Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by chrissie_whitley
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
4.0
"But I'm not sure it actually matters what we read. Our lives continue along the straight lines that have been set out for us. Fiction merely allows us a glimpse of the alternative. Maybe that's one of the reasons we enjoy it."
Magpie Murders is one of those titles that has chased me around for a while. Its persistence paid off, and we spent the weekend together. I barely even knew the premise going in, and was pleasantly surprised to discover as I listened, that the story has another story inside it.
Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small publishing house in England and settles in at the opener to read the latest submission from one of their biggest authors, Alan Conway, and his newest novel in the incredibly famous Atticus Pünd series. Pünd is a German detective, very much in the same vein (purposely so) as Hercule Poirot — Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective. From here, we are treated to almost the entire story as Pünd arrives in a small fictional village in England to solve a murder. Somehow Horowitz manages to make this feel both masterful and also organic to the outside story with Ryeland, instead of gimmicky or silly or even overdone. And yes, I said "almost the entire story." Just as you get settled in for the big reveal, Ryeland runs out of book.
"...and it suddenly occurred to me that murderers are the loneliest people on the planet. It's the curse of Cain—the fugitive and the vagabond driven out from the face of the earth."
Her own quest begins with these missing chapters — the last tiny bit of the book. From here Ryeland discovers that the author of the book within, Magpie Murders, has committed suicide. As Ryeland tries to find the lost ending, she is confronted with the very real conclusion that Alan Conway was actually murdered. Ryeland sets about to figure out potential clues and put on the hat of detective in order to solve the murder herself — and find those mislaid pages.
For me, this was one of those lovely mysteries, full of atmosphere and brilliant characters, where I was just happy to be along for the ride. Though I had mostly deduced both perpetrators early on, Horowitz's writing style and immersive story kept me glued his tale to the very end.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Samantha Bond|6915071|Samantha Bond|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517399541p2/6915071.jpg] and [a:Allan Corduner|551119|Allan Corduner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517301180p2/551119.jpg]: Two absolutely brilliant narrators performing two separate but linked stories — what more could you ask for? Bond and Corduner both have fantastic reading voices. I was particularly mesmerized with Corduner's Pünd novel within this larger story. Bond brought Susan Ryeland to life and completely added to the immersive quality of Horowitz's style. I would absolutely listen to anything these two do again — separately and, even more so, together.
Magpie Murders is one of those titles that has chased me around for a while. Its persistence paid off, and we spent the weekend together. I barely even knew the premise going in, and was pleasantly surprised to discover as I listened, that the story has another story inside it.
Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small publishing house in England and settles in at the opener to read the latest submission from one of their biggest authors, Alan Conway, and his newest novel in the incredibly famous Atticus Pünd series. Pünd is a German detective, very much in the same vein (purposely so) as Hercule Poirot — Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective. From here, we are treated to almost the entire story as Pünd arrives in a small fictional village in England to solve a murder. Somehow Horowitz manages to make this feel both masterful and also organic to the outside story with Ryeland, instead of gimmicky or silly or even overdone. And yes, I said "almost the entire story." Just as you get settled in for the big reveal, Ryeland runs out of book.
"...and it suddenly occurred to me that murderers are the loneliest people on the planet. It's the curse of Cain—the fugitive and the vagabond driven out from the face of the earth."
Her own quest begins with these missing chapters — the last tiny bit of the book. From here Ryeland discovers that the author of the book within, Magpie Murders, has committed suicide. As Ryeland tries to find the lost ending, she is confronted with the very real conclusion that Alan Conway was actually murdered. Ryeland sets about to figure out potential clues and put on the hat of detective in order to solve the murder herself — and find those mislaid pages.
For me, this was one of those lovely mysteries, full of atmosphere and brilliant characters, where I was just happy to be along for the ride. Though I had mostly deduced both perpetrators early on, Horowitz's writing style and immersive story kept me glued his tale to the very end.
Audiobook, as narrated by [a:Samantha Bond|6915071|Samantha Bond|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517399541p2/6915071.jpg] and [a:Allan Corduner|551119|Allan Corduner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517301180p2/551119.jpg]: Two absolutely brilliant narrators performing two separate but linked stories — what more could you ask for? Bond and Corduner both have fantastic reading voices. I was particularly mesmerized with Corduner's Pünd novel within this larger story. Bond brought Susan Ryeland to life and completely added to the immersive quality of Horowitz's style. I would absolutely listen to anything these two do again — separately and, even more so, together.