Arsenic and Old Lies by Benedict Brown Narrator: George Blagden
Series: Marius Quin Mystery #5
Published by Storm Publishing on July 11, 2025
Source: Library
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 6 mins
Pages: 314
Format: Audiobook
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A dead body in the study, a terrible wrong to put right, and a trail that leads to murder…
London, 1928. Mystery writer and amateur detective Marius Quin is reeling from his friend’s murder in his own home. Forced to stay away from the case, he’s in urgent need of distraction when fate points him towards Felicity Mortimer, a woman imprisoned for poisoning her husband fifteen years earlier.
Marius soon becomes convinced of Felicity’s innocence, and when he discovers a key witness with his throat cut, it’s clear that the real killer is still on the loose. Determined to uncover the truth, Marius drags his partner-in-crime-solving, Lady Bella Montague, (not to forget his basset hound, Percy) to a manor house deep within the New Forest. But what dark secrets are concealed at the picturesque estate where Felicity once lived?
As their search for answers stirs up more violence, can Marius and Bella expose a deadly plot before death stalks the halls of Rhinefield House… again?
I enjoy this series a lot, but don’t seem to have much to say about this one. Marius Quin, mystery writer and amateur detective, finds a dead man in his study. The man has obviously been murdered and was Bella’s fiancé. Bella is Marius’ friend, sleuthing partner, and the woman he’s been in love with forever. He’s too close to the situation to help the police, so distracts himself with the case of Felicity Mortimer, a woman imprisoned for poisoning her husband fifteen years earlier. Marius is convinced Felicity is innocent and he and Bella set off to the Mortimer country estate to prove it.
I like Marius. He’s not the best detective or writer or the most sensitive man, but he tries. I love how well he and Bella work together and their friendship is well done. The plot moved along at a nice pace with plenty of clues, suspicious characters, and family secrets.
The next in the series takes place at Christmas, so I’m looking forward to that.
About Benedict Brown
Benedict Brown is a Welsh-Irish-Englishman, originally from South London, but now living in the north of Spain. He’s been writing ever since he was at school and ended up doing an MA in Creative Writing at university in Wales. Benedict published his first mystery in 2019, and now has three bestselling series
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