The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective

By Jo Nichols

Book Overview

The perfect summer read, full of charm and heart, written in the vein of The Thursday Murder Club or Only Murders in the Building but with a southern California twist.

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who's hiding secrets.

The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form "The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective" to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found. Full of eccentricity, humor, community, The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective will keep you hooked until the last page.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250356547
• ISBN13: 9781250356543
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.5" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Cozy Murder Mystery

Much like the play Sophie is working on, this book is full of quirky, mostly lovable characters, bumbling around to solve a murder, keep the innocent out of jail, and keep the Marigold cottages out of the hands of the unscrupulous. It was a nicely twisty cozy read and I enjoyed the slices of life of the various residents of the cottage in between the meetings about how to get Anthony out of jail, and later on, Mrs. B. It is a good mix of diversity of the people and all types of life, from an artist mother of two kids, an aspiring playwright, a lady with ocd but so kind a wiling to help out even if tattoos are uneven, a recluse who seldom leaves his house but hosts the murder collective, and of course Mrs. B, always looking to help out and mother those who need it. I enjoyed them all, and even though I definitely did not guess who the murderer was, I liked the ending, both of them. This book has wonderful found family vibes, those who will do anything to protect loved ones, and completely lovable flawed characters. I finished the book with a nice warm comforting feeling. This was a fun book to read!

twisty SoCal fun

I found this story of murder and investigation twisty fun and very SoCal. The cast of quirky characters starts it all off and keeps it up to the end. I requested and received an uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Pub Date Aug 19, 2025 #TheMarigoldCottagesMurderCollective by Jo Nichols #stmartinspress #minotaur_books