Magpie Murders

Three things landed this book on my list.

First, I love the ol’ book-within-a-book mystery trope, and this is probably the finest example I’ve encountered. Again, an editor reads her dead author’s book for clues, and I got to experience that in real-time with her. Second, the central clue around which the story revolves—the dead author’s note explaining why he ostensibly committed suicide—and its role in resolving the mystery was one of the most original formulations I can remember in recent years. It was nicely done. Finally, the story within the story hearkens back to the Golden Age of detective… show more.

I adored this love letter to classic crime fiction, which is a marvelously clever novel within a novel.

As a writer and former editor, I couldn’t help but cheer for Susan Ryeland, the beleaguered editor trying to manage her bestselling author (and all-around dislikable human being), Alan Conway.

If you love a twist like I do, this book has a doozy, which turns the first half of the book into a code that Susan (and readers) must break to solve the murder in the second half of the book. Ingenious.  

I reread books I love, including this one, which I feel is the best of the mysteries of Anthony Horowitz. This mystery-within-a-mystery is narrated by the editor of a now-deceased crime writer who is presently working on the manuscript of his final book as she actively solves his murder.

Not just a mystery, this is an inspection, perhaps even a parody of cozy English mysteries; engaging, humorous, effective, and deeply clever, this is a favorite novel because it gives us not only what we seek in mystery but what we seek in any good book.

I will read this one… show more.

Magpie Murders has a very clever structure that keeps the reader guessing throughout.

It’s a mystery within a mystery, with a brilliant twist. One part of the book introduces us to editor Susan Ryeland, who is editing the latest manuscript by famous mystery writer, Alan Conway. The second part is Conway's manuscript; a classic whodunit set in an English village. As Ryeland delves deeper into the manuscript, she realizes that the fictional mystery holds the key to solving a real murder.

I was in awe at how Horowitz cleverly intertwined the two converging plot lines, with clues hidden in plain… show more.

An overworked editor. An egotistical bestselling author. A murder. A missing last chapter.

It might sound like something you’ve read many times, and yet, Anthony Horowitz takes it all to a new level. As our beleaguered editor, Susan Reyland, goes on a hunt for that last chapter, she uses clues from the manuscript—which quickly become clues that might help solve a real murder.

The book-within-a-book structure causes the reader to continually jump between fiction and reality (which is also, let’s remember, fiction). It’s a high-wire act, and Anthony Horowitz pulls it off brilliantly.