I read Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz when on holiday in Fowey in October and really enjoyed it. It’s two books in one – the murder mystery Magpie Murders: An Atticus Pund Mystery by Alan Conway, a manuscript just submitted to editor Susan Ryland, and the story of Susan Ryland’s investigation of the death of its author Alan Conway.

It’s a fascinating set-up to first read the manuscript only to get to the end to find it is missing its final chapter, and then to follow Susan as she tries to work out from clues in the manuscript what might have happened to Alan. The line-up of suspects she creates mirrors that of the one in Alan’s book and she is soon doubting those nearest and dearest to her as everyone seems to have a motive.

I really enjoyed how the two books come together and Susan has a big life decision to make and I’m looking forward to seeing how this series develops.