Magpie Murders is an examination
into the whole world of whodunits. It delves into the relationship
between the detective, the reader and the writer and it asks us what is in
these books which entertains us so. It pays homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction,
the works of writers such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The book
employs the technique of novel within a novel so that you enjoy two mysteries
for the price of one.
Susan Ryeland is the Head of
Fiction at Cloverleaf Books. When the book opens we find her on a wet August
evening settling to read the manuscript of ‘Magpie Murders’, the number nine
novel of the much loved Atticus Pünd series by the author Alan Conway. The
central character Atticus Pünd is a German refugee who has survived the
Holocaust. He invariably reminds us of Agatha Christie’s famous detective
Hercule Poirot. Atticus has terminal
cancer and has only about three months to live.
The first part of the novel is set
in the 1950s picturesque English village called Saxby-on-Avon where we find
Atticus Pünd investigating what appears to be two murders. Mary Blakiston, the
housekeeper of Pye Hall and Sir Magnus Pye, the owner of Pye Hall who has been
beheaded. We have a whole range of suspects ranging from the Vicar to the spinster
sister of Sir Magnus. Atticus diligently investigates the deaths and is about
to announce the murderer when Susan Ryeland finds that the final chapters of the novel are missing.
Susan is shocked to find that the
author of the book Alan Conway has committed suicide as he was suffering from
terminal illness. She starts investigating the death of Alan Conway and finds
that all is not what it appears to be. She finds out that all the characters of
the novel ‘Magpie Murders’ are taken from the real life people whom Alan knew.
So, the fiction and the real life become intertwined and the solution to the
book is in the real world or vice versa.
The novel is a double delight
for the fans of crime fiction. On the one hand the author provides us with the
flavours of classical mysteries of the Golden Age. The writing style & the
characters reminds us of Agatha Christie. The silent sleepy English village of
Saxby-on-Avon is evocative of the village in Miss Marple’s books with all the
undercurrents of passions, greed & jealousy. On the other hand the author whets our appetite for a modern
day mystery with the investigation of Susan Ryeland into Alan Conway’s death.
The skill with which the author has woven these two distinct threads together
is commendable.
Magpie Murders provides us with
an insight into the world of whodunits, the process of its conception and creation.
The following words from Susan Ryeland sums it all up:
“Whodunnits
are all about truth: nothing more, nothing less…… The stories mimic our
experience in the world. We are surrounded by tensions and ambiguities, which
we spend half our life trying to resolve, and we’ll probably be on our own
deathbed when we reach that moment when everything makes sense. Just about
every whodunnit provides that pleasure. It is the reason for their existence.”
 |
| Anthony Horowitz |
Magpie Murders is a fast paced novel which keeps the reader on their
toes. Though the novel slows down a bit in the second half, but still the
writer keeps up the pace and it ultimately races towards an unexpected and
thrilling end. A must read for every lover of crime fiction.
