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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
Thoroughly enjoyable meta mystery. I have already recommended Magpie Murders to several patrons and my family is probably sick of me talking about how awesome it is. Highly recommended for anyone who likes mysteries.
Enjoyed the Atticus Pünd mystery more than the Susan Ryeland one, especially when it came to their respective endings. But they were both still fun.
LOVED this book! Both mysteries were fantastic! Probably should've seen Alan's murderer coming but kept me guessing until the end. It's been awhile since I've been as excited and into a mystery as I was with this one and it was well worth it. Great characters and great stories. Highly recommend
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Although I had this book on my "to read" list since it was first published, I did not acquire a copy until after viewing Mr. Horowitz's entertaining TV adaptation, recently aired on PBS.
This clever murder mystery includes a wonderful book-within-a-book mystery featuring an engaging Golden Age-style detective named Atticus Pund. Herr Pund (as the English Detective Chubb calls him) makes me wish the previous 8 volumes of Pund's stories existed in real life. Sadly, they are a fabrication, although they play a role in the solution of the second mystery--the death of Pund's creator, author Alan Conway.
When Conway seemingly commits suicide by jumping from the tower of his country estate, his book editor, Susan Ryeland has just finished reading the manuscript of Conway's latest Pund mystery. Except, she hasn't finished it--the final chapter is missing, including the solution of the murder.
In the course of hunting for that missing chapter, Susan begins to suspect Conway was actually murdered, and finds herself embracing the role of detective--only to learn that solving a murder in real life is not nearly as orderly a process as in detective fiction. And as she pursues the clues that might be useful, she may be putting herself into the crosshairs of the murderer.
The book is every bit as entertaining as the screen adaptation, at least for me. I'm a fan of the Golden Age private detective, and Pund fits right in. I have to say elements of the screen adaptation made the story-telling device of a book-within-a-book even more fun. I'm now adding other Horowitz books to my reading list.
P.S. I love that Horowitz also wrote one my favorite British mystery series, "Foyle's War."
This clever murder mystery includes a wonderful book-within-a-book mystery featuring an engaging Golden Age-style detective named Atticus Pund. Herr Pund (as the English Detective Chubb calls him) makes me wish the previous 8 volumes of Pund's stories existed in real life. Sadly, they are a fabrication, although they play a role in the solution of the second mystery--the death of Pund's creator, author Alan Conway.
When Conway seemingly commits suicide by jumping from the tower of his country estate, his book editor, Susan Ryeland has just finished reading the manuscript of Conway's latest Pund mystery. Except, she hasn't finished it--the final chapter is missing, including the solution of the murder.
In the course of hunting for that missing chapter, Susan begins to suspect Conway was actually murdered, and finds herself embracing the role of detective--only to learn that solving a murder in real life is not nearly as orderly a process as in detective fiction. And as she pursues the clues that might be useful, she may be putting herself into the crosshairs of the murderer.
The book is every bit as entertaining as the screen adaptation, at least for me. I'm a fan of the Golden Age private detective, and Pund fits right in. I have to say elements of the screen adaptation made the story-telling device of a book-within-a-book even more fun. I'm now adding other Horowitz books to my reading list.
P.S. I love that Horowitz also wrote one my favorite British mystery series, "Foyle's War."
If you enjoy the story in a story format, plus a mystery in a mystery, and a bit of history, you will enjoy the many facets of this book as it shifts from one to the other.
An ode to Agatha Christie and writers of old school whodunnits and an mis en abyme at that. Whats not to love?
Smart, procedural driven, and the book within a book idea was clever. Parts of the story dragged for me, but otherwise very enjoyable.
A murder mystery within a murder mystery? So much fun!
An interesting story but it just drags on and on and on.