Magpie Murders

A Novel

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Samantha Bond, Allan Corduner

Narrated by Samantha Bond

Don’t miss Magpie Murders on PBS's MASTERPIECE Mystery!

""A double puzzle for puzzle fans, who don’t often get the classicism they want from contemporary thrillers."" —Janet Maslin, New York Times

New York Times Bestseller | Winner of the Macavity Award for Best Novel | NPR Best Book of the Year | Washington Post Best Book of the Year | Esquire Best Book of the Year

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.

Initially compelling, but two plots are too many

I owe Anthony Horowitz a debt of gratitude. When I worked in a middle school library, and boys wandered in, downcast, saying that their teacher had told them to come get a good book, I could almost always rely on Horowitz's Alex Rider series. These books always seemed to provide the fast-paced action and adventure that adolescent readers were looking for. (After they finished the series, I recommended a really special author, Gary Paulsen, but that's a different story.)

So I was excited to read Magpie Murders, and expected a fast-paced plot with plenty of action. The clever story within a story idea was initially compelling, along with the idea that it was a homage to Agatha Christie, and things started out well enough. I really enjoyed the embedded Atticus Pünd novel, and read quite happily, wondering whodunnit. The abrupt return to present day with editor Susan Ryeland and the remainder of the novel with her trying to solve things is where it bogged down for me. There were pages and pages of her talking to every possible suspect, and on each page I wondered why these people would divulge alibis and details to a stranger that knocked on their door. Neither Miss Marple nor Susan Ryeland is an investigator, but Miss Marple employed the shrewdness and resourcefulness that Susan Ryeland lacked. I really just finished the book out of curiosity.

I think this book would have been much better with some good editing and less cleverness. Agatha Christie's plots and characters were intelligent and clever, but Magpie Murders tries to introduce wit in the form of anagrams, name-dropping, and too many red herrings. I would like to read other novels in the Atticus Pünd series if Mr. Horowitz ever writes them, but I think one well-written story line at a time would make for a more satisfying read.

Boring

.Not that clever. Could not get invested in any of the characters. Did not care who lived, who died, who murdered.

So. Much. Story!

I had purchased this audiobook a little while ago and didn't refresh my memory by reading the synopsis again. And I'm so glad I did not. What I went into feeling was a very-respectable Hercule Poirot homage turned out to be something entirely unexpected, and wonderfully entertaining. Both narrators were exactly as they should be, and the story - er - STORIES - were just right for this avid mystery fan.

Almost There

The narrators did well, but while I love whodunits, I was not convinced by the motive of the second murder, and far too quickly realized where the first was going--which was doubly disappointing be cause I wanted to be wrong. My main issue was the female protagonist, who I think was meant to come across as an independent feisty sort of woman, but who actually...didn't have much right to 'interrogate ' her suspects. I kept thinking how rude I would find her in real life. There is a moment where she aggressively questions a man about a painful incident in his childhood, with absolutely no good reason for doing so. There are a couple of other moments where potential suspects lie to her about things that have nothing to do with the case, and all I could think was...well, it really isn't your business. Most people who read this genre love the amateur detective, and I really do too, but in this case, said amateur detective was simply not given enough reason to be doing what she was doing, so it came off unpleasantly, at least to me.. That being said, I enjoyed most of the first mystery very much, and was interested enough to listen through the whole thing. it's not a bad story by any means, just not quite amazing

Intriguing plot

A bit long but the story line draws you in. I found myself awake at 4:00 am wanting to hear just a bit more. The narration was definitely a part of the plot itself. Well worth the time.