Our Marriage is Murder centers, appropriately, on the crumbling marriage of Thea and Fred, a duo in writing and in life. The latest in Carol Goodman’s stand alone novels, it has a cozy feel with some of Goodman’s trademark grizzly murders sprinkled in. The married couple are up for an award for their who-done-it series, based on their relationship in the loosest terms, at a mystery convention they’ve attended many times before. Now, partially to honor Thea and Fred, it’s being held in Italy at the new hotel, and former nunnery, Castellarosa.
The pair met in their twenties, while he was working on a literary novel and she was pursuing a thesis centered on the former resident of Castellarosa, Bianca Rosa. Both instead found each other and, in turn, the Death Takes a Holiday series they’ve written for the past twenty years. Due to the state of their relationship, however, this next book is set to be their last – and the bitterness is evident on both sides.
Things get worse almost immediately, however, when a longtime friend and staunch supporter is poisoned via a cocktail that could have been meant for Thea herself. The victim had been setting up a scavenger hunt based on Death Takes the Castle, the couple’s first book, and claimed she had found Bianca Rosa’s legendary treasure. As no one abandons the conference or the treasure hunt following the murder, things rather quickly spiral out of control.
Both Thea, the first person narrator, and Fred, who does not have a POV, are interesting characters. The side characters are also fun and colorful, many of them feeling like people you might have met at a mystery conference. If you’ve never attended one, this book draws you into that world. It’s a fun story that keeps you reading, and it’s very entertaining to see the nods to mystery writing and reading culture throughout the book. For anyone who enjoys a good adventure story, or simply a good mystery, I recommend the read. — Margaret Agnew