The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way

by Raymond Benson

2022 FOREWORD INDIES Book Award Finalist!
From internationally acclaimed and best-selling author RAYMOND BENSON comes a wry and darkly comedic work in which a quaint suburb of Chicago finds itself rocked by more than just the uncertainties of 2020. Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and the twisted prose of Tom Perrotta.

For Scott Hatcher, a former television writer turned struggling novelist with a failing marriage to boot, social-distancing and mask-wearing feel like fitting additions to his already surreal life. When his wife Marie and neighbor John Bergman disappear in the middle of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Scott is naturally mystified and disturbed, but he is also about to learn that his picturesque neighborhood hides more than just the mundane routines of suburban life.

When a fire claims the empty house for sale next door, the entire community is shocked when the charred remains of Marie and John are found inside. Stranger still, stockpiles of valuable Personal Protection Equipment, clearly stolen, were destroyed in the blaze alongside them. As the neighborhood reels from the loss, Scott and Bergman’s earthy and enticing widow, Rachel, not only find themselves under investigation for the crime, but also inexorably drawn to one another. As tensions reach a fever pitch, the tale—which is at once familiar and ordinary, yet bizarre and eerie—shows that, just like life in 2020’s uncertain times, dread and danger lurk below the hidden underside of everyday suburbia.

Fans of Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town and films by the sardonic Coen Brothers will be captivated by the warped Americana of The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

Raymond Benson is the author of approximately 40 titles. Among his works are the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling serial THE BLACK STILETTO, and he was also the third--and first American--continuation author of the official James Bond 007 novels. His latest novels are HOTEL DESTINY--A GHOST NOIR, BLUES IN THE DARK, IN THE HUSH OF THE NIGHT and THE SECRETS ON CHICORY LANE.

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book. The pandemic was a huge part of all of our lives and I thought it would be cool to have a book set during that time... I found myself very bored during this book. The twist was also easy to guess and I didn't like it...

[Pseudonymous d'Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

__________________________________
I was just telling Prince Harry and Beyonce the other day how much I hate name dropping. .
____
Full Disclosure:
Raymond Benson is a close, personal, nodding acquaintance of mine. Back before Covid locked me away in my private gulag, I used to attend a monthly movie/film appreciation group in which Mr. Raymond Benson, as I like to call him, was a co-lecturer/presenter /moderator, and a couple of times I had private conversations with him about James Bond--because he wrote 6 of the books in the post-Fleming extension of the James Bond series, that’s why.

In real life, Mr. Benson is interesting, funny, and informative. He’s a joy to listen to, and Mad Mad Murders is delight to read. The novel’s narrator is a Wilderesque stage manager who speaks directly to the reader as if the reader was his friend. He is quirky and perhaps not totally reliable persona who occasionally loses track of what he’s talking about and starts to ramble. At one point--which shouldn't surprise you given the contents of paragraph 1 above--he spent a page or so talking about movies that have plots similar to the events he is narrating.

In addition to the murders, there is a touch of Milton’s Paradise Lost in the book as the innocent protagonist is tempted to try just a small nibble or two of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

4.5 stars

Postscript: I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I can only name drop one writer. I used to be an editor for an educational publishing company. While most of the authors I worked with wrote literature with titles like The Iowa Test of Educational Development as a Predictor of Success at the Davenport College of Chiropractory and Success in Spelling Grade 4--maybe you’ve read them. I was, however, blessed to have--and I’m not kidding-- a wonderful phone conversation with U.S. Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. She was a great poet and a very sweet lady in her 80s, but unfortunately, she didn’t know squat about James Bond, so we never spoke again.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during the COVID era, I really thought this had promise because it's very nearly a Locked Room, except it's everyone locked away because of lockdown. Even in the "normal" times, when do you report your spouse missing, especially if your relationship isn't great? Or they're known to work weird hours? Or travel? And when do the police take that report seriously? The relationship between the boys was very real, with loyalty and friendship at the center, and what do you do when you've outgrown someone but are stuck with them because of something like COVID?

So that was the good part. The title made me think that there would be more of a madcap aspect that never appeared, and the narrator was just annoying (even more so when we learn who the narrator is). And there's one relationship there that is just creepy and clearly wrong.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Friends, this is a little tale about some murders.” So begins Raymond Benson’s latest novel, The Mad Murders of Marigold Way. Set at the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak when mostly we stayed closed in our homes due to fears of the virus. Uncertain and suspicious regarding the health risk that strangers and even neighbors might pose, we all had plenty of time to wonder what was really going on outside, and how others were passing the time.

Our snarky narrator for the story, who remains unidentified until the last, is only too eager to dole out clues as to what is going on next door and down the street. And Marigold Way, as we learn, has plenty of secrets behind those doors. As our guide though this sordid tale, the Narrator likens his role to that of the “Stage Manager” in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, speaking directly to the audience and commenting throughout. His role, however, may be closer to Desperate Housewives’ Mary Alice who offered cryptic plot teases and left us wondering about her secrets. Benson’s very entertaining Narrator, however, primarily serves to remind us that Marigold Way is a dark comedy, not a snapshot of American life during Covid.

The tale centers around Scott Hatcher, who wakes up one morning only to find his wife missing. Scott later learns that the husband of a nearby neighbor is also, curiously, missing. Both gone without a word.

My copy of Marigold Way came from my local book seller, and I’m glad I made a rare choice for me of hardcover rather than ebook. The dust cover finish and jacket art for Marigold Way were exceptional, indicating the attention to detail to which this novel adheres, adding to the joy of reading this book.

I’ve read all of Benson’s forty plus novels, and Marigold now ranks among my favorites. The plot is tight, and the writing is precise, making the read quite entertaining. This was the first story I’ve picked up told during the start of Covid, which I think is a genius backdrop because it is a time to which we all can relate. I enjoyed discovering at the very end of the story who did what to whom. Because we don’t really know if the perpetrator or perpetrators ever get caught, there may be a road that could be followed for a post-Covid sequel to Marigold Way. And that piece of uncertainty speaks to Benson’s Hitchcockian influences, as our author has us looking one place only to give us that intriguing final twist.

In the final words of our Narrator, “Goodbye…for now.”

[Sammy-Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

PLOT TWIST

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way by Raymond Benson is the first fiction book that I’ve read where the author had fully incorporated Covid 19, and I thought that was done very well. As for the mystery itself, it was pretty light and I think most people will figure out what is going on pretty easily, but finally finding out who the narrator was, did surprise me.

This had a Desperate Housewives (TV show from the mid-2000’s) vibe, where everything may look nice in the suburbs, but slowly all the dark secrets are revealed. Combine that with Our Town, where the narrator starts each chapter and gives us little tidbits that slowly become darker and more disturbing, and we get a good mix for a novel.

While there are a lot of different storylines going on, it didn’t have the urgency of a thriller or suspense novel. I will have to say that it leaned a bit more towards the genre of Woman’s Fiction, even if the main character and author are male. That did put a different spin on it, but for an author that is best known for his continuation of James Bond, I would have expected a bit more action and a deeper mystery.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished reading it. That is the best I can say about this book.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly plotted but entertaining read.

[Susan Findling · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because it was publicized in the Chicago Tribune. It's a murder mystery written by a local author which takes place in a Chicago suburb during the early stages of the Covid pandemic. I thought it sounded like a worthwhile read.

I figured out "who did it" about 1/3 of the way through. I only kept reading so that I could prove myself right. The narrator of the story is very condescending and I really didn't like the writing style.

If you are looking for an intriguing, suspenseful murder mystery, this isn't it.

[Terrance Layhew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pandemic era fiction will usually fall into two camps: those which exaggerate for effect, and those which ignore it entirely. This novel manages to give an accurate account of what life looked like at the time, the confusion, the impotent frustration, and the fertile ground for conflict.

As suggested by the title, there’s been murder on Marigold Way. Who could have done it?

Raymond Benson’s work here is a masterful work of characters and place. The end is worth reaching and maintains an entertaining and page turning momentum along the way.

[Reading Fool · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book.

This story is set in suburban Chicago in May 2020, in the middle of the COVID lockdown. Scott Hatcher is in a loveless marriage with his wife Marie. One day Marie disappears, and soon Scott learns that his neighbor John is also missing. Then the next-door house for sale burns down and John and Marie's burned bodies are found inside. This was an entertaining novel, made even more interesting because it is told by a narrator, a la Thornton Wilder's Our Town. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator's commentary at the beginning of each chapter. Quick read.

[Erin Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It is a murder mystery that takes place in the middle of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown in a suburb of Chicago. There is a narrator that sets up each chapter with tidbits of information that keeps drawing the reader in. When Scott Hatcher's wife goes missing and his neighbor Rachel Bergmans husband disappears at the same time questions arise. When they are both found together is a burned out abandoned house in the neighborhood it is clear things were not as they appeared on the surface. Enter the police and the story becomes more and more murky. Was it a murder suicide or a third party murder. The narrator walks us through it at a good pace. I especially enjoyed the Covid references of how we all ran around looking for hand sanitizer, clorox wipes, toilet paper etc. at the beginning of the pandemic. All too real, and now looking back seemingly silly. Covid is not yet gone from our lives yet but the writer took the time to tell this tale of crazy things in crazy times to entertain the reader. Recommended.

[First Clue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benson is best known as the first American author of continuation James Bond novels, but apart from being fictional and starring a man, this unusual and excellent read is the furthest thing from 007 imaginable. The story starts with an omniscient, unnamed narrator introducing readers to Lincoln Grove, Illinois, where two back-to-back streets (map included) are the setting for what the gleeful narrator describes as an updated version of Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town.” (Readers will also be reminded of Jim Carrey’s synthetic surrounds in “The Truman Show.”) Scott Hatcher is having an unusual day there, awaking to find his wife, Marie, gone. They haven’t been getting along but have agreed to postpone a divorce decision because it’s May 2020 and the world is in pandemic turmoil.

When Scott finally reports Marie missing, it turns out that a neighbor’s husband is also AWOL, a man who has recently been the subject of both Marigold Way gossip and police attention as masks, drugs and other COVID-related items have been stolen from his job. As the missing-persons investigation becomes much more, the narrator’s cheerful, exclamation-point filled observations take on a sinister cast and the neighbors—this takes place almost solely in one setting, just like a play—all become suspect, their foibles and ambitions revealed. What a saga!

As well as “Our Town,” readers can try this alongside Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s The Dirty Dust: Cré na Cille, which features a town’s dead folks gossiping together in a graveyard.—Henrietta Verma

For more reviews of forthcoming Crime Fiction, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, First Clue: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/First...

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book. Thank you
I found this book a fun, light read. I love a book that is narrated by an omniscient, (he claims not to be) narrator.
It is the height of the pandemic.
Scott is a writer who has had better days, and struggles to get back in that groove. He and his wife, really are just roommates, after drifting apart due to the death of their son.
He wakes one morning, and his wife, Marie is gone. He figures she's out for a walk. He begins to worry when it's afternoon and no word. Finally, he calls the police department to report her missing.
He soon hears that his neighbor Rachel's husband is missing. Her husband has been linked to a theft at his work.
At the same time, there seems to be a rash of prank fires from Molotov cocktails. Teens are bored.

Action picks up when there is a fire next door in a vacant house, not only does it seem that Scott's wife, and Rachel's husband's remains are found, but the house was full of quality PPE.
Why were they together in a vacant house, Why was there PPE, How did they die? Who set the fire.

The narrator leads us through the story. Lots of surprises.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a good cover. Not only was the cover of this book intriguing, but the title kicked it up a notch. So, I knew I had to get my hands on this one!

Set against the backdrop of 2020 pandemic life, we're introduced to an idyllic neighborhood touched by the same fear and worry as the rest of the world. While dealing with pandemic worries, this typical neighborhood also becomes the focus of an age old mystery. Murder. Was it murder? Who did it? Why? And all those other need to know questions we ask.

This was one of those mysteries that has you taking each character (even the anonymous narrator!) and attempting to piece the puzzle together as you read. When you emerge, you'll find yourself questioning just how well you know your own neighbors!

Huge thank you to Raymond Benson and the publisher Beaufort Books for an advanced read of this book!

[Emily DP · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun ride, even though it was a murder mystery. Very present taking place during Covid. Loved it!

This was my favorite book of 2022!

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Raymond Benson, the author, at a Chicago Writer’s Association event. We’re both members but he’s sold a lot more books. I don’t know exactly how his latest novel came to my attention, but it did, and after a long rest on my to-be-read pile I finally got to it. I very much enjoyed it, with one exception. Each chapter opens with an unidentified narrator who provides commentary on the chapter to follow, something which was explicitly based on Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town. I found these commentaries at best distracting and at worst irritating. With the exception of the first one, they were also unnecessary.

Having said the above, I really enjoyed the book. Essentially all the action takes place over a few weeks in May, 2020 in a small subdivision of a suburban Chicago town. Who lives in which house and where those houses are in relationship to each other is a critical part of the story. Also critical is COVID-19, which was still in its early and uncontrolled stages.

Scott Hatcher, a mid-list novelist, resides in one of the houses with his wife, a realtor. She goes missing, as does his neighbor John Bergman. Then another house on the block catches fire and the bodies of the missing people are found inside. The story is one of solving these murders, and it comes with a surprising twist at the end. Other than the commentaries mentioned above, it’s a delightful book.

[Randal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's one of those crime novels where there's a lot of activity around the fringes and comparatively little at the center. It takes chapters and chapters to confirm there were, in fact, murders, which given the title wasn't much of a surprise.

Most of the book is, in fact, a red herring. I wasn't particularly surprised by most of the "hidden secrets" portion at the end, although ultimately the identity of the person who pulled the trigger was a surprise. Not a good one, although eventually having to choose between a black widow and her autistic son as the killer was always going to suck ... the choice between a misogynist trope and one that further demonizes people with mental health issues as psychotic. Kind of an ugly ending.

The characters are pretty standard issue, down to the Russian mob and the juvenile delinquent.

There are more than the usual number of plot holes (Two neighborhood kids can easily break into the empty house, but not the mafia whose boss can watch it from his perch across the back fence; the way the bereaved spouses can partner up without more than a cursory interest from law enforcement).

It's a quick, disposable crime novel; not the worst one I've read but far from the best. 2.5-3 stars.

[Chaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a pretty, quiet, upscale and usually calm neighborhood in Illinois, Scott Hatcher awakens to find his wife, Marie, missing. Scott and Marie's marriage has been on the rocks for years. Then, the husband of one of Scott's neighbors is also reported missing, a man who curiously works for the company that had a ton of its PPE merchandise stock recently stolen.

This is the setup to a neighborhood drama, one that involves teenage ne'er-do-wells, a house with a gruesome past and haunted present, a mysterious rash of fire-bombed park garbage cans, a Russian mobster and his hulking moving van, hidden flash drives, nosy neighbors, and to top it all off, a very new and scary coronavirus that keeps the denizens of this cul-de-sac inside, peeking out through peepholes and window slats, suspicious of everyone else.

Benson creates a deliciously suspenseful tale of the mystery, murder and mayhem that hide behind a seemingly normal facade of an average American street with average American citizens who harbor very unusual secrets.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Scott Hatcher awakes one morning to find his wife Marie gone. He wonders if she went out for a run. Since the death of their son years earlier, their relationship was strained, living more like brother and sister. But when she doesn’t come home, he contacts the police. Only to find out their neighbor across the street, John was also missing. Coincidence? Then the empty house next door is burned to the ground and the bodies of Marie and John are found badly burned.

This is the premise of the story as told by a narrator, which had me wondering who was telling the story of the residents of Marigold Way. There is much that is happening on Marigold Way like mischievous boys, a neighbor who likes to do construction on his house early in the morning, a Russian thug, and nosy neighbors.

All this makes for a fun mystery although not too difficult to decipher. Except for the narrator that was unexpected. All in all, it kept me entertained.

[John Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marigold Way sounds lie a nice little suburban enclave outside of Chicago, but that's just what the brochures there say. For in reality there's more going on than Peyton Place.

This book begins with the somewhat boring stories about the neighbors (nothing special) there is a group of teenagers, who rile thing up a bit with setting fire to trash cans in the park, because there's nothing to do - Covid -19, remember?
The adults just stay indoors wondering when the pandemic will be over...and oh yes there is a house up for sale next door to the Hatcher's, but a sale doesn't look anytime soon. Wouldn't you know that Mrs. Hatcher to the realtor and she's gone missing, as well the neighbors husband Mr. Bergman.

Well, things start to heat up when that house next door burns to the ground and that is when the lid is blown off of the quiet neighborhood.

Stick with this book and you won't be disappointed.
Intersed to see what else Raymond Benson has up his sleeve. Book and author are highly recommended.

[Renske · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really fun murder mystery set in the covid times in May 2020. The story is told from the perspective of an unknown narrator until the very end. I also really enjoyed the use of the reverse timeline at the end where you learn what happened before the murders were discovered. Because of the unknown narrators position we do not really find out what happened to the main characters in the book but I do not mind at all I like that it stayed a mystery. I also did not see the ending coming at all (I usually don't) so it was a nice surprise to learn what happened in early May in this book

The writer created such wonderful characters and a wonderful suburb (the map at the start of the book helped picturing the layout/setting as well) I enjoyed reading about the many characters and how they were connected to one and other.

This was my first book by Raymond Benson and after this I am interested in reading more of his work.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

COVID has forced the residents of Marigold Way into a very quiet , self isolating life style. Long walks, gardening are good outside activities and any inside contact is done with masks in place. A time we all identify with.

On comes our narrator, to tell us the story of those Mad, mad murders.
Scott Hatcher’s wife has gone missing and so has Rachel Bergman’s husband.
When they are reported as missing, the police initiate a search. But they are not found until a suspicious fire destroys the empty house next door to Rachel.

A fun read, with well done characters and a setting familiar to all. A few unexpected twists and turns. I really enjoyed the writing style.
Read as an ARC from LibraryThing.

[John Demos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable fun read

KIND OF a SPOILER ALERT … the spoiler is in the second paragraph below. This was a really fun read. The pace of the story along with having the narrator open up every chapter was very enjoyable. The spoiler below doesn’t completely give things away, rather it just comments on the resolution of the story.

I recommend this book as a quick fun read… but any fan of the genre will pretty much figure out the basic punchline half way through the book.

[Mike Sennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

What seems like a modest little mystery that has reached its resolution changes in the last 50 pages as the narrator reveals "missing pieces" that were mentioned at the beginning of the story. Similar to the movie "Memento," various scenes from earlier in the book take on a different (and unsettling) meaning as the narrator backtracks in time. Most of these confirmed suspicions I had about different characters in the book as I went along, but definitely surprised me on a couple of counts!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up. Very cleverly plotted & unique in its use of an omniscient narrator. It was easy to be led along by the plot & as the story unfolded it was very entertaining. It wasn’t super difficult to guess most of the twists, but that was ok. The one significant drawback for me was the just downright creepy mother-son relationship. The way it was written…that was a struggle. Otherwise, a solid 4-4.25.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF a couple of chapters in. It's no surprise to me that this author has a name as a James Bond author... he has a preening, self-referential, look-how-clever I am writing style that I found unpleasant. Also, it is completely obvious from the beginning how male-centered this story is, so far the female characters are either missing or so annoying the male main character can't wait to get away from them. I guess the title should have warned me how clever this author thinks he is. No, thank you.

[J.L. Delozier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was intrigued by this award-winning novel after reading the blurbs on the back, where Lee Goldberg said the structure "evoked a stage play." And Lee was right: this is an absolute original, combining characteristics of a classic, cozy murder-mystery with domestic suspense with a unique structure which is indeed reminiscent of a stage play. I enjoyed this so much.

Benson is a true pro as evidenced by the perfect pace and clever prose. 100% worth the read - I highly recommend!

[Borehamwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Missing in Illinois

This was an easy read. Not too challenging. Being in my neck of woods - suburban Chicago kept my interest.

The author uses some interesting devices to keep the story flowing. He uses an outside narrator. “A voice from above” although it’s not heavenly.

The plot twists are far from neck snapping. And some of them are quite familiar. No character stands out in any memorable way. In the end it’s a tawdry tale almost as old as time; betrayal and murder.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious… a fabulous look at the contents of a good neighbourhood’s underbelly during the original co-vid crisis.
There are adults being responsible, teenagers being teenage-ing, the neighbour that makes casseroles, the noisy one breaking the law, the we do not wear masks family, the behaving badly bank, the family with the essential worker and the over-worked understaffed Police.
Get comfortable as you are not going to want to put this book down before you finish.
Thank you for your collected words Robert Benson and your eloquence Joe Barrett, very much appreciated gentlemen. :-)