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    Magpie Murders: A Novel
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    Magpie Murders: A Novel
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    Magpie Murders: A Novel
    Ebook572 pages10 hours

    Magpie Murders: A Novel

    By Anthony Horowitz

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    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, The 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 6, 2017
    ISBN9780062645241
    Author

    Anthony Horowitz

    ANTHONY HOROWITZ is the author of the US bestselling Magpie Murders and The Word is Murder, and one of the most prolific and successful writers in the English language; he may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author. His novel Trigger Mortis features original material from Ian Fleming. His most recent Sherlock Holmes novel, Moriarty, is a reader favorite; and his bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. As a TV screenwriter, he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War on PBS. Horowitz regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines, and in January 2014 was awarded an OBE.

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    Reviews for Magpie Murders

    4/5

    1,462 ratings136 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Starts out as formulaic but becomes exceptional and clever mystery or set of mysteries. Excellent cure for the dog days of winter.
    • 4/5
      Clever, entertaining, and well written. I’ll look for more books by Anthony Horowitz. He also created and wrote the Foyle’s War series, and wrote for Poirot and Midsummer Murders. This was a well done audible book.
    • 4/5
      A mystery within a mystery. I really enjoyed this.
    • 4/5
      This was a clever little mystery within a mystery. A meta-mystery, if you will. Short synopsis: a writer of mystery novels finishes his latest book, hands it in to his publisher, and then dies under suspicious circumstances, possibly murdered, and his editor who then reads (most of) his last novel, which is left unfinished because the final chapters are missing, goes about solving the crime of the writer's death and the disappearance of the final chapters. The end result ties together the world of the writer/editor and the world-within-that-world that the writer created for his final novel.I think Horowitz pulled it off about as well as anybody could without getting silly. What I mean by that is he slyly wrote into the writer's mystery novel (the mystery within the mystery) references to the "real world" (the meta-mystery wrapped around, the world of the editor doing the investigation) and left clues in there revealing both the killer in the book-within-the-book as well as clues to the outcome of his own death, which of course he didn't know about when he was writing the book, but the breadcrumbs he did lay out help the editor piece together what actually happened. It's hard enough just talking about how these plots intertwine. I imagine it must have been even harder for Horowitz to craft them. Horowitz could have gone nuts and tried tying those two worlds together even tighter, but that would have started getting absurd. I think he struck a good balance. The book-within-the-book could stand on its own as a very respectable (albeit brief) murder mystery in and of itself.Anyway, well done. Admirable example of a mystery novel off in a whole new direction. I sure something like this has been done before. I can't imagine he's the first mystery writer to write about the death of a mystery writer who's book is the source of the clues to his own death... just can't think of an example off the top of my head. But it was fresh and original to me.
    • 4/5
      2 stories in 1 - a classic Agatha Christie type story with a related modern story. I preferred the 1950s story to the modern one but the length of delay in reading the end of the 1950s story did make the resolution less interesting. Enjoyable light read.
    • 5/5
      Magpie Murders (2017) by Anthony Horowitz. I think Mr. Horowitz must be getting tired of writing just superb mysteries in books and for the visual mediums. Hence MAGPIE MURDERS, a twist on the conventional story. Here you have two mysteries combined, one within the other.The meat of this nut is a story called “Magpie Murders” (purposefully without the ‘The’ the title might ordinarily have in it. This is the latest manuscript in the latest, and final, Atticus Pudd case. He is the throwback creation of Alan Conway, and a great nod of the hat to Hercule Poirot.The story is a compelling tale fully laid out within this book’s interior; entirely save for the last several chapters that are missing form the manuscript.The shell of this story takes place through the eyes of Susan Ryeland, the editor at Cloverleaf Books who has been handing the Detective Pudd novels from the start. She warns us, the readers, right from the start, that we will find the inclosed manuscript frustrating, and she is right. The real mystery is trying to uncover what has happened to the end of the manuscript.You would think sho could just ask the author but he has a terminal disease and has thrown himself from the convent tower at his country-side estate.Or has he?This book is crammed full of wordplay, anagrams and the like, a playful lulling of your senses ensues, and when the final reveals occur you might be saying, :But of course, I could see that coming a mile away”, but more likely you’ll simply say, that Mr. Horowitz has gotten you again.
    • 2/5
      I really wanted to love this book which emulates the classical whodunit. I liked the concept and the 2 stories had elements of a good plot but were often a bit clunky and uneven with a few too many coincidences. Also, the characters were such stock creations that it was often hard to tell them apart. Ultimately, it seemed the book couldn't decide if it was an easy genre read or a literary tribute.
    • 4/5
      Super fun read with some added twists.
    • 4/5
      In one sense, Magpie Murders is a real bargain in that it is two books in one: a who-done-it about the writing and disposition of another who-done-it.  In fact, the novel within the novel is produced in its entirety, although the reader must wait a fairly long time to read its final chapter.  The “base” story is about a female editor of a book publishing company whose most popular author has just submitted a new novel, the last chapter of which seems to be missing.  That famous author then apparently commits suicide by jumping off the tower of his country estate.  When our intrepid heroine goes to the estate to try to locate the final chapter of his novel, she encounters suspicious aspects to the “suicide” that leads her to investigate the death.   Along the way, the reader is treated to the 200+ page novel within the novel — and it is quite good in its own right. Since the main character of the base novel is an editor, she is able to include her observations of what makes a good mystery novel.  Horowitz is a fan of the mystery genre, and he pays homage to several of its most competent and prolific practitioners. The final scene of the novel within the novel is particularly well crafted, with the brilliant detective doing his best Hercule Poirot imitation, tying numerous loose and seemingly unconnected threads together for a satisfying, and surprising, denouement.  One carp I have about the book is that the author violates one of his cardinal principles of a well-constructed who-done-it.  He has his main character say that the author should not rely on coincidence to resolve the issues set up in the story.  And yet, the heroine probably would never have solved the murder without a serendipitous encounter with a minor character at the very end of the book.  In addition, there is a deus ex machina at the end that is, like any deus ex machina, both coincidental and fairly essential.  Evaluation: Magpie Murders is quite long for its genre.  Nonetheless, it can be forgiven since, after all, it is two novels for the price of one.  (JAB)
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book! Let me start by saying that I generally do not gravitate towards mystery/thrillers (they’re alright but they never have that “it” thing that makes them stand out in any unique way in my mind). In this case though, this actually unique little “whodunit” mystery completely left me wanting to read another. (Do you hear me Anthony Horowitz? More!)I loved this one so much for a couple for reasons. The atmosphere was lovely - it’s everything you fall into when you watch any of those BBC murder mysteries (I’m thinking Hercule Poirot, Midsomer Murders, and Father Brown). Secondly, we’re introduced to an author who dies under mysterious circumstances and who’s left his murder mystery novel incomplete (who did it?). So the whole storyline follows a whodunit inside a whodunit and it’s marvelous.Highly recommend for those who love a little English atmosphere, quaint towns, quirky characters, and murder mysteries. Such a great read for spring (light and sort of “fun,” despite the word “murder”) and just what I needed!
    • 4/5
      I've seen Stephen King praise this book on Twitter, and his recommendation made me read it. I don't regret the decision at all; it turned out to be the perfect choice for a laid back summer vacation whodunnit with a few layers of literary pleasure: Not only has it provided two very different, yet intertwined cases of mystery, but it also presented its meta-themes, looking at itself and the whole genre, reminding me of Douglas Hofstadter's writings.If you, like me, enjoy a good quality page turner, then you can bet on this book being a particularly noteworthy item in your collection. Well, apart from the few cheesy parts here and there... Oh, and it's Turkish coffee, please! :)
    • 4/5
      Anthony Horowitz is fast becoming one of my favorite mystery writers. I started reading him with The Word is Murder and immediately had to follow up by listening to the Magpie Murders audiobook. This little mystery is a book inside of a book - a publishing house, it's editor and author, but it also contains the book which is at the center of it all. I know this sounds crazy - but I'm convinced Horowitz can pretty much pull off any sort of craziness he dreams up. Just read one of his books, you'll see what I mean. Have you read him yet? Isn't he clever?
    • 4/5
      A book within a book that gives meta treatment to the tropes of the mystery genre. A careful reader well-versed in the genre will probably enjoy this more than a casual reader looking for a good mystery, though it delivers on that score, too.
    • 4/5
      This book has some really unusual twists! It's really two books more or less sandwiched together, one in a sort of Poirot style and one more modern. Murders abound across the divide. I guessed the modern murderer, but not why he did it. I didn't guess the Poirot style murder, but that kind of book seems to be a little more arbitrary, don't you think? Anyway, I had a fine time.
    • 3/5
      A fun mystery. I couldn't help comparing this to Horowitz's "The Word is Murder," however. That mystery pushes the "meta" aspect of the narrative even further, in an interesting way (it features Horowitz himself as the main character). The writing in this novel is slower, more atmospheric—and ultimately less rewarding since the mystery's resolution is just pulled out of a hat.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable read, clearly inspired by the works of Agatha Christie, but still very much the author's own. I cannot imagine this not appealing to anyone who loves books. This is a celebration of language and the philosophy that words matter. In this day and age that is positively radical. The mystery is challenging in the best way, the resolution(s) makes sense, the answer was in front of me the whole time, and yet I did not figure it out. I listened to the audio. The readers were both good but, Samantha Bond was especially excellent.
    • 2/5
      I've been know to like English village mysteries, but this one bored me to death, and I'm quitting a third of the way through.
    • 4/5
      It’s not a wheel within a wheel, but it is a story within story and it may have your mind spinning before it’s over. Alan Conway has a successful mystery series, but he wanted to be more than just a mystery writer. Still, he has churned out nine of these much-loved books, loved by the public if not by the author. Time is running out for Alan to leave his mark as more than a mystery writer, and he is not planning on going out quietly. The novel begins with Alan’s latest novel, but as his editor reads it, she realizes that the last crucial chapters are missing. The novel then cuts to her desperate quest to find them. Finally, the two stories merge as she puts the clues together as neatly as puzzle pieces. Well written, this clever novel may leave you wondering which mystery was the dominate one.
    • 3/5
      Very slow moving and somewhat tedious.
    • 4/5
      I much enjoyed this mystery/meta-mystery. Well paced, nicely plotted, interesting characters ... a very engaging read.
    • 5/5
      Reminded me of the Churchill quotation: "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma": that describes this book perfectly. A book editor is reading the manuscript of the latest murder mystery of a very popular writer, an Alan Conway--this is #9 in the series. The woman, Susan Ryeland, is completely drawn in and is disconcerted to find the last part is missing--no solution and explanation of motivation. Against her boss's wishes, she sets out to find these pages. In so doing, she enters into the author's real life. He has an inoperable cancer, but has he committed suicide or is HIS death murder? She meets people from his life and in so doing, discovers he has a dark side, how these people have touched his life, and how he has stolen and collected [like a magpie] bits and pieces from his life: geographical locations, even people's mannerisms and looks. Wordplay is important in this novel, especially anagrams. Most unusual and wholly readable. I was left guessing both mysteries until the reveals.Highly recommended. Harks back to the "golden age" of British mystery but with modern touches.
    • 4/5
      Very amusing and certainly became a page turner toward the end, but overall rather fluffy. If you are an Agatha Christie fan, though, you are certain to love it.
    • 4/5
      This was a very clever murder mystery! I loved how this had a whodunit within a whodunit and that I didn't figure out either one!
    • 4/5
      This is a Whodunit wrapped in a Mystery. No, I didn't guess it, and was pleased with how it turned out. I'll recommend this to my mystery-loving patrons!
    • 4/5
      This book is a mystery novel within a mystery novel - in the frame story, the author of the interior novel is murdered. There are parallels between the two cases, and the novel moves back and forth nicely.The interior novel is a well-done Agatha Christie homage. The sentence structure, word choice, etc. amount to a witty commentary on Hercule Poirot and the rural village so beloved of Miss Marple The outer mystery is darker.Reading it, I noticed the clues, which isn't always the case for me. However, I dismissed them as unimportant, because the narrator did the same. It was a fun read.
    • 5/5
      The plot is complicated, the ending (or at least the first ending) was a surprise. The final ending was expected, but only after the first ending. This is the kind of book it is! Complicated. But worth it.The author was the creator and writer for the BBC Midsommer Murders and Foyle's War (Foyle's War being the best WWII mystery series! A must Netflix!).If you like puzzles, this book may require pen and paper....
    • 4/5
      What a wonderful modern-day Golden Age mystery! Horowitz has penned two murders in one book - two different time frames, one supposedly fiction, the other real-life. It is a very unique way to present his story. The first part of the book is devoted to the fictional book - Magpie Murders. We are given the whole scenario and we lose ourseles in that story. Then, the editor of the author's books is given a voice and we are thrown into the real-life murder. Did the author actually jump off the tower in his house, or was he pushed? The more that Susan Ryleland investigates, the more she realizes that Alan Conway may have not committed suicide despite all the evidence to the contrary. There is a lot of name dropping of famous literary detectives like Morse, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes and lots of Agatha Christie. For long-term lovers of detecitve fiction like me, that was the hook that got me for this book. Mr. Horowitz manages to keep both of his storylines intact, and we are given the very unique and welcome chance to solve two detective stories, that are each simiar and each different in their own. way. I loved the story. It was very well done, sophisticated and tricky, and I recommend the book highly.
    • 4/5
      Even though I am told in the meta-mystery section that the mystery is not brilliant, full of derivatives and stolen plots from other writers, I was totally immersed in it and frustrated when the last section was missing. But then the meta-mystery kicks in and one moves from Adrian Pounce, dectective, to the author who is also murdered and the editor must figure it out. And the reward: the last section!!! Very satisfying.
    • 4/5
      Mystery fans are in for a treat! We get not only one mystery to solve, but two as we get a book within a book; each having its own story. I loved how the print copy has different fonts and page numbers for the two stories. Each mystery was very well done with good characters and plenty of red herrings which kept me guessing until the end. I will admit I guessed wrong both times too. A fun story for fans of locked room mysteries in the style of Agatha Christie.
    • 5/5
      MAGPIE MURDERS is one of those "peeling an onion" books: There are two main stories, one contained inside the other, but at the same time Anthony Horowitz pays tribute to those successful writers of cozies, particularly those who have managed to sustain a credible detective over a number of titles. Here is his take on an Agatha Christie-style book, and the reader can't help but recognise that Atticus Pund has a lot in common with Hercule Poirot.Both stories have a time of denouement: we eventually find out who was responsible for the murders in Alan Conway's novel, and then the finale of the story in which editor Susan Ryeland in the central character.So the book also contains some interesting reflections on writing cozies, why readers like them, why the television public can't get enough of murder, and how writers often come to hate their main protagonist, even when killing them off is the equivalent to killing the golden goose. There is even a passage when the editor Susan Ryeland wonders how those protagonists, among them Morse, Rebus, Poirot, Wimsey, Marple, Poirot, felt when they realised their time was coming to an end.So there was a lot to like about this book, a lot to think about, although I found it slow going at the beginning, and it is quite long.A warning for Kindle users: on my paper-white kindle, the book that Susan Ryeland is reading, Alan Conway's Magpie Murders, is rendered as a "softer" print, which I found quite hard to read. It is almost as if the Kindle is trying to display it as grey. It wasn't something I noticed when reading on the iPad app, but there various parts of the book were rendered in a different font, indicating a different "voice", a different part of the book.