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"A bottle of wine. A family-sized packet of Nacho Cheese Flavoured Tortilla Chips and a jar of hot salsa dip. A packet of cigarettes on the side (I know, I know). The rain hammering against the windows. And a book. What could have been lovelier?"

Ah, yes! Simply substitute your favorite beverage and snack of choice, perhaps a guilty pleasure, your preferred reading retreat, and you can immediately relate to the allure of an escape with one of your treasured books. I know simple words like that never fail to grab the attention of this bookworm. I immediately knew I would love this unique and very clever read by Anthony Horowitz!

This is really a brilliant mix of both a golden age whodunit with more of a contemporary crime mystery. It would appeal not only to mystery fans, but also to lovers of literary writing and book worshippers in general. A novel nested within another, Magpie Murders is a real page-turner; and I would be hard-pressed to say which thread I loved more �� that of private detective Atticus Pünd or of Susan Ryeland, editor at Cloverleaf Books. The way Horowitz manages to weave together the two threads is impressive really; just as you are pulled out of one narrative to jump into the other, you will be left gasping but just as thrilled to be caught up in the next.

The characters are very well-drawn and the two mysteries contain plenty of suspects to keep you guessing. I changed my mind constantly regarding the true culprit(s) �� everyone seemed to have the perfect motive for murder! I adored Atticus Pünd, despite the fact his creator seemed to harbor such contempt for him. He may remind you of other beloved literary detectives if you are familiar with the genre. A Holocaust survivor, Atticus has both a realistic as well as a somewhat guarded view of the world around him. "�� there was something about the pace of change that concerned him, the sudden onrush of machines in every shape and size. As televisions, typewriters, fridges and washing machines became more ubiquitous, as even the fields became crowded with electric pylons, he sometimes wondered if there might not be hidden costs for a humanity that had already been sorely tested in his lifetime. Nazism, after all, had been a machine in itself. He was in no rush to join the new technological age." Susan Ryeland is equally likable; she speaks to the reader in each of us with her love of books. "I had far too many books, of course. Every inch of shelf space was taken. There were books on top of books. The shelves themselves were bending under the weight." Who can’t relate to that problem?!

I’m not going to give you any further plot details; you absolutely have to read it for yourself in order to fully appreciate the ingenuity to be revealed once you crack open this book. This one is the whole package �� suspense, interesting characters, charming settings (both the historical as well as the more modern), wit, and heaps of literary references. Magpie Murders is a 5-star, thoroughly entertaining read. Highly recommended.

"I’m not sure it actually matters what we read. Our lives continue along the straight lines that have been set out for us. Fiction merely allows us a glimpse of the alternative. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we enjoy it."