Naturally, my choice was... none of the above, lol. But I did have an obligation/deadline of sorts (albeit entirely self-imposed). The first episode of the TV version of Anthony Horowitz's mystery novel "Moonflower Murders" -- a sequel to "Magpie Murders," which I thoroughly enjoyed (and reviewed here) -- was beginning on PBS on Sept. 15th, and I wanted to have the book read by then.
Our heroine -- 40-something, childless Susan Ryeland -- has relocated to the island of Crete, where she and her sexy Greek boyfriend, Andreas, are running a small hotel together. The scenery is idyllic, but the challenges of running a business in a very different culture are definitely not. The inn is desperately in need of repairs, money is tight -- and Susan misses London and her former career as a book editor (which came to an abrupt end at the conclusion of "Magpie Murders").
Then a British couple, the Trehernes -- hotel owners themselves -- arrive with a strange story -- and a lucrative offer for Susan. A guest at their hotel, Frank Parris, was murdered on the same day as the wedding of their daughter, Cecily. One of Susan's former clients, a mystery writer named Alan Conway, knew Parris, and wound up using the murder as inspiration for one of his novels, "Atticus Pund Takes the Case," with several of the characters thinly disguised versions of the real-life people he met at the hotel. After reading the book, Cecily called her father to say she believed it proved the innocence of the man convicted of Parris's murder.
And then Cecily disappeared.
(Mild spoiler alert:) Alan Conway died in the previous book ("Magpie Murders") -- and Susan knew him and his books better than anyone else. Can she use her knowledge of the book to solve the mystery of who really killed Frank Parris -- and find out what happened to Cecily?
First, of course, she'll have to re-read Conway's book, to see if she can spot the same critical clue that Cecily did. Like "Magpie Murders," there's a book-within-the-book embedded in the pages of "Moonflower Murders" (two for the price of one, if you will!) -- the complete text of "Atticus Pund takes the Case," a classic "golden age" detective novel, a la Agatha Christie.
I figured out one of the several whodunnits this book contains -- but there were some surprises, too. :)
I loved "Magpie Murders," and I loved this book too. Very cleverly executed and written -- and a whole lot of fun! :)
4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 stars on Goodreads.
*** *** ***
I didn't finish the book in time for episode 1 of "Moonflower Murders" on PBS last week, but I had read enough of it by then that there weren't any real spoilers. Episode 2 (of 6) airs tonight! I am enjoying the show as well as the book. Once again, Susan -- the wonderful Lesley Manville -- finds herself chatting with the fictional Atticus Pund (Tim McMullen) and taking advice from him as she tries to solve her own case. Once again, some of the actors play dual roles, showing up in Pund's story as well as Susan's, adding to the fun.
Apparently there's a third Susan Ryeland book in the works -- "Marble Hall Murders," coming out in March -- and I'll look forward to reading that one too!
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