Magpie Murders: A Novel Hardcover – Deckle Edge, June 6, 2017

The art of metrication has always fascinated me as a reader and this novel did not disappoint. I was immediately drawn in once the story moved into Alan Conway’s Magpie Murders, a classic English whodunnit! The absolutely brilliant way this novel is written and all the literary tropes that come to play is truly remarkable because there’s two whodunnits and it’s like a double feature movie night.

This is good writing with interesting believable characters, Brit manners, language, and locations. But the story is l-o-n-g, complex and is actually TWO stories. The analysis of writing and editing is interesting. I enjoyed it, and I learned.

The dust jacket was dirty when it arrived. The back had black marks all over it and something that might’ve been mold. The book seems to be in decent condition otherwise though. The rough cut pages were also a surprise.

In all my readings of "Who Done Its", I've never encountered a story constructed like this. All I can say is give it a. You will not be disappointed.

Very fun and interesting premise to enter twine the narrator with the main character, one fictional story with another. I found myself a little bored of the details, they were so lengthy and mundane at times. But a fun, smart book nonetheless!

Definitely a top contender for my favourite read of this year – a book that’s truly something special, original and memorable. I predicted early on that it was going to be a 5-star read for me, even if there’s always that small niggling doubt you have that it’s going to veer off the rails and end on a disappointing note. Thankfully, this wasn’t that book, and both the mystery set in the present, as well as the actual plot of the Atticus Pũnd whodunit, were clever, interesting, and more than exceeded my expectations. And I didn’t guess either mystery – a major bonus!As outlined in the book summary, this book contains a novel within a novel. You’d think this would be confusing, but don’t worry it’s not, and anyone (particularly those who’ve read a lot of mysteries), will be able to follow the plot/s no problem.The first chapter introduces us to the protagonist, editor, Susan Ryeland, looking back on the day she eagerly sat down to read the first draft of the latest Alan Conway mystery novel, ‘Magpie Murders’. She goes on to explain that ‘Magpie Murders’ marks the ninth book in his Atticus Pũnd detective series, and that she is a long time fan of his work. She then rounds off the chapter by stating that ‘Magpie Murders’ ruined her life, and how she wishes she had never read it. She wraps up with an ominous message that we have been warned...We then launch straight into the ‘Magpie Murders’ manuscript, and I found it really cool how it’s set out like an actual book. There’s a cover page (not illustrated of course since this is the first draft), an ‘About the Author’ section, a title list of Conway’s eight previous books, and even a ‘Praise for the Author’ blurb. It really tickled my fancy that author’s Robert Harris and Ian Rankin endorsed both Atticus Pũnd and Alan Conway – too cute! It even states that Atticus Pũnd is soon to be a major BBC1 Television series.The plot begins on the day of a funeral. Mary Blakiston, housekeeper of Pye Hall (the most prominent house in town) has recently died, the apparent victim of an unfortunate household accident, a fall down the stairs. We quickly learn that Mary is not well liked in the village – that she is a busybody who relishes sticking her nose in everyone’s business and ferreting out their secrets. Naturally, as a result of this, she has a lot of enemies. Atticus Pũnd, when he is introduced, is pretty much a carbon copy of Poirot, he’s even foreign. But don’t be put off, there are reasons for this that will be explained. Funnily enough, this is the second novel I have read this month (The Death of Mrs. Westaway) that not only features Magpies, but uses the rhyme ‘One For Sorrow’ etc. I felt it was used more effectively here, but Ruth Ware still does a good job of it.To further distinguish it from the present day storyline, Conway’s novel is set in 1955, and is written in the more formal style of an Agatha Christie novel, with multiple third person POV’s. Whereas the present text, is narrated by Susan Ryeland in the first person, and has a lighter, more modern feel. There are some hilarious moments when Susan, attempting to play detective, and decipher clues, comes up with some really half baked ideas. She’s no Atticus Pũnd that’s for sure!I recommend this over all other books I’ve read this year. I would’ve been more than happy if it was just an Atticus Pũnd novel written by Horowitz, but to have a second mystery as well, and relating it to the first in all the ways that it did just blew me away. I’m so tempted to move straight on to ‘The Word is Murder’ but think I should save it, knowing I have it still to read...

As mentioned in the blurb of this book, it is a murder mystery within a murder mystery (I will call them book 1 and 2)I really enjoyed book 1 and I think the writing is tight, with an unexpected ending. I wholeheartedly agree with the comment “a great homage to the golden age of murder mysteries”.Book 2 is meh. The main character is an editor, so the writing and “investigation” become much less bland and tight, which kind of make sense but I enjoy this part much less.Reading the reviews, I realised that many people shared the thought that they like the first part of the story much more than the second. Some even suggest that the second part can be entirely skipped.I was tempted to agree but then I might not even come across this book if it is not introduced as a complicated “story within a story” and a brilliant double mystery, considering that I haven’t even finish all of Agatha/Conan Doyle books. It is a great marketing tactic and it stands out from the sea of modern mystery books.I enjoyed the book but have to deduct a star for book 2 that I feel drag on for too long.