Reviews

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

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kaebirdie's review against another edition

3.0

While I loved the premise, and the story-within-a-story was fairly excellent, I hated the ending of this and thought it had a lot more potential than came out. I felt a little like the author just tossed it away without any logical steps from the character he'd built, and I was left feeling very flat.

Edited to add: reread this book and although the audiobook was excellent, the ending still baffles me. Does Susan learn literally nothing from whodunits and mysteries that she herself edits?! Why on earth she sits there, confronting the murderer and walking thru all the steps and then expecting him to turn himself in, I just...what. The stupidity is beyond, and Susan didn't strike me as a stupid character, so I just really hate the ending of this still. I was hoping there was something I'd missed the first time but nope. Horowitz could have done better by her than having her make the most bush league of mistakes (laying it all out then saying she told no one else), having her get bashed on the head, AND THEN having a man save her. I'm glad at least the book ends with the missing chapters instead of that debacle.

pipsy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

stineym's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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? It's complicated

3.0

bailey_love_mcgill's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really enjoyed this book! Great beach read, I thought it was similar to Agatha Christie books and even the silent patient, great pacing that kept you interested without being overly suspenseful with plenty of characters and small details!

i loved the details of the rhyme with the birds and how it ended up being a mystery, within the mystery. Definitely was not expecting the publisher to try to kill the editor! And the last line about being the detective, then being the one to have pushed him over the edge, “I think I liked it more” WOW!! Great ending.

sofia1535's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

izzatiidrus's review against another edition

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challenging 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

4.5

4.5 stars

My sister had been trying to get me to read this for years and I kept refusing to pick it up simply because I didn't want to give her the satisfaction ;) However, she managed to persuade our mutual friend to pick it up and the friend suggested that we buddy read, so we did. But I think I'm glad that I only read it now because I just finished reading all of Agatha Christie's mystery novels (as well as all of Sherlock Holmes some years back) so any references to them made it all even more relatable and satisfying!

I was very impressed with the book and totally understand the hype around it. An unfinished murder mystery novel within yet another murder mystery? You mean to double my reading satisfaction? Hell yes! When it comes to mystery novels, I mostly look at 3 things: the red herrings, the reveals and the character building. I thought Horowitz did very well in all, although I did feel slightly disappointed in the reveals because they were too predictable for me. I was hoping for something more shocking and dramatic, I suppose. But that's just me.

I strongly recommend you to read the book, even if you're not normally a mystery reader. This one I think appeals to a wider audience than just mystery readers. But if you love mystery, puzzles, and mystery novels and novelists, this is THE book for you! Horowitz made so many nods to Agatha Christie that it was hard for me not to think of a bobble-head number #1 fanboy. He also mentioned a lot of other well-known mystery authors, books and famous mystery stories. The amount of times I smiled that one-sided smile of satisfaction while reading was creepy that I'd like to think nobody saw me reading the book...