I’ve always enjoyed Anthony Horowitz’s writing. I dug his young spy novels, the Alex Rider series, and his foray into James Bond territory. But he is not a writer to be confined by genre, and when I came across Magpie Murders in one of the little libraries in a neighbor’s yard, I had to at least read the blurb!

Magpie Murders is a fantastic whodunnit that plays with tropes made popular by countless authors, but none more so than Agatha Christie. Horowitz delivers two books for the price as one, as the story centers on a book editor, Susan Ryeland who finds herself caught up in a mystery.

Alan Conway has delivered his ninth and final book to his publisher, who has given it to Susan to read and edit. There soon arises two problems, the final chapter, with the big reveal of who the murderer is, is missing. The other problem, Alan Conway is dead. Is it suicide? Is it murder?

Susan reads Conway’s final draft, Magpie Murders, and she and we are plunged into Agatha Christie territory. The novel’s detective Atticus Pund gives Poirot and Marple a run for their money, as he arrives in a small village to solve a dastardly murder that will reveal family secrets in a village where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has something to hide.

All the things you would expect from a Christie novel are there. As long as countless other authors, whom Horowitz references. But Susan’s own investigation into Conway’s death and the missing chapter isn’t so cut and dried. Can Susan figure out what is going on?

I really enjoyed this one (and was delighted to learn there are more books in the series). I had the murdered figured out in Conway’s story, though I hadn’t figured out all the details, but Susan stayed just one step ahead of me in the solving of Conway’s murder – she got to it just before I did, and I loved that.

Horowitz knows that the reason you read whodunnits is to test your own mettle alongside the detective’s. All the clues are there from the get-go, and if they are written right, they can be a wonderful ride. This one is definitely that.

It moves briskly, has all the trademarks of both the classic murder mystery and the modern one. In effect, it gives you the best of both worlds, showing with two stories how the genre has changed. It’s smart, entertaining, and I couldn’t put it down.

Vastly enjoyable, I plan to dig into the second novel, Moonflower Murders in short order.

If you’re looking for a splendid mystery novel that pays homage to the classics of yesteryear while also delivering a modern take, you need to read this book.