Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder

By: T.A. Willberg

Narrated by: Karen Cass

""This is the most fun I've had with a book this year. Every page is a delight and the mystery got its hooks into me from the first chapter.” – Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The letter was short. A name, a time, a place.

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.

Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant at Miss Brickett’s receives a letter of warning, detailing a name, a time, and a place. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see—her death the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.

Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and colleague is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett’s and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie-style locked-room murder mystery, with an exciting new heroine detective.

Harry Potter meets the Baker St Irregulars

Very average story wrapped around a now standard format. Young, unprepared orphan dealing with terrible authorities. During the entire story I never got the sense of any characteristic which made Marion worthy of the opportunity to join the agency. Not moving onto the next story.

Reminds me of Connie Willis Blackout/all clear

I love the twist of history in this book, the addition of steampunk gadgets and underground world of London that was “there” all along, just hidden in the shadows. For some it might feel slow but the narrator is so good and really separates out the characters that I was hooked from the first sentence. Really enjoyed and hopeful the series continues with the same vibe!

Hope this is just the beginning!

I loved this story and hope this just the beginning of more adventures with Marion Lane & Miss Brickets!

Too twee for me

This was just too “cute”. Could not get interested, listened about 4 hours, did not finish.

Intriguing, Entertaining Story. Lots of Suspense!

Didn't quite know where this story was headed, but I quickly found the story unusually engaging, wanting to hear more. The first half of the book seemed to be taking a different direction than did the last half, which dampened some of my enjoyment. Overall, everything did fit together well, although the narration performance soon outshined the plotline.

Loved the secretive tale of a clandestine investigation agency that solved unsolvable cases of crime and missing children. I had hoped the story might have focused on these events. However, the plotline shifted more to one of solving the unexpected murder of an agency associate and became more macabre and took on darker themes.

This adventure surrounds Marion Lane, a likeable character and an apprentice to the agency's doings in a story set in 1958 London. Appreciated the author's efforts in replicating the historical contexts and economic hardships on people in the languishing times of the postwar recovery.

If this becomes a series, I hope the plotline and storytelling focuses more on the agency's primary role of solving crimes through the many ingenious tools and practices described in this background installment.