From the New York Times best-selling 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 best-selling 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 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 listener becomes the detective.
This is a novel to be relished and read more than once to fully appreciate the accomplishment! What Anthony Horowitz has achieved with this brilliantly conceived novel is nothing short of amazing!
Magpie Murders I love Agatha Christie and turning down a similar mystery was beyond me. There are actually two mysteries here. There is the mystery written by the author Alan Conwayâwhich is very close to Christieâs style. The second mystery is a âreal lifeâ mystery investigated by editor, Susan Ryeland. I think itâs an interesting and creative idea.
Uneven tribute to cozy murder mysteries The heart of “Magpie Murders” is a full-length pastiche of Agatha Christie’s Poirot mysteries. Within that novelette, private detective Atticus Pund and his dimwitted assistant James Taylor are called to a cozy English village in the mid 1950 so investigate a series of crimes connected to the venerable Pye estate. The word “cozy” is apt, because both Dame Christie’s fans and detractors frequently use that word in connection to the style of murder mystery that her heroes and…