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| Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz |
Rating: 3 stars (🌟🌟🌟)
Publisher: Harper
Well, I don't really know what to say. I liked parts of this but I have to admit to being overall non-plussed. I gave it three stars but mostly because I can't bring myself to give in two.
The book within a book idea was initially intriguing and I initially enjoyed it but it got to feel overlong and I lost a bit of interest. It took me ten days to get through it and I read another book at that time. When the discovery is made that the end of the novel is missing and the reader is thrust back into the world with Susan to take on a real murder mystery, I was again excited. But that thrill eventually fizzled for me. I take no joy in saying this. I love cozy mysteries and mysteries in general (I'm a Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War fangirl, so know I very much enjoy Horowitz's storytelling). This is something that should be right up my lane but it just didn't capture and captivate me in all.
I would read the next in the series (and I already own it) but I think I'll give it a bit. Now, I'm off to find some science fiction to get into.
Neutral on recommend.
Summary: 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.
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