The Day we killed off a Legendary Murder Mystery Writer…on a boat!
Over the years we have been asked to create bespoke Murder Mystery events for an endless variety of events and settings, from incorporating moving trains at The Postal Museum (Murder on the Underground 2021), a whole club experience on a Greek island at The Peligoni Club (Peril at the Peligoni 2023), a 1920s Astronomical Society for a wedding and 1960s Kray Twins themed mystery for a 70th Birthday.
We are no strangers to creating unique bespoke events, and when UKTV got in touch asking us to kill off writer Robert Thorogood with a poisoned cupcake, at the launch of Series 2 of The Marlow Murder Club, the offer was too good to resist!
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The Case: The Marlow Murder Boat
We received initial contact from UKTV back in November 2024, wanting to collaborate with us to create this bespoke event. The premise was simple. To celebrate the launch of Series 2 of The Marlow Murder Club, they were holding a river cruise from Henley to Marlow for Robert and a selection of influencers to enjoy a relaxing afternoon tea…until the afternoon’s celebration takes a dark turn and it turns out Robert has been poisoned by someone on the boat!
This isn’t the first time sleuthing at sea (well, river, we just like any chance for alliteration!), the twist for this one, however? For the first half of the afternoon event, none of the guests had any idea what was about to happen. Meaning for 2 hours prior, our actors were completely incognito as Robert’s Personal Assistant, the Catering team and as 2 of the fellow guests, which led to Paula Sutton feeling an extra level of betrayal when she was sat next to a potential murderer whilst enjoying an afternoon tea.
Approaching one of the locks, Robert began to feel unwell, requiring him and his wife Katie to step off board, then to the guests’ shock, he collapsed in front of their very eyes as the boat pulled away. This was pulled off so convincingly, they even had a panicked Nurse run to their aid, who was out on a river walk at the time (they would fit right in amongst our suspicious suspects with their acting skills!)
(www.robbiejgray.com)
(www.robbiejgray.com)
The Suspect Line-Up
After witnessing Robert’s demise, our amateur sleuth Aggie Pritchard (Alice Corrigan) sprang into action, taking charge of the case and identifying the suspects:
Joanne Olden (Lauren Shotton)
John Oakley (Liam Fleming)
Keri Peck (Rosie Ferris)
Blake A. Strider (Christopher J Railton)
Having recruited the afternoon’s guests as the Detective team, the investigation ensued, with it appearing these 4 suspects had more than meets the eye when it comes to their relationship with Robert. With motives ranging from being cut from Series 2 of the show, Robert stealing their novel ideas, to running an illegal tattoo parlour with Samantha Bond, there was plenty to deduce here!
With the help of the guests, our killer was successfully caught just in time to dock back in Henley. We want to thank all the guests who helped us solve the case, UKTV for contacting us to collaborate on the event, Hobbs of Henley and their team, and Robert and his wife Katie for being such good sports about the whole thing!
Series 2 of The Marlow Murder Club is now available to stream on U!
Think you have the armchair Detective skills to solve the mystery? The Marlow Murder Club Series 1 and 2 are available to stream free on www.u.co.uk now!
The Marlow Murder Club series is an adaption of Robert Thorogood’s best-selling novels based in Marlow, join Judith Potts (Samantha Bond), Suzie Harris (Jo Martin) and Beck’s Starling (Cara Horgan) and the ultimate Detective trio, who take on the task of solving a series of murders in Marlow.
(www.robbiejgray.com)
Sam has been the Company Director for Moonstone Murders since we launched in London/South East England in October 2017. Alongside having written over 35 Unique cases since founding Moonstone Murders, as his alter ego Inspector Rutherford, he has led hundreds of investigations both across the UK, abroad in Europe and virtually worldwide!
