Review: "Murder on Charity Lane," Jo Nichols

Golda Barkofsky, 82, the sharp-eyed fairy godmother who owns the Marigold Cottages in Santa Barbara, California, is back. So are her energetic and eclectic tenants.

Murder is not far behind.

In The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective, the tenants of the quaint bungalow court reluctantly teamed up to solve a case. Now they’re a solid band of crime-fighting buddies—with, to put it euphemistically, a flexible moral compass.

They solve cases their way.

It all starts off so innocently. Mrs. B brings CJ into the group, in hopes that she’ll hit it off with tenant Ocean, an artist and mother to Riley and Miles. CJ helps Mrs. B fasten her bra after water aerobics class at the Y. Now there’s an endorsement! CJ works as an assistant to the fabulously wealthy Frank DeYoung. The elderly man lives with his wife Karina in an amazing house on Charity Lane in swanky Hope Ranch.

Learning this, Mrs. B has another idea. She gets CJ to invite tenants Sophie, recently promoted to development director at the New Vic Theatre, and Nicholas, a city planner (they’re now a couple and living together) to a party at the DeYoungs' house. Maybe Sophie can rustle up some donations.

Instead, Sophie and Nicholas witness a horrible event. Frank DeYoung is killed when he falls down the stairs. And his wife claims CJ pushed him.

CJ, who has just moved into Sophie’s old cottage.

Detective Sergeant Vernon Enible is not amused that the Murder Collective is involved with another possible murder. But he can’t stop them. The whole gang is involved. 

Lily-Ann brings her organizational skills (and knowledge of the wealthy, and exquisite fashion sense). Anthony contributes his physical strength and knowledge of the seedier side of life (he’s an ex-con).

Hamilton, who serves kombucha at Collective meetings and never leaves the house except for medical appointments, extracts information from a police officer through favors on the online fantasy game Realm of Rangers, which they both play.

The stakes soar when Mrs. B uses the Marigold as collateral to get CJ out of jail. Then CJ disappears. Then there’s a second murder…

In between the non-stop action, the members of the Collective try to communicate via group chat (Anthony can’t type, which leads to amusing spell-check corrections) and take risks even they know they shouldn’t be taking.

In the end, they tie up all the loose ends in their own inimitable style. Detective Enible is happy to take the win.

I enjoyed the humor in this book, the sparkling “SoCal” setting, and the warmth of the relationships among the characters. The story is told in alternating viewpoints by various characters, who are all so different, but all dedicated to their shared vision of justice. They also truly care about each other.

Spoiler alert: Many mentions are made to the events in The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective. That’s necessary because the characters are still grappling, to varying degrees, with how they handled the situations in the first book.

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I received an advance e-copy of Murder on Charity Lane from NetGalley. It will be published on August 18, 2026.

Review: "The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective," Jo Nichols

This is a fun, highly readable mystery set in a Santa Barbara bungalow court—and honestly, that alone had me hooked. Craftsman bungalows in a scenic city by the sea is appealing enough. But the city is also associated with Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer investigations and Sue Grafton’s fictional city of Santa Teresa. They are two of my favorite mystery authors, so I know Santa Barbara is a perfect setting for intrigue.

The Marigold Cottages are owned by Mrs. B. (Golda Barkofsky, 82), a sharp-eyed fairy godmother who charges tenants what she believes they can afford and discreetly (mostly) watches over them. Though the residents live largely separate lives, everything changes when a dead body is discovered on the premises. Reluctantly, the tenants band together to solve the mystery.

Mrs. B. is a wonderful anchor for the story, surrounded by a delightfully motley crew. Ocean, a gay artist, grew up in the court and has returned to raise her two children there. Lily-Ann, a plus-size-model-worthy heiress, lives with OCD. Sophie, a struggling playwright wrestling with her own demons, chronicles the meetings of the newly formed “collective.” Nicholas is an enigma, Hamilton rarely leaves his house, and then there’s Anthony—fresh out of jail—who naturally becomes the prime suspect when murder strikes.

The novel is fun and funny, but it also has real heart. The characters are likable, though quirky and sometimes mildly annoying—which, in this case, makes them feel refreshingly real. The sense of community is warm and believable, and the mystery itself is well constructed. Best of all, there’s a genuinely fantastic twist at the end that rewards the reader’s investment.

A thoroughly enjoyable mystery with charm, wit, and substance—highly recommended.