Cover of Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, featuring the text Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Magpie Murders By Anthony Horowitz Book Review

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is a 2016 mystery novel. It’s the first novel in the Susan Ryeland series. The story focuses on the murder of a mystery author and uses a story within a story format. This book is full of twists and turns.

 

Here’s my review of the book.

 

Plot

Susan Ryeland is the editor of a publication. Her publishing house has published eight books of famous author Alan Conway’s popular fictional character detective Atticus Pünd series., all of which have been bestsellers. She is currently editing Alan Conway’s ninth book about Atticus Pünd, “Magpie Murders.” Reading the manuscript of The Magpie Murders, she found that the novel was unfinished. The last two chapters that will solve the mystery are not in the manuscript! Inquiring as to why the last chapters were not given, she found out that Alan Conway had died, and it was a suicide. Doubts started in Susan’s mind. Did Alan Conway really commit suicide, or was he murdered? Why would he commit suicide, and why would someone kill him? What could be the reason for not finding the last chapters of his novel? Thinking about these things, Editor Susan Ryeland became a detective and brought out the truth!

 

My Review

It is like two mysteries in the same book. Atticus Pünd wants to find out who killed Mary Blakiston in the English village of Saxby-on-Avon, and Susan Ryeland wants to know the secret of Atticus Pünd’s creator Alan Conway’s death. A whole Agatha Christie touch was there in the “Atticus Pünd” part. In the book, Conway’s writing style is presented as imitative. But to be honest, I like Pünd’s story better. It wouldn’t have been bad if the book had ended with only Pünd’s story. I liked Conway’s story better than Horowitz’s, probably because I am a classic mystery fan. The part of “Pünd” was very well written. Atticus Pünd, I think, is a polished version of Hercule Poirot.

 

Magpie Murders is a perfect murder mystery. I have never read a book within a book before. So I was very interested to know how it was. All the classic red herrings are here. I suspected everyone at some point, and as usual, I kept changing my mind. Sometimes, I got confused by the overlap between the two stories, but in the end, it worked out.

 

The story of Pye Hall progressed so smoothly that I was as disappointed as Susan when the last chapter was not found and wanted to know again and again who the murderer of Alan Conway’s novel was. As Susan progressed in her investigation, the strange connections between Conway and his writing style emerged. Of course, if you want to know what happened, you must read this excellent book!

 

I fell in love with Anthony Horowitz’s writing when I read The Word Is Murder and became a fan after reading Magpie Murders. Reading two novels in the same book was a great experience. There is nothing to say about Anthony’s writing—it’s amazing. 

 

Price

Kindle – $13.99

 

Hardcover – 15.25

 

Paperback – $16.38

 

Personal Rating

8/10.  As there is another story inside the book, you can get a taste of two stories by reading one book. Two mysteries will be solved. Besides, the author’s writing quality is very good. Every incident has been beautifully portrayed. There are times when it feels like a greatest hit from the golden age of detective fiction. I eagerly await the sequel, ‘Moonflower Murders, ‘ by Anthony Horowitz.

 

Similar Books

  1. Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz.