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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
If you like murder mysteries, you'll definitely want to check out this novel. It's two murder mysteries for the price of one! Both solutions are incredibly clever, full of delightful red herrings, fiendish wordplay, and lots of descriptions of the English countryside. 4.5 stars.
Structured as a book within a book, this literary masterpiece is a tale of intertwining stories, multi-dimensional compelling characters as a magnifique homage to the crime writers of the golden age : Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Alan Conway is a bestselling crime writer of Cloverleaf Books and his creation Atticus Pond, is known to be a com-patriot of the mighty Hercule Poirot. When his new manuscript of Atticus Pond's next, "The Magpie Murders" reaches his editor Susan Ryeland, she immediately dives into it and is pulled into the story. The story like his previous works of the author is set on disturbing sleepy English village Saxby, Avon where he stumbles upon multiple deaths and generation old secrets.
Nevertheless, as narratives unfold, the manuscript culminates in a cliffhanger, wherein Susan discovers the absence of the final few pages that divulge the identity of the perpetrator. Compounding this impediment, a catastrophic event transpires, compelling the editor of Cloverleaf Books to rely on her acumen and resourcefulness in order to give the book its ending.
This was a thoroughly engaging literary work, replete with hidden references and clues, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next installment in the Susan Ryeland Series. For those with a penchant for captivating mysteries, this book may be a compelling choice, provided the length does not prove daunting.
Alan Conway is a bestselling crime writer of Cloverleaf Books and his creation Atticus Pond, is known to be a com-patriot of the mighty Hercule Poirot. When his new manuscript of Atticus Pond's next, "The Magpie Murders" reaches his editor Susan Ryeland, she immediately dives into it and is pulled into the story. The story like his previous works of the author is set on disturbing sleepy English village Saxby, Avon where he stumbles upon multiple deaths and generation old secrets.
Nevertheless, as narratives unfold, the manuscript culminates in a cliffhanger, wherein Susan discovers the absence of the final few pages that divulge the identity of the perpetrator. Compounding this impediment, a catastrophic event transpires, compelling the editor of Cloverleaf Books to rely on her acumen and resourcefulness in order to give the book its ending.
This was a thoroughly engaging literary work, replete with hidden references and clues, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next installment in the Susan Ryeland Series. For those with a penchant for captivating mysteries, this book may be a compelling choice, provided the length does not prove daunting.
3/5. Slow, but with a unique structure which I can appreciate.
It’s a book within a book. I only really liked one of the two books, and it’s the exact opposite of the opinion of most other reviews I’ve been reading…
Book 1 (the Outer shell): book editor Susan Ryeland gets the manuscript for the next novel from an author she works with, the final book in the Atticus Pünd mystery saga. She reads the manuscript and it unveils another real-life mystery that she sets out to solve.
Book 2 (the Inner): the actual manuscript itself. We read it all, all 250-ish pages of it, as its own 1950’s, Agatha Christie-inspired mystery story.
I didn’t like the Inner, the Pünd story. It was boring. The writing style was drawn out and the descriptions of the landscape and the characters were bland and lacking charm. Like it was described in black-and-white. It felt forced, laborious, buttoned-up. Plus, I wasn’t drawn into the mystery at all.
I did, however, enjoy the modern story, the Outer. I liked Ryeland as a main character, and found her investigation to be much more thrilling. I was actually invested in her uncovering the truth, but still, her story went on too long. I really liked her tone, her self-awareness as a bad investigator, so I could put up with it.
It’s a book within a book. I only really liked one of the two books, and it’s the exact opposite of the opinion of most other reviews I’ve been reading…
Book 1 (the Outer shell): book editor Susan Ryeland gets the manuscript for the next novel from an author she works with, the final book in the Atticus Pünd mystery saga. She reads the manuscript and it unveils another real-life mystery that she sets out to solve.
Book 2 (the Inner): the actual manuscript itself. We read it all, all 250-ish pages of it, as its own 1950’s, Agatha Christie-inspired mystery story.
I didn’t like the Inner, the Pünd story. It was boring. The writing style was drawn out and the descriptions of the landscape and the characters were bland and lacking charm. Like it was described in black-and-white. It felt forced, laborious, buttoned-up. Plus, I wasn’t drawn into the mystery at all.
I did, however, enjoy the modern story, the Outer. I liked Ryeland as a main character, and found her investigation to be much more thrilling. I was actually invested in her uncovering the truth, but still, her story went on too long. I really liked her tone, her self-awareness as a bad investigator, so I could put up with it.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I forgot how much I used to enjoy mysteries!
The book within a book concept was equally enjoyable.
The book within a book concept was equally enjoyable.
Let's see...I really wanted to like this book. I mean, I really, really, really wanted to like it. Real life imitating a golden-age detective novel. An editor (a profession close to my heart) solving the crime.
But I didn't even finish it.
Don't get me wrong - I read the first 265 pages and the last thirty - skipping about sixty or seventy in my addition. But I just didn't care about the process - I wanted to know who did it, but the how-you-get-there drug on and on and on and on ...well, you get the idea.
So what did I like: Atticus Pünd. I loved the way references to his earlier cases were thrown into the inner novel and the outer frame (to dig up a phrase from English class). I like the 5os setting, post WWII concentration-camp survivor - that's such an interesting premise. Like the author paid a lot of homage to the Golden Age of Mystery, but gave it his own twist. I came away from this novel wanting to read the rest of the Pünd novels. Still, there were points and details that drug on and it didn't keep my attention.
I'm not sure why exactly I couldn't get into the other part of the story. Susan was kind of whiney (and I don't think particularly well-written. It felt like a man trying to write a woman and not doing it well). She's a bit dense at time and over dramatic. The surprise proposal at the end and the Greek island didn't sit well with me. It felt a little bit too perfectly imperfect.
In summary, points for originality and homage to the great mystery writers. Take away points for Susan and the external plot (I mean the reason was good enough, but not very unusual). The pace of the story wasn't great- the second part of the novel was in turn bogged down with details and rushed. I wouldn't recommend.
But I didn't even finish it.
Don't get me wrong - I read the first 265 pages and the last thirty - skipping about sixty or seventy in my addition. But I just didn't care about the process - I wanted to know who did it, but the how-you-get-there drug on and on and on and on ...well, you get the idea.
So what did I like: Atticus Pünd. I loved the way references to his earlier cases were thrown into the inner novel and the outer frame (to dig up a phrase from English class). I like the 5os setting, post WWII concentration-camp survivor - that's such an interesting premise. Like the author paid a lot of homage to the Golden Age of Mystery, but gave it his own twist. I came away from this novel wanting to read the rest of the Pünd novels. Still, there were points and details that drug on and it didn't keep my attention.
I'm not sure why exactly I couldn't get into the other part of the story. Susan was kind of whiney (and I don't think particularly well-written. It felt like a man trying to write a woman and not doing it well). She's a bit dense at time and over dramatic. The surprise proposal at the end and the Greek island didn't sit well with me. It felt a little bit too perfectly imperfect.
In summary, points for originality and homage to the great mystery writers. Take away points for Susan and the external plot (I mean the reason was good enough, but not very unusual). The pace of the story wasn't great- the second part of the novel was in turn bogged down with details and rushed. I wouldn't recommend.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A clever mystery, with the manuscript of another clever mystery at the heart of it. I enjoyed both stories.
It's been a long time since I read a lot of murder mysteries but this one came highly recommend (by NPR?).
I didn't figure out the murder(ers) and why, but I did have a good guess. Like many in this genre, not all the clues were given out soon enough for the reader to solve the case. But I did enjoy it and might read some of Horowitz's other stuff.
I didn't figure out the murder(ers) and why, but I did have a good guess. Like many in this genre, not all the clues were given out soon enough for the reader to solve the case. But I did enjoy it and might read some of Horowitz's other stuff.
Maybe I will give it another try later, but I don't care much for mysteries set in 1955.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes