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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I think that I enjoyed this more the first time I read it
Enjoyable. A bit disjointed as it’s a novel within a novel.
I did not like the ending... #iykyk
The puzzles inside the book were fun tho
The puzzles inside the book were fun tho
Two for the price of one...
Susan Ryeland, editor for Cloverleaf Books, settles down happily to read the new manuscript from their star author – Magpie Murders by Alan Conway. Susan may not like the author, but she loves his books, a series of Golden Age style mysteries starring Atticus Pund and his sidekick James Fraser. But she will find that on this occasion the mystery extends beyond the book, and murder might have leapt from the pages into real life...
This is a witty, clever take on the vintage mystery, with more than a nod to the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. It is in fact two books – the one involving Susan and “real” life, and the fictional book involving Atticus Pund and a gruesome murder in the village of Saxby-on-Avon. The format is weird and on the whole successful, and it's certainly highly original and entertaining. After a quick introduction to Susan, the reader settles down with her to read the fictional book, which is then given in its entirety up to just before the dénouement. I must say it's a fantastic take on a Christie murder – country house, lots of characters all with secrets and motives, a nicely unpleasant victim so we don't have to venture into grief territory, some great clues and red herrings, an intriguing detective in the German-born Pund, and a rather charming if intellectually challenged sidekick in James. Like Christie, it gets that perfect balance between dark and light, depth and entertainment. It left me even more baffled than before as to why the Christie estate hadn't got Horowitz to do the Poirot follow-ons – he'd have made a vastly better job of it than poor Sophie Hannah's rather dreadful attempt, [b:The Monogram Murders|19367226|The Monogram Murders|Sophie Hannah|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407106060s/19367226.jpg|27431535].
The real life mystery is just as good and the links between the two are ingenious – some easier to spot than others. I did spot the giveaway clue in this story as it happened and so worked out the murderer fairly early on, but I was baffled by the mystery in the fictional book. Again in the “real” story there are plenty of suspects, all with good motives to have done away with the victim. (Forgive the vagueness – the plotting in this one is so intricate, and half the fun is in seeing how it works, so I'm trying hard not to give any accidental spoilers.) There are alibis to work out, connections to be made and misdirection galore. Susan is a likeable protagonist, and her love of books means there are endless references to various mystery writers – a treat for any fan of vintage mystery stories, but not at all problematic for anyone who hasn't read widely in the genre. There are also lots of sly digs at the world of writing, publishing, book awards, etc., which add greatly to the fun. Both mysteries are fairplay, I'd say, and all the red herrings are explained in the end.
My hesitation about the format is a small one. I found that all the time I was reading the story within the story, I was conscious that another story was to come and that made me very aware that the fictional book was fictional. Normally, I can forget the fictional nature of a mystery and treat it as “real” but I found I was more distanced with this one, and I really wanted to know what was going to happen in the real section. Then, when eventually it flips to Susan's story, I really wanted to get back to find out what happened in the final chapters of the fictional one! I found I wasn't always totally absorbed in the bit I was reading for thinking about the other storyline. Of course, though this was the teensiest bit annoying, it also shows just how interesting both stories were.
However, when I reached the end and the two parts were each finished off beautifully satisfactorily, my minor discontent evaporated and I could wholeheartedly applaud the skill with which Horowitz had pulled the whole thing off. (Horowitz is one of very few authors who always seems to make me want to give him a standing ovation at the end for the sheer exuberance of his plotting. I imagine he must have had a whiteboard big enough to be seen from space to keep track of all the clues... ) Effectively it's two books for the price of one – two complete mysteries, linked but separate, with different solutions but each feeding into the other. Again, as with his take on the Holmes mysteries, Horowitz has shown how effectively he can play with these much-loved, established fictional worlds, always affectionately but always with an original twist that prevents them from being mere pastiche. Great stuff, that I'm sure will be enjoyed by any mystery fan. Bravo, Mr Horowitz... encore!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Orion.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Susan Ryeland, editor for Cloverleaf Books, settles down happily to read the new manuscript from their star author – Magpie Murders by Alan Conway. Susan may not like the author, but she loves his books, a series of Golden Age style mysteries starring Atticus Pund and his sidekick James Fraser. But she will find that on this occasion the mystery extends beyond the book, and murder might have leapt from the pages into real life...
This is a witty, clever take on the vintage mystery, with more than a nod to the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. It is in fact two books – the one involving Susan and “real” life, and the fictional book involving Atticus Pund and a gruesome murder in the village of Saxby-on-Avon. The format is weird and on the whole successful, and it's certainly highly original and entertaining. After a quick introduction to Susan, the reader settles down with her to read the fictional book, which is then given in its entirety up to just before the dénouement. I must say it's a fantastic take on a Christie murder – country house, lots of characters all with secrets and motives, a nicely unpleasant victim so we don't have to venture into grief territory, some great clues and red herrings, an intriguing detective in the German-born Pund, and a rather charming if intellectually challenged sidekick in James. Like Christie, it gets that perfect balance between dark and light, depth and entertainment. It left me even more baffled than before as to why the Christie estate hadn't got Horowitz to do the Poirot follow-ons – he'd have made a vastly better job of it than poor Sophie Hannah's rather dreadful attempt, [b:The Monogram Murders|19367226|The Monogram Murders|Sophie Hannah|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407106060s/19367226.jpg|27431535].
The real life mystery is just as good and the links between the two are ingenious – some easier to spot than others. I did spot the giveaway clue in this story as it happened and so worked out the murderer fairly early on, but I was baffled by the mystery in the fictional book. Again in the “real” story there are plenty of suspects, all with good motives to have done away with the victim. (Forgive the vagueness – the plotting in this one is so intricate, and half the fun is in seeing how it works, so I'm trying hard not to give any accidental spoilers.) There are alibis to work out, connections to be made and misdirection galore. Susan is a likeable protagonist, and her love of books means there are endless references to various mystery writers – a treat for any fan of vintage mystery stories, but not at all problematic for anyone who hasn't read widely in the genre. There are also lots of sly digs at the world of writing, publishing, book awards, etc., which add greatly to the fun. Both mysteries are fairplay, I'd say, and all the red herrings are explained in the end.
My hesitation about the format is a small one. I found that all the time I was reading the story within the story, I was conscious that another story was to come and that made me very aware that the fictional book was fictional. Normally, I can forget the fictional nature of a mystery and treat it as “real” but I found I was more distanced with this one, and I really wanted to know what was going to happen in the real section. Then, when eventually it flips to Susan's story, I really wanted to get back to find out what happened in the final chapters of the fictional one! I found I wasn't always totally absorbed in the bit I was reading for thinking about the other storyline. Of course, though this was the teensiest bit annoying, it also shows just how interesting both stories were.
However, when I reached the end and the two parts were each finished off beautifully satisfactorily, my minor discontent evaporated and I could wholeheartedly applaud the skill with which Horowitz had pulled the whole thing off. (Horowitz is one of very few authors who always seems to make me want to give him a standing ovation at the end for the sheer exuberance of his plotting. I imagine he must have had a whiteboard big enough to be seen from space to keep track of all the clues... ) Effectively it's two books for the price of one – two complete mysteries, linked but separate, with different solutions but each feeding into the other. Again, as with his take on the Holmes mysteries, Horowitz has shown how effectively he can play with these much-loved, established fictional worlds, always affectionately but always with an original twist that prevents them from being mere pastiche. Great stuff, that I'm sure will be enjoyed by any mystery fan. Bravo, Mr Horowitz... encore!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Orion.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Brilliant novel. This is my first "whodunit" and I loved it. The characters were very interesting and it was def a meta approach he took. It was extremely clever and had a lot of references to Agatha Christie. The first story captured the period well while aligning later with his second story. It is a solid read and I recommend.
A who done it within a who done it. Both stories were great!
This was a fun mystery and cleverly involves a murder within a murder. Susan Ryeland, an editor for Cloverleaf Books, is reading the manuscript of Alan Conway's latest crime fiction featuring Detective Atticus Pund who solves mysteries set in sleepy English villages. The reader is reading the story along with Ryeland as Atticus who is dying takes on his last case. A nosy busy-body, Mary Blakiston, is murdered, and the girlfriend of the primary suspect has asked him to help with the investigation. Then, Sir Magnus of Pye Hall, who is hated by many and planning a development that is unwanted by many, is found beheaded at Pye Hall. Atticus finds there are many secrets among the town folks, and, of course, there are lots of suspects. Right at the point when Atticus is about to reveal the murderer, the manuscript suddenly ends because the last chapters are missing. As Ryeland plans to talk with the author, it is discovered that he is dead of an apparent suicide. Ryeland is suspicious of his death and becomes an amateur detective to investigate his death only to learn of similarities between the book and Conway's life. She soon becomes convinced that Alan has been murdered and the clues that will lead to the murderer are in the missing chapters. This is a nice homage to the classic British mystery by authors like Agatha Christie. The well-written mystery within a mystery added a fun element, and both stories provide an engaging story line. This book was the number 1 pick by librarians for June's Library Reads. Fans of the classic British mysteries will love this one.
This took me a while to get into. It's metafiction, with a book within a book, and the interior book is only so-so. It took a vacation on my part to delve into it, and it took quite a while to begin to enjoy it.
this was just the cozy whodunnit that I needed to get me through this cold season. it reminded me how much I loved a classic mystery and I appreciated the little homage to christie as well.
I really enjoyed this one. Having recently watched Knives Out for the fifth or sixth time, I was certainly in the mood for a whodunnit. And, as the author wrote episodes or entire series of my favorite British murder mystery shows, this seemed like a good choice. I really enjoyed the book-within-a-book setup, which I felt took it well past a pastiche into its own thing. Well-written and kept me guessing, in both parts of the book, so I'd certainly call it successful. Recommended.