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hward's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Murder, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Xenophobia, Ableism, Blood, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Outing, and Pregnancy
lzad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, and Ableism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship
not_another_ana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was here because I'd been asked to read a book which might or might not be connected to a murder that had taken place eight years before.
After the events of Magpie Murders retired publisher Susan Ryland is living in Greece running a hotel with her partner Andreas. It should be paradise but exhaustion and doubts begin to creep in, so when people show up looking for her and offering her a new job she's ready to dive deep into the mystery. The Trehernes, a wealthy couple who own a boutique hotel, want her help locating their missing daughter Cecily. The connection? Right before disappearing Cecily was reading an Atticus Pünd novel and was convinced there were clues in it that exonerated a man convicted of a murder that happened in the hotel. The family is certain that by reading the book and solving the crime they might find their daughter. Armed only with a copy of the novel and her wits, Susan will do her best to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Just like in the first book this contains a tale within a tale, a full cozy detective novel sandwiched between a current mystery. I liked Magpie Murders more, my problem with this one is that I had issues suspending my disbelief. Susan made sense as a protagonist in the previous one because she had a realistic goal, finding the last chapter of the Atticus Pünd book, that intersected with solving the murder. Here she starts too removed from the central premise and gets dragged into it in a way that wasn't convincing to me. Yes, these books aren't 100% grounded in reality, yet I believe that if more time had passed since the disappearence it would make sense for the Trehernes to desperately think a retired editor with zero policing experience could help them. Susan isn't my favorite protagonist, I find her a bit dry and I do not care for her interpersonal issues.
The writing is still good, Anthony Horowitz can make the longest of books easy to digest. I was quite surprised when I realized it was 600 pages long, it never felt like a long heavy book. The mystery is still quite juicy, probably my favorite part of this whole thing. I did get there in the end but there were a couple of twists that had me second guessing myself.
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia and Suicide attempt
katie_thompson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Abortion, Ableism, Murder, Violence, and Bullying
Minor: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Suicide
lpeterson's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death
amandas_bookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol and Animal cruelty
acherry913's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death
birthisacurse's review against another edition
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia
karachapp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia