Marion Lane And The Deadly Rose

Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is an upcoming book that we thought was a fantastic read. With an engaging mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat and compelling characters we thought this was a great sequel!

296 Pages

Murder Mystery/Thriller

February 2nd, 2022

Sebastian: 9.4/10

Non-Spoiler:
Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is an upcoming novel that I must say I was excited for ever since reading the first novel in the series and it exceeded my expectations in every way. This sequel has all the charm and intrigue of its predecessor while being quicker-paced and darker than the first one. It had been a while since I read the first one so I appreciated that this one referenced the events of Midnight Murder as it reminded me of what I had forgotten in a natural way in the story.

The mystery of this novel was so well done and it had me constantly guessing as to who had actually committed the murder. The intrigue and the back and forth between suspects really kept me glued to the page. The characters are great as well with my favourites being Marion herself and Bill her best friend. Bill is a good companion who sticks by Marion’s side at all times and he helps her through her investigation. Marion is a great protagonist as she has this energy to her that makes her likeable and her love for her job and Miss Brickett’s is a staple of her character. She is intelligent, good with gadgets, and quick on her feet but she is also quite relatable when it comes to social interactions. I also think it’s interesting to see her growth as a character as developments from this book and the previous one start to alter her perspective. Miss Brickett’s itself is a wonderful Hogwarts/Camp Half-Blood style location where we get to see a whole society that operates in secret from the rest of the world. I love all the secrets that Miss Brickett’s holds and the way the agency works. I like this novel’s ties to history as it does take place in the 1950s in London and as a history buff, it is interesting to see how the real world is incorporated. This book does seem a bit darker than the first one which I appreciate as I always like seeing how good prevails in dark times. If I had any critique, it would be that the first 100 pages were a bit slow as it was establishing things but after those first hundred pages the book really picks up and never stops.

All in all, Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is a fantastic sequel and a great mystery. I would recommend picking this one up when it releases on February 2, 2022!

Spoilers

Austin: 9.6/10

Non-Spoiler:
T.A Willberg is back and in a big way! This is our first book of 2022, and man am I excited for this release. Coming February 2nd, 2022, Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is one of my favourite books in recent memory. If you haven’t read the first one, this is your PSA to go read it right now, and forget about even the non-spoiler side of things.

One of the downfalls of book 1s is that you have to spend some time building the world and the characters, and in written literature that is a difficult and time consuming thing to do. It is also one of the main reasons this book is even better than Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder. We jump straight into the story and that ball of momentum doesn’t ever really stop. As you know from the first book, T.A. loves to start novels with a prologue that hits at a lot but typically has no context and leaves you itching for answers. It’s wonderfully done in The Deadly Rose and it actually had me starting the novel with more questions than answers.

With 14 months between the releases of these books, if you haven’t read The Midnight Murder and are anything like me, you might be concerned about not remembering characters or subtle little plot details. Have no fear, The Deadly Rose includes a built-in character refresher built into the story in the first few chapters. Names, places, events, everything and anything that is going to be important to remember is at least touched in passing to begin with, and I loved that little touch. It took away the first few chapter of confusing, or spending 20 minutes online tracking down a good review **cough cough**ours** in order to remember who everyone was. With that out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

The main plot of Marion Lane and The Deadly Rose is that perfect mix between a murder-mystery and a sci-fi. The world building behind Miss Brickett’s continues to be one of the coolest concepts in fiction I have ever seen. A secret underground detective agency with technology that is really just magic comes to life. The vision needed to be able to not create the world, but to dream up all the cool gadgets is something worth coming back to. I love the darker angle we take in this book, diving more into the nitty gritty behind the scenes. No large organization is ever perfect or free of trouble and Miss. Brickett’s is no different. We get a look into that in The Midnight Murder, but it is much more apparent in The Deadly Rose. Not going to touch that anymore without giving anyway the entire plot, so come back when the book releases for more

With this being the second of three books, we start to get a good feel for who Marion Lane actually is and where her journey is headed. She is a lot more complicated than anyone could have ever imagined, and her character building is absolutely amazing. Even after finishing this book, I feel like there is still more that ties her to Miss. Brickett’s that will be revealed in the finale of the trilogy, but we will have to wait and see.

Spoilers

Nathanyal: 9.8/10

Non-Spoiler:
After reading the first novel from T.A. Willberg, I wasn’t sure how Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose would turn out. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how good this novel was. Compared to the first novel, The Deadly Rose has a quicker tempo and really throws the reader into the story. The beginning didn’t have too much buildup before we were thrown right back into Miss Brickett’s and the crazy life beneath the streets of London.

Another thing I appreciated about this novel was how Willberg was able to remind the reader the events of the first novel without being too explicit. It really demonstrates her writing abilities, and I enjoyed the flow The Deadly Rose had as a result. Speaking of flow, this novel was another one that I couldn’t put down. After the first 100 pages, the pacing really starts to pick up, as pieces start falling into place. My original plan of reading this 300-page book was to break it up into 100-page sections, and then reading 1 section a day. Instead, I found myself reading the back two thirds of the novel all in one sitting. If that doesn’t scream how much fun the novel was, then I don’t know what will.

As usual, the characters in the Marion Lane series are great. They all have unique personalities, and they really feel like actual people. The dialogue also reflects their personalities perfectly. Besides their dialogue, their interactions also felt natural.

Overall, The Deadly Rose was a very fun book to read that was better than the first. With a faster pace and a fun mystery, there’s a lot to enjoy.