“Magpie Murders is a double puzzle for puzzle fans, who don’t often get the classicism they want from contemporary thrillers.” –Janet Maslin, The New York TimesNew York Times bestseller | Nominee for the Anthony Award for Best Novel | Nominee for the Barry Award for Best Novel | Winner of the Macavity Award for Best Novel | #1 Indie Next Pick | NPR best book of 2017 | Amazon best book of 2017 | … Winner of the Macavity Award for Best Novel | #1 Indie Next Pick | NPR best book of 2017 | Amazon best book of 2017 | Washington Post best book of 2017 | Esquire best book of 2017
From the New York Times bestselling author of Moriarty and Trigger Mortis, this fiendishly brilliant, riveting thriller weaves a classic whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie into a chilling, ingeniously original modern-day mystery.
When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.
Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.
Masterful, clever, and relentlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction in which the reader becomes the detective.
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Good mystery
An interesting twist to the who-done-it.
a mystery with an interesting twist
A really original modern mystery with sly and clever nods to the authors of the golden age.
I love mysteries and when you get two in one book it has to be a winner. The Book within a book idea was original and very entertaining, I reminded me (intentionally of course) of my first encounters with Dame Agatha when i fell in love with who-done-its.
Mystery within a mystery. Interesting read.
Interesting premise and I think the author pulled it off. Certainly not what I was expecting.
I found it hard to follow
good have been good—decent plot line—but his editor dropped the ball in favor of a long book rather than a good book
…a mystery about a mystery novel. It’s worth your time that it takes to figure it out!
Too slow for me
It’s a mystery within a mystery very cleverly written. I didn’t figure it all out and had to do some re-reading to clear up some of the clues. He is a really worthy author
Plot twists. 2 mysteries in one story
Enjoyed the book! Recommend it for someone wanting a new surprise in mysteries.
Unusual story within story. Good but not great.
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“Life may imitate art – but it usually falls short of it.”
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I love Anthony Horowitz – his Sherlock Holmes stories are fantastic, and this book was similarly excellent. There are two stories here (I love when an author incorporates a story within a story, it’s like getting a two-fer): the book that editor Susan is working on for her AND the story behind the story(ies) that gradually rolls out the mystery of the author. Both stories are well-conceived, well-paced, and well-written – and utterly different in style. I find that fascinating – how one author can write in such different voices in the same book. Horowitz manages with aplomb. The opening story (the book) reads like his Sherlock period work; the “real” story that comes later reads like contemporary fiction. The blending of the two, with allusions back and forth that ultimately lead up to the Big Reveal, is managed beautifully. This was a very fun book to read, full of quirky and damaged characters, well-set scenes, great up-and-down pacing, and wry homage to the classic whodunits.