I wouldn't say it’s a parody of detective fiction, as he’s too good a writer for that, but there are times when it feels like a greatest hits from the golden age of detective fiction. Sometimes I got confused with the overlap between the two stories, but in the end it worked out.Īnthony Horowitz is obviously superb at writing in this genre, and you can sense that he had a lot of fun with this story, much like Alan Conway does. I suspected everyone at some stage, and as usual I kept changing my mind. It adds another level to the story.Īll the classic red herrings are here. One of the ways it excels is that because Susan is a crime fiction editor, she knows all the tropes. It’s really a story within a story, and in lesser hands it would have been much too clever for it’s own good. Its a story inside a story as the world of fiction and reality become intertwined. As usual with book reviews for detective fiction, I’m going to be careful with the details I include. Magpie Murders is more than just a whodunnit. Like I say, for me I found it took a while to get going, and then suddenly you have the rug pulled completely out from under you feet.

On the recommendation of an RTE radio DJ (I know, I know) it disappeared into the black hole of my TBR pile, only recently rescued by my wheel of names.Īfter a slow start, this is classic detective fiction. I ordered ‘magpie murders’ by Anthony Horowitz in early 2020, back when the world was putting up the 'out for lunch' sign and we had suddenly gained a lot of leisure time. And Susan finds herself thrust into the role of detective. Secrets abound in a quaint English town, in a set up that will be familiar to fans of Agatha Christie and midsummer murders.īut there’s something different about ‘magpie murders’, and just before she, and we, are finishing it, something happens that puts it in a completely different light. A body is found at the foot of the stairs of a mansion. Alan Conway is a mystery author best known for his ‘Atticus Pünd’ detective series, and when his editor, Susan Ryeland, receives his latest instalment, she can’t wait to get stuck in.

Review magpie murders