A review by gautamgopalk
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

challenging lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Anthony Horowitz has presented a murder mystery in an interesting new way in this 2016 novel, Magpie Murders, in the form of a story within a story. While the storytelling is ingenious, the writing seems somewhat tedious towards the end and the novel feels a tad too long. The story is very meta in the sense that it is about the writing of a murder mystery presented as part of a murder mystery. Due to the novelty in the style of presentation, this book lacks a bit of the thrill that a reader gets when reading a murder mystery. Certain parts of the book are annoying to get through. The descriptions of the characters and their actions feel robotic and emotionless for a major chunk of the book, which may have been deliberate to add to the meta nature of the book, and it ultimately gets wearisome.