After solving the mystery in “Magpie Murders,” Susan Ryeland rode off into the sunset – she retired from the publishing business and moved to Greece with her boyfriend. Together they run a small hotel in Crete, but it’s not a smooth ride. Struggling with constant repairs, unreliable deliveries, and demanding guests, Susan misses her life in London. When a mysterious couple approaches her with an offer to help find their missing daughter, who disappeared on her wedding day, she doesn’t hesitate.
This is another story within a story novel, the style which Anthony Horowitz so successfully used in the first book of this series. The daughter, Cecily, discovered who was the murderer in the old case while reading a thriller written by Susan’s late writer client, Alan Conway but didn’t get a chance to share her discovery. “She actually found it on the first page.”
We are treated to two novels: one is a modern Susan Ryeland story when she tries to solve the puzzle, and the other is a classical detective story, with Atticus Pünd taking the case of a famous actress’s murder. Both detectives use traditional methods of talking with many people and gathering information to finally have a big reveal. This is always my favorite part of any mystery – and I might be old-fashioned – the room full of suspects and the detective explaining in a long monologue what had happened.
There are many characters, doubled by the two novels’ form, and some readers might find it overwhelming, but for me, it just added to the richness of both stories. It was a delightful read, just like returning to the old place, with familiar faces of your acquaintances who want to tell you about their latest exploits. I was glad to learn that Anthony Horowitz is planning the third Susan Ryeland book – and I can’t wait.
MOONFLOWER MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz, Harper, 2020
Infinite Books 
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