expected and others than I did not. They catch the killer and the innocent woman is set free. There is a highly satisfying conclusion that adds just one more twist.

The story captures the reader and we are buffeted back and forth in a highly entertaining way. Five purrs and two paws up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All views and thoughts are my own.

I can't believe I was sleeping on this series all this while. At some point, I'd started reading the first book, Murder at Everham Hall and abandoned it. I'm so glad I requested an ARC of this book, however, because it made me realise I'd been missing out!

The series follows Marius Quin, a mystery writer who also solves mysteries in his spare time with his almost-lover Lady Bella, who is trying to overcome the grief of her fiance being killed and his body dumped in Marius's study. Marius is told to keeps his hands off investigating the murder and on a whim, takes up a cold case for solving and tries to help a woman currently in jail, falsely convicted of a murder she didn't commit. Or so she says.....

I did find it a bit odd that this book covers a murder in the first chapter that's just left to be investigated by the police and then pivots completely to a different murder committed a while back as the focal murder. The theme running through this series is that there's a major story arc running throughout the series but somehow the murder that takes up the book isn't part of the main theme. This is an interesting premise and one I haven't come across before. Not entirely sure that I'd say it works but it's also a good reason to continue an entire series, so there's that. The author has done a great job with his research and identifying a similar case which made headlines back in the day. Marius and Bella make a great investigative team and the humour laced throughout the book is a great foil to their natural, easygoing camaraderie (when Marius isn't pining for Bella, haha). The actual murder they investigate is viewed through the lens of the present judging the past and it's an interesting take on what 'modern' principles in the 1920s would have been in terms of the judicial process as well as the perception of women. Lady Bella is a spirited woman who holds her own in their little duo and challenges Marius intellectually often, which is how a team should function. The reveal of the actual murderer is quite shocking and unforeseen (I definitely didn't expect THAT) and there's subtle commentary on nature vs. nurture when it comes to the ability to kill.

I would definitely enjoy reading the rest of this series. Definitely a 4 star read.

4 stars/5

Marius Quinn did not expect to find a murdered man in his library. That he was the fiancé of Bella, whom Marius was madly in unrequited love, made it much worse. Told to stay away from the investigation, steered him in the direction of Felicity Mortimer who has served fifteen years for a crime she didn’t commit.

Marius finds a too convenient thread of overlooked in your face facts in Felicity's defense. Determined to unlock the reason why Felicity was neglected over and over again, takes him and Bella into Felicity's own home where a killer is waiting to strike to cover secrets from fifteen years ago..

Very good story and excellent characterization, set in the 1920s an age just emerging into modern times.

Benedict Brown has done a fine job letting his protagonist, mystery writer Marius Quin, grow over the course of this series. In the first book, Marius was a bit of a bumbling amateur, often stumbling upon the solution by luck. With each installment, his skills—and his reputation—have grown, and he’s now known for both his novels and his detective work.

In this latest adventure, Marius is seeking distraction from a personal tragedy involving Lady Bella, his unrequited love and partner in sleuthing, while also hunting for inspiration for his next book. He finds it in the case of Felicity Mortimer, who has spent fifteen years in prison for her husband’s murder. Convinced she’s innocent, Marius sets out to prove it. When someone close to the early case dies, Marius realizes someone will go to great lengths to keep Felicity in prison. Bella, in need of a diversion herself, joins the investigation about halfway through.

If you enjoy light, charming cozies with a touch of classic flair—think Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence—you’ll want to add the Marius Quin series to your TBR (and read it in order for the full experience!).

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

A gripping murder mystery solved by Marius Quin and Lady Bella. Some say a good mystery is one where you don't solve it as you read and all is revealed at the end, but I love it when you "work" along with the detectives to come to the same conclusion.....maybe with a few extra details to be revealed at the end.
"Arsenic and Old Lies" by Benedict Brown is the first time I have met Marius and Bella, so I'm don't know their past history, but this is Book 5 of the Marius Quin Mystery series.
Set in 1928, there are two murders in quick succession. Marius, who is a murder mystery author by day and ameatur sleuth on the side, is on a mission to solve these. But he has also been waylaid by hearing of Felicity Mortimer, who is imprisoned, apparently for a murder she did not commit.
We meet the quirky inlaw family members of Felicity, who have gathered at an old manor house. Complex family dynamics and a culture of secrecy won't make it easy for Marius and Bella. And so we are taken through a twisting turning investigation with false starts, humour and heartbreak as we witness another murder.
I love the relationship between Marius and Bella....witty and a comfortable love and respect for one another. Research for this book was obviously intense (summarised at the end) with Felicity's circumstance based on Florence Maybrick, fascinating real sites like St John's Square, The London Library and the New Forest area provide a rich setting for a mystery I very much enjoyed.
Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Benedict Brown (no relation I believe) for my copy.

The last book was left on a cliffhanger. Marius and Bella he just returned from solving another crime and Marius had discovered the body of someone Bella loved in his living room. Now, he has to figure out what to do next. And that is to apparently ignore the body completely (an amatuer detective who follows police orders? I'm not sure how to process this.) In fact, this particular murder isn't really touched on again until the end of the story.
Instead, Marious, needing inspiration to get around his writer's block, decides to investigate a cold case. In particular, he chooses the case of Felicity Mortimer who was accused of poisoning her much older, infirm husband. The case interests him because the evidence seemed so thin but the judge was so overly irate in his sentencing.
While Marious does some investigating on his own, Bella does eventually joins his efforts. There will be two more murders before the two can finally figure out what is going on, and what actually happened fifteen years ago.
The ending felt a bit rushed to me but the suspects were certainly a group of characters who, while maybe not fully fleshed out, were entertaining.

Three and a half stars
Marius Quin Mystery #5
This book came out July 11, 2025
Follows A Body at the Grand Hotel
ARC kindly provided Storm Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Marius Quin is shocked to find a dead body in his house, especially since it belongs to the fiance of the woman he secretly loves. Unable to get too involved he tries to distract himself by looking into a cold case of poisoning. Lots of twists and turns, a very good read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the latest story in Benedict Brown's Marius Quinn Mystery series, 'Arsenic and Old Lies'.

An audacious murder shakes things up right from the start as Marius Quinn returns home to find the fiancé of the woman he loves lying dead across his writing desk. What's a chap to do in this situation? Well Marius Quinn is no strange to murders and with his crime solving partner mourning her lost love he must go at it alone. But is one murder enough to keep Quinn occupied? Apparently not as he stumbles across an old murder case with apparent links to the corpse in his study.

A compelling and enjoyable read,

A fun mystery set in 1928 London with all of the characteristics of a historical mystery!

I am a hugh fan of this author and all of his series and usually listen to them on audible. But anyway you choose, this is not one to miss!

Marius, a mystery writer gets pulled into an old case to prove a woman innocent and finds more than he thought! Great characters, twist and turns and of course, murder!

Could not put this one down from the first page!

The end of the fourth book in this series (A Body at the Grand Hotel) and the beginning of this book gives us a murder that is pretty monumental in the series- SPOILER ALERT - the death of Bella's fiancé Gilbert Baines, found murdered at Marius' desk in his flat.

Yet, this murder is completely set aside and Bella and Marius instead become involved in the poisoning and death of Richard Mortimer 15 years prior, for which his young wife Felicity was sentenced to death, later communed to life in prison. Marius senses a miscarriage of justice and he and Bella manage to get invited to the family estate, where they investigate past and present crimes.

Granted, the case is a very interesting one with plenty of twists and turns and a very satisfying ending. And most intriguing is that it all is based on the true case of Florence Maybrick, circa 1890's England.

Where this doesn't work for me was the "misdirect" from Gilbert's death to the other case and the way in which Bella's grief and dealing with the death seems unfocused. Marius adores Bella but so far, within the series, he seems to not understand her at all, and we as readers are left with the same situation. As the series progresses, I hope that Bella's character becomes more fully developed and that she gets some closure from Gilbert's death. 3.5 stars.

I live for the author’s notes at the end of every installment of this series.

This is such a fun and well-plotted mystery series, and the latest installment is no exception. There’s not much going on in terms of significant setting this time around, but Brown still manages to make the story feel atmospheric and immersive.

I appreciate that these are always fairly intricately plotted without ever getting so convoluted that you can’t possibly guess at the solve, and I also appreciate that Brown keeps it light while still stressing the significance of the mystery.

Like other books in the series, a good bit of this is based on a real case, and the fictional version certainly does the story justice.

As always, there are heaps of historical notes at the end of the book. Brown seems to think of everything in this regard, from the most minute but intriguing bit of trivia to the larger contextual significance of events in the book.

Reading these notes is almost more fun than reading the book itself, but mostly the appeal is that they go hand in hand so well, and that we get some delightful editorializing from the author as he takes us through his notes.

I had read the previous book in the series and found it excellent, pacy, and intriguing. This new story had a really good hook with the interesting storyline of a woman imprisoned for the murder of her husband fifteen years ago. I enjoyed this main storyline, Marius’s usual detective skills, and the fact that there was some unresolved romantic tension between him and Bella.

However, there were too many murders. The investigation slowed down a bit once we got to the country mansion, and there could have been more ingenious twists and red-herrings.

There were, as with the previous book, some interesting characters, but we could have had more information on the wider cast to fully appreciate them. The ending with the killer revealed was cleverly done, and I enjoyed this part, even if I didn’t get the big aha moment we normally find in this genre.

I like the way the door was left open, too, for the next book that I’m looking forward to reading. I’m sure Marius will be on top investigation form with another great case for him to crack. 3.5 stars

The fifth book in the series, Arsenic and Old Lies brings another enjoyable mix of clever mystery and sharp dialogue. Marius and Lady Bella’s dynamic continues to shine, with their bond growing in subtle but meaningful ways.

The mystery is well-paced with some solid twists, even if a few side characters felt a bit interchangeable. Still, it’s a fun, satisfying read that fans of the series will appreciate.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I love the entire series. This book leaves the reader with a cliff hanger, once again. The characters are delightful. I was surprised by whom the murderer was. Such a fun, engaging story. Highly recommend.

I was blessed with an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased. I’m eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

This is a very enjoyable read. The characterizations are very well done, especially Marius and Bella. Untangling this plot is fun, with twists and turns and unexpected results. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries in old, English mansions with dysfunctional families full of eccentric people.

A great historical mystery. This is one of those series you would love to binge read because its tough waiting for the next. Definitely start at the beginning. Waiting patiently for the next one.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I like the way Marius Quinn & Bella work together to solve the murder of 2 people and the death of another. Investigating a 15 year old case alongside recent murders. However, in parts the story moves too slowly. There were a lot of characters involved and sometimes it is was difficult to keep track of their roles/relationship within the story. .