Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder Review

What happens in Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder?

Marion Lane is an apprentice at Miss Brickett’s bookstore, though the bookstore is a front for an underground detective agency that helps the citizens of post-World War 2 London England. The agency takes cases from any citizen and with their independence from the police they use many gadgets and techniques to solve their cases.

The Inquirers, what they call detectives in the agency, who work there are all hand-selected and Marion is one of the lucky few who just began her apprenticeship. While Marion learns her way around this new world and her place in it, a woman is murdered which spirals the agency into its darkest days. Will Marion be the one to solve the mystery and save the agency.

Who are the characters in Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder follows the adventure of the titular character. Marion is an apprentice in Miss Brickett’s, as she works her way up to being an Inquirer. For most of her life, Marion is a quiet person who doesn’t take many risks. She has a natural knack for anything machinery related. Following the death of her mother, Marion is more closed off and doesn’t trust many people. After a significant event, Marion dons a braver face as she solves a murder and to clear the name of someone she cares for.

Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder Review

I really enjoyed this novel. The plot is super interesting and the characters are great. The artwork on the American cover is really cool, although I think the other cover looks even better. I had a hard time believing this was T.A. Willberg’s debut novel, and it is a fun read. Personally, I love mystery novels, but I haven’t read one in a while and this was great. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder feels like a book that is going to be huge in a little while and you need to check it out. Let’s dive into what makes this book so good.

The plot for one is both smooth but oh so complex. We are introduced to basically a brand new world, with gadgets and pieces of technology that don’t exist today. The first chapter was totally unexpected, instant death, but it sets the tone nicely. The book rolls along at a pretty decent pace. There are a few slow or wasted moments here and there, but overall it doesn’t feel boring or slow.

The first half of this book builds towards the “who done it’ moment, but it also builds the world below London in ways I didn’t expect. I was under the influence this was a one-off book but after reading it, I’m hoping for a sequel soon. The world-building is great, and the details bring a slightly confusing location together. 

My biggest issue with romance and mystery novels is the same. The punch comes at the very end, and then the book ends. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder doesn’t do that. I won’t go much further, but we learn more about the killing a lot sooner than I expected. I think that aspect folds back into the whole building of the world surrounding Marion Lane, and it works well.

The character development is pretty decent, and we actually see quite a few characters. For those of you who read our review of The Borrowman Cell, that novel has a lot of characters but nearly no development. I enjoyed learning about almost all of the characters individually. Whether it was the main protagonists, our antagonists, or other Inquirers and apprentices, we learn a lot. The backstories help us understand where the plot is going and what motivates our characters, and it makes that emotional connection really easy. All in All, Marion is a great character, and I hope we get to see more of her adventure.

I am a huge fan of this novel already, and I’m hoping for more. If you have a couple free evenings, this book will get read so fast. It starts a little bit slow as the world evolves, but the back end is nearly impossible to put down. Whether you get books from Amazon, Indigo, or another bookshop, this one should be added to your list of must-reads.