Magpie Murders – Anthony Horowitz’s Must-Read for Mystery Lovers
Last Updated on April 22, 2026
There are plenty of authors whose books I absolutely love and Anthony Horowitz is right up there among the best of them.
Having written over 40 books and created several popular television series, including Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders, his capacity to create incredible twists and turns within his stories never ceases to amaze me.
That extends to his 2016 novel Magpie Murders, which more than cemented his reputation as a master of the murder mystery genre.
With a unique twist on the classic whodunit, it is a cleverly constructed mystery that offers readers two intriguing puzzles for the price of one.
So what is it all about?
Magpie Murders Explained
The story revolves around Susan Ryeland, an editor at a small London publishing house, who receives the latest manuscript from her bestselling author, Alan Conway.
Conway’s novel, also titled Magpie Murders, features his popular detective, Atticus Pünd, who is solving a murder in a quaint English village.
This is where the explanation comes in…
The story begins with Susan getting the manuscript, and as she reads it, so do we – literally, it is a book within a book.
It is only at the end of the Atticus Pund story (as he is about to reveal the killer) that both Susan and us at home realize that the final chapters are missing.
The solution to the mystery is nowhere to be found, and before Susan can ask Alan Conway where the missing pages are, he dies.
Of course, this poses a bit of a dilemma because Ryeland can’t publish a book that has no ending. More importantly, WE want to know who the killer is!
So, the entire plot of Magpie Murders unfolds in two parallel narratives.
The first is Conway’s manuscript, which follows Atticus Pünd as he investigates the death of Mary Blakiston, the housekeeper at Pye Hall, in the fictional village of Saxby-on-Avon.
The second focuses on Susan Ryeland as she tries to uncover the truth behind Conway’s sudden death and the missing chapters of his manuscript.
It’s basically a two-for-one deal.
The Plots
In Conway’s novel, Atticus Pünd, a German-Greek detective reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, arrives in Saxby-on-Avon to investigate Mary Blakiston’s death.
The village is filled with colorful characters, each with their own secrets and motives.
As Pünd delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a web of lies, jealousy, and hidden connections that lead to a surprising conclusion.
Meanwhile, in the present-day narrative, Susan becomes convinced that Conway’s death is somehow linked to his unfinished manuscript.
As she investigates, she discovers that many of the characters and events in Conway’s novel are thinly veiled references to real people and situations in his life.
Susan’s search for the truth takes her to Conway’s village, where she encounters individuals who bear striking resemblances to the characters in the book.
Why Is The Book Unique?
What sets Magpie Murders apart from other mystery novels is its innovative structure and meta-fictional elements.
Horowitz skilfully weaves together two distinct mysteries, challenging us to solve not only the fictional crime in Conway’s novel but also the real-world mystery surrounding Conway’s death and the missing chapters.
This dual narrative approach keeps us engaged and guessing until the very end.
The book also offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of publishing, exploring the relationships between authors, editors, and readers.
Horowitz uses this backdrop to comment on the nature of mystery writing itself, playing with genre conventions and our expectations.
If you have the time – and I recommend this, although it would probably require a second reading – go back and look at all of the literary devices that Horowitz uses.
It’s utterly fascinating to find all of the anagrams, word puzzles, and hidden clues that you might miss on the first go.
It’s the kind of book that you have to pay attention to, but it definitely gets your brain going.
That Anagram
One of the best bits in the book is that Alan Conway was really, really specific that the title of the novel is ‘Magpie Murders’ and not ‘The Magpie Murders’.
The reason is that the titles of Alan Conway’s Atticus Pünd novels when arranged in order, have first letters that spell out AN ANAGRAM.
This anagram refers to the name of the detective, Atticus Pünd.
When unscrambled, it forms a highly offensive phrase: “A STUPID ****” – I’ll let you work out the rest for yourself.
This anagram was deliberately created by Alan Conway as part of his plan to destroy the legacy of his detective series, which he had grown to hate despite its success.
The revelation of this anagram was central to Conway’s scheme to taint his entire body of work and ensure that the books would never be read again.
A Huge Success for Horowitz
Upon its release, the novel received widespread critical acclaim. It was praised for its inventive structure, clever plotting, and engaging characters.
Horowitz’s attention to detail and his ability to create authentic characters shine throughout the novel.
The inhabitants of Saxby-on-Avon in Conway’s manuscript are vividly drawn, each with their own quirks and motivations.
Similarly, the characters in Susan’s world are well-developed and believable, from her ambitious boss to her Greek boyfriend, who wants her to leave London and run a hotel with him.
The pacing is masterful, with Horowitz expertly balancing the two narratives. Just as readers become engrossed in Atticus Pünd’s investigation, the story shifts back to Susan’s world, creating a sense of anticipation and keeping the pages turning.
This structure also allows Horowitz to play with readers’ expectations, as clues from one narrative often have unexpected significance in the other.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the novel is its homage to classic detective fiction.
The Atticus Pünd sections are a loving tribute to Golden Age mysteries, complete with red herrings, suspicious characters, and a detective who gathers everyone for the big reveal.
At the same time, Horowitz subverts these tropes in clever ways, creating a fresh and modern take on the genre.
For all those reasons, it quickly became a bestseller in the UK and was later published in the United States to similar success.
This popularity led to its adaptation into a six-part television series, which aired in 2022, further expanding its audience.
The Sequel
Horowitz then wrote a sequel, Moonflower Murders, which was published in 2020.
Again, this is two stories in one – Susan’s and the Atticus Pund mystery. That said, Susan ends up solving two crimes – so technically, there are three puzzles to be solved.
This time around Susan, now running a hotel in Crete with her partner Andreas, is approached by Lawrence and Pauline Treherne, owners of Branlow Hall hotel in England.
They offer her £10,000 to investigate their daughter Cecily’s disappearance.
Cecily vanished after claiming that a novel by the late author Alan Conway, Atticus Pünd Takes The Case, proved that the wrong person had been convicted of a murder at Branlow Hall eight years earlier.
Returning to England, Susan delves into both the original murder case in the hotel and Cecily’s disappearance.
Atticus Pünd’s investigation follows the murder of a Hollywood actress in a quaint English village.
It’s another cracker and, like its predecessor, was another massive hit. Which is probably why a third novel is on the way!
The Trilogy
The third book in the series is called Marble Hall Murders and is due for publication in March 2025.
Fans will be delighted to know that Susan Ryeland is back once again in England where she’s been persuaded to work on a third Atticus Pund novel.
The new ‘continuation’ novel is by Eliot Crace, who believes that his now deceased grandmother was poisoned.
When he tells Susan that he has hidden the identity of Miriam’s killer inside his book, Susan knows she’s in trouble once again…
Summary
So there you have a full breakdown of Magpie Murders, a book I highly recommend. I loved it, much as I also love the Hawthorne & Horowitz series – and pretty much everything else he has written, though I confess I’ve never read Alex Rider.
Interestingly, when I first read the book, I was blown away by the concept of a book within a book, as I had never come across that before.
Hat’s off to Horowitz for bringing something new and creative to the cozy mystery genre and I’m already looking forward to book number three.
