The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way

WINNER of the IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards) Gold Medal for Mystery 2022!
It's May 2020. Not much is known about the scary COVID-19 virus. The pandemic is keeping folks isolated and paranoid. They're social distancing and wearing masks. Frankly, people are not thinking straight.
It's not the best time for struggling novelist Scott Hatcher's wife, Marie, to go missing from their quiet, Chicago suburban neighborhood. Coincidentally, John Bergman, who lives across the street with his beguiling wife, Rachel, and their rather strange teenage son, Thomas, also mysteriously vanishes.
After the vacant house next door to Scott unexpectedly burns down one night, the blackened remains of Marie and John are discovered inside along with stockpiles of valuable Personal Protection Equipment recently stolen from a nearby medical warehouse. Was this a tragic accident? Or was it murder?
Scott unadvisedly befriends Rachel and together they embark not only on a cockeyed mission to make sense of what happened, but also a reckless love affair. Some might say that's a rather absurd thing to do, given the circumstances. But when restless teens, dangerous mobsters, suspicious neighbors, stumped cops, and an omniscient, down-home narrator right out of Thornton Wilder's Our Town are thrown into the mix, nothing is ordinary in this mad, mad tale of Americana that might remind readers of films by the irreverent and satirical Coen Brothers or the deliciously warped domestic works of Tom Perrotta.
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(Starred Review) "This wild roller coaster of a novel is an attention-grabber from first page to last." –Publisher's Weekly
"..A fine and inventive novel... There is death and fire and all manner of neatly handled twists and turns and a not-so-surprising love affair and considerable dark comedy... Benson knows how to forcefully drive a narrative and the book is peppered with compelling characters amid a satisfyingly knotty mystery." –RICK KOGAN, Chicago Tribune
"The quirky structure of the novel, evoking a stage play, lulls you into a false, cozy sense of security... but don't be fooled—violence and murder are lurking in the background. Benson is a deft and assured storyteller with an amiable, warm and gentle voice reminiscent of Burl Ives or a grown-up John Boy Walton, and this may just be his masterpiece." –LEE GOLDBERG, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lost Hills
"Benson's The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way delivers bigtime. Sharp-witted and unconventional, it sneaks up on you, grabs you, and never lets go." –REED FARREL COLEMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepless City
"Confirming his reputation as a master storyteller, Benson's sly, suspenseful tale of murder and betrayal in a sleepy Chicago suburb during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic wheedles its way under our skin and into our psyche. So convincing is The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way that we too may ask ourselves if we really know what's happening in our neighborhoods and even under our own roofs..." –JIM FUSILLI, author of Narrows Gate and The Mayor of Polk Street
"The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way is what you get if Thornton Wilder and William March had a book baby. Take a pandemic, stir in a creepy kid, stolen PPE, a suspicious house fire, two dead bodies, and a suburban street full of dodgy neighbors—and it's game on. What a potent, engrossing read." –TRACY CLARK, author of the Cass Raines Chicago mystery series and winner of the 2020 Sue Grafton Memorial Award