Magpie Murders
Don’t miss Magpie Murders on PBS's MASTERPIECE Mystery!
"A double puzzle for puzzle fans, who don’t often get the classicism they want from contemporary thrillers." —Janet Maslin, The New York Times
New York Times Bestseller | Winner of the Macavity Award for Best Novel | NPR Best Book of the Year | Washington Post Best Book of the Year | Esquire Best Book of the Year
From the New York Times bestselling author of Moriarty and Trigger Mortis, this fiendishly brilliant, riveting thriller weaves a classic whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie into a chilling, ingeniously original modern-day mystery.
When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.
Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.
Masterful, clever, and relentlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction in which the reader becomes the detective.
Reviews
This may be the best book I have read over the past several years. Especially since when I got to the half way point and the trajectory changed, I almost put it down or more likely wouldn’t look forward to reading it each night. That lasted for one chapter. Then the level of storytelling resumed and turned to daytime as well as nighttime reading.
By Qslqthqsy
It’s a bit long winded but it flows. Overall, a very good read.
By Becmgs
Intricate and very entertaining. Can’t wait to read more by this author.
By carocross
A disappointing book trying to mimic the great English detective novel, but doesn’t come within ten miles of any. I wanted to read this book for a while after seeing it on many shelves and finding out the author worked on the Midsommer Murders tv show. I can say unequivocally that it was the worst book I’ve ever read, not just in the mystery genre. The plot falls flat. Whatever the author was trying to do by changing the story half through the book did not have the intended effect. The characters are uncharismatic, stupid and without motivation for anything that they do. Labeling this book a mystery is falsification because there’s none at all. Even as a standalone, uncompared to Agatha Christies work - which I believe was the intention, it fails to keep the reader interested. I would believe it if someone told me this book was a patchwork created by 8th grade kids in English class. I would urge any reader to steer clear because I don’t want anyone to waste precious time reading this.
By Adynonymous
If you like a the old-school Agatha Christie-style murder you’ll really geek out.
By Kmillerca