A charming 1950 English village Saxby-on-Avon is the setting of Anthony Horowitz’s whodunit “Magpie Murders.” It’s a little bit of Sherlock Holmes, a nod to Agatha Christie, and perhaps a tad of “Midsummer Murders” (the analogy mentioned in the book.) This story within a story has a book editor, Susan Ryeland, trying to solve an unexplained death of “Magpie Murders” author Alan Conway and to solve a mystery in his thriller – the last chapter is missing.
It took me a while to switch gears, so to speak, and move from one story to another. This was an interesting idea – the author mentioned in his talks that he doesn’t like to play safe – and this kind of narrative requires more attention from a reader but, in my opinion, is very rewarding. I enjoyed following Atticus Pünd’s investigation as well as Susan’s discoveries. Just as I got used to the plethora of characters in Saxby-on-Avon, the action was interrupted and moved to today’s London publishing house problems and Susan’s personal story. A new world unfolded but was still anchored in the old one.
So many thrillers are published now that readers might look for something different than a typical, well-written story. Unreliable narrators, the story within a story, and nonlinear narratives can all be valuable tools in bringing a fresh feeling to the old genre. Ultimately, it all comes to the author’s imagination, style, and the question: is the novel good? Anthony Horowitz’s new way of presenting mysteries is exciting. I became a fan.
MAGPIE MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz, published by Harper, 2017
Infinite Books 
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