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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Such a fun read - a whodunnit within a whodunnit
#AllHallowsRead
#AllHallowsRead
I liked this a lot more than I expected to, given my friends’ reviews of it. I agree that it was too wordy (my goodness, what was the point in all of the excerpts?) but it was a clever idea and parts of it were page turning for me. And all of those Agatha Christie, murder mystery, and BBC references? Awesome.
I love some of Horowitz’s work; Foyle’s War in particular is a favorite of mine. So while this book wasn’t a total grabber for me, I like it and Horowitz well enough to check out more.
I love some of Horowitz’s work; Foyle’s War in particular is a favorite of mine. So while this book wasn’t a total grabber for me, I like it and Horowitz well enough to check out more.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"But I'm not sure it actually matters what we read. Our lives continue along the straight lines that have been set out for us. Fiction merely allows us a glimpse of the alternative. Maybe that's one of the reasons we enjoy it."
Magpie Murders is one of those titles that has chased me around for a while. Its persistence paid off, and we spent the weekend together. I barely even knew the premise going in, and was pleasantly surprised to discover as I listened, that the story has another story inside it.
Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small publishing house in England and settles in at the opener to read the latest submission from one of their biggest authors, Alan Conway, and his newest novel in the incredibly famous Atticus Pünd series. Pünd is a German detective, very much in the same vein (purposely so) as Hercule Poirot — Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective. From here, we are treated to almost the entire story as Pünd arrives in a small fictional village in England to solve a murder. Somehow Horowitz manages to make this feel both masterful and also organic to the outside story with Ryeland, instead of gimmicky or silly or even overdone. And yes, I said "almost the entire story." Just as you get settled in for the big reveal, Ryeland runs out of book.
"...and it suddenly occurred to me that murderers are the loneliest people on the planet. It's the curse of Cain—the fugitive and the vagabond driven out from the face of the earth."
Her own quest begins with these missing chapters — the last tiny bit of the book. From here Ryeland discovers that the author of the book within, Magpie Murders, has committed suicide. As Ryeland tries to find the lost ending, she is confronted with the very real conclusion that Alan Conway was actually murdered. Ryeland sets about to figure out potential clues and put on the hat of detective in order to solve the murder herself — and find those mislaid pages.
For me, this was one of those lovely mysteries, full of atmosphere and brilliant characters, where I was just happy to be along for the ride. Though I had mostly deduced both perpetrators early on, Horowitz's writing style and immersive story kept me glued his tale to the very end.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Samantha Bond|6915071|Samantha Bond|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517399541p2/6915071.jpg] and [a:Allan Corduner|551119|Allan Corduner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517301180p2/551119.jpg]: Two absolutely brilliant narrators performing two separate but linked stories — what more could you ask for? Bond and Corduner both have fantastic reading voices. I was particularly mesmerized with Corduner's Pünd novel within this larger story. Bond brought Susan Ryeland to life and completely added to the immersive quality of Horowitz's style. I would absolutely listen to anything these two do again — separately and, even more so, together.
Magpie Murders is one of those titles that has chased me around for a while. Its persistence paid off, and we spent the weekend together. I barely even knew the premise going in, and was pleasantly surprised to discover as I listened, that the story has another story inside it.
Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small publishing house in England and settles in at the opener to read the latest submission from one of their biggest authors, Alan Conway, and his newest novel in the incredibly famous Atticus Pünd series. Pünd is a German detective, very much in the same vein (purposely so) as Hercule Poirot — Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective. From here, we are treated to almost the entire story as Pünd arrives in a small fictional village in England to solve a murder. Somehow Horowitz manages to make this feel both masterful and also organic to the outside story with Ryeland, instead of gimmicky or silly or even overdone. And yes, I said "almost the entire story." Just as you get settled in for the big reveal, Ryeland runs out of book.
"...and it suddenly occurred to me that murderers are the loneliest people on the planet. It's the curse of Cain—the fugitive and the vagabond driven out from the face of the earth."
Her own quest begins with these missing chapters — the last tiny bit of the book. From here Ryeland discovers that the author of the book within, Magpie Murders, has committed suicide. As Ryeland tries to find the lost ending, she is confronted with the very real conclusion that Alan Conway was actually murdered. Ryeland sets about to figure out potential clues and put on the hat of detective in order to solve the murder herself — and find those mislaid pages.
For me, this was one of those lovely mysteries, full of atmosphere and brilliant characters, where I was just happy to be along for the ride. Though I had mostly deduced both perpetrators early on, Horowitz's writing style and immersive story kept me glued his tale to the very end.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Samantha Bond|6915071|Samantha Bond|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517399541p2/6915071.jpg] and [a:Allan Corduner|551119|Allan Corduner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517301180p2/551119.jpg]: Two absolutely brilliant narrators performing two separate but linked stories — what more could you ask for? Bond and Corduner both have fantastic reading voices. I was particularly mesmerized with Corduner's Pünd novel within this larger story. Bond brought Susan Ryeland to life and completely added to the immersive quality of Horowitz's style. I would absolutely listen to anything these two do again — separately and, even more so, together.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's definitely fun to have a murder mystery within a murder mystery, and the 'real life' sections are fun insofar as how self aware they are. The murder(s?) tie up nicely while not being too obvious. I wasn't especially wowed in a way that would make me call this book better than the average murder mystery, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Medical content, Alcohol, Classism
2.5 stars
In order to like this book, you need to 1. give into the conceit that the author used to justify the murder. 2. Not be able to sniff out the murderer in their first scene.
I, am not that person.
The conceit - that a publishing house would be ruined when everyone found out the author actually hated their character is not believable to me in any way? As noted in the book, Christie famously hated Poirot. Connan Doyle literally tried to kill his character when he tired of him. That - surprise - Conway actually hated Pund from the start is...okay? The idea that no one had discovered his little anagrams (that a bunch of people were named after tube stations, come on. Has this man been on the internet?). I just, don't actually get why this would ruin the book series, if anything it would cause a spike in the book series sales.
And the actual murderer of Conway, yawn. Reading through the chapter that person is introduced in, I literally thought to myself (well, that is either a bad red herring, or what that fuck am I reading this book for). The 'twist' at the end of the fake book within a book was also dumb.
The thing is, the beginning of this book is excellent, the book within a book, chapters missing - I inhaled the first 200 pages. Its everything around it that ruined it.
In order to like this book, you need to 1. give into the conceit that the author used to justify the murder. 2. Not be able to sniff out the murderer in their first scene.
I, am not that person.
Spoiler
The conceit - that a publishing house would be ruined when everyone found out the author actually hated their character is not believable to me in any way? As noted in the book, Christie famously hated Poirot. Connan Doyle literally tried to kill his character when he tired of him. That - surprise - Conway actually hated Pund from the start is...okay? The idea that no one had discovered his little anagrams (that a bunch of people were named after tube stations, come on. Has this man been on the internet?). I just, don't actually get why this would ruin the book series, if anything it would cause a spike in the book series sales.
And the actual murderer of Conway, yawn. Reading through the chapter that person is introduced in, I literally thought to myself (well, that is either a bad red herring, or what that fuck am I reading this book for). The 'twist' at the end of the fake book within a book was also dumb.
The thing is, the beginning of this book is excellent, the book within a book, chapters missing - I inhaled the first 200 pages. Its everything around it that ruined it.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
4.5 stars. Horowitz has what feels like a very unique spin on the who done it that I really appreciate!
Fantastic! A whodunnit inside a whodunnit. What could be better?