"Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz

"Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz has been on my "want to read" list for some time now. It moved to the top of the TBR pile when I heard that a multi-part television adaptation was coming to PBS this month, and I started reading it on the flight home from visiting my parents, one week ago. I didn't finish the book before the series launched that evening (I only covered about 20% during the flight -- and I like to read before I watch, if at all possible), but that was okay.  The TV show is airing at the same time as Stanley Tucci's "Searching for Italy" on CNN, AND "Bob's Burgers" on Fox  -- both Sunday night viewing favourites of ours -- as well as occasional Pittsburgh Steelers games -- a priority for dh...!  Luckily, my PVR can record up to four programs at once...!  ;)  

Anyway -- this was the first Horowitz book I've read, but it won't be the last.  (He's written a sequel, "Moonflower Murders" -- which just moved up in my "want to read" pile -- as well as other mysteries that look like good reads.)  

As the story opens, an unnamed book editor, writing/narrating in the first person (we later learn her name is Susan Ryeland), receives and starts reading a new manuscript that's about to change her life. It's written by her publishing house's star author, Alan Conway -- the latest installment in his bestselling murder mystery series, set in post-WWII Britain and featuring Atticus Pund, a German detective and concentration camp survivor, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. 

At this point, the story shifts -- and we get to read Conway's manuscript along with Susan. But she -- and we -- are irritated to find the final chapter(s) of the book, revealing the identity of the murderer and the motive -- is missing. And then, almost immediately, comes some startling news:  Conway is dead.  As Susan investigates what might have happened to the missing chapter(s), she comes to believe there's something suspicious about Conway's tragic death... and the more she investigates, the more fact and fiction begin to intertwine... 

In many ways, this is a very traditional British murder mystery, as well as a celebration of the genre. (Also an analysis and a critique of it.)(I will admit to being a fan -- I read tons of Agatha Christie when I was growing up!) But the "gimmick" of the dual/intertwined murder mysteries makes this one unique -- and it's very well executed. Great writing, and great characters. It's lots of fun, and I enjoyed it tremendously. As someone who is childless not by choice, I also appreciated that Susan is in her late 40s, unmarried and childless (and that she includes a couple of brief reflections on that status in this book, particularly in contrast to her sister, whose name is -- wait for it -- Katie).  ;)  

5 stars on Goodreads. 

I'll report on what I think of the PBS series, once I watch it. 

This was Book #40 read to date in 2022 (and Book #2 finished in October), bringing me to 89% of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 4 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2022 tagged as "2022 books."