The BBC has acquired Anthony Horowitz's critically acclaimed mystery series Magpie Murders, and will air its follow up, the forthcoming Moonflower Murders, which will be made by Eleventh Hour Films in association with Salt Films for PBS MASTERPIECE and the BBC. When I started this book I was thinking it was an easy 5, and I continued to view this as a 5 rating book until it finally got to the big reveal where we eventually learned the murder's name. Of course, as in all classic murder mysteries, before we learn who done it, we have to review all the suspects and learn who didn't do it. For me, it felt like that process went on and on, and I began to suspect there was an infinite number of suspects.

The first mystery, that of the Treherne's daughter's disappearance is set in the present time. The second murder mystery, contained in Alan Conway's novel Atticus Takes the Case is set in the 1950s, before the advent of the internet and the mobile phone. Conway was of the opinion that the internet was the worst thing ever to happen to detective fiction, which is why he set his own works in the fifties. He believed that it was hard to make your detective look clever when all the information in the world is instantly available to anyone who cares to look for it.I enjoy Horowitz’s writing - and I loved Magpie Murders - I enjoyed the Pünd novel in that book a lot more - I’m not sure if it’s because it felt more relevant to the plot, or because at that point, I’d never read anything from The Golden Age Of Crime so the writing felt better than it actually was. Horowitz's writing style is simple and straightforward, the sort of writing you mostly don't notice. If you like flowery prose full of meandering descriptions, you probably won't like his books – but personally, I love a story that just gets on with things. Investigation at the home of Sir Magnus reveals a burnt scrap of paper in the fireplace, a typewritten threatening letter with a handwritten envelope, and a paper in Sir Magnus’ handwriting saying “Ashton H /Mw / A Girl”, likely a telephone message. This book was entertaining and engrossing. In the same way that I enjoyed Horowitz’s writing about creating tv shows in The Word is Murder, I loved Susan’s discussion of the editing process here. While it’s long, I couldn’t think of any part that could have been edited out. There’s a reason for everything. As the saying goes, if there’s a gun in act one, someone will be shot in act two. Thus Susan is intrigued when she's approached by Pauline and Lawrence Treherne, who've come from England to see her.

The inner mystery, Conway's novel, is written in the style of the Golden Age, and to me, it comes as close to the bar of Agatha Christie as any I have ever read. The outer mystery is a modern take on the genre, but it contains the same hallmarks that I love from the Golden Age, including a small cast of characters, lots of clues and red herrings, and that ultimate reveal when everything is explained with amazement and satisfaction. Kanter, Jake (21 May 2021). "Timothy Spall Pulls Out Of PBS/BritBox Series 'Magpie Murders' & Is Replaced By Tim McMullan; Daniel Mays Joins Cast". Deadline . Retrieved 23 September 2021. This series is my personal favourite of the bunch, so I'm pleased to know Horowitz has stated his intentions to write 10+ novels for the series. The basic premise is particularly interesting, as he's actually a character in his own novel. While that would be insufferably boring coming from many writers, Horowitz seems to have a reasonably interesting life outside the long hours of solitude.But that makes no sense at all, Pauline. If he knew the killer and there was an innocent man in prison, surely Alan would have gone straight to the police! Why would he turn it into a work of fiction?'

I particularly recommend this series for fans of Foyle's War, as it offers a bit of insight (and some partially-true stories) about the production of later seasons. The Word is Murder The Word is Murder

Broadcast

If embarking on this series, I strongly recommend that you begin at the beginning with Magpie Murders, as there are references and a spoiler contained in Moonflower Murders. There are layers upon layers here. Don’t go into this if you want a light mystery. Here, both stories are convoluted in the extreme. Horowitz writes in the style of the old masters, giving us loads of suspects, gobs of red herrings and even the big reveal with everyone gathered together. In the midst of her investigations, Susan reads Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, and the novel forms the middle part of Moonflower Murders.

As with Magpie Murders, the novel once again contains a book within the book with the Atticus Pünd novel based on the murder occupying a large proportion of the novel. Although Conway had changed the location of his murder mystery, the characters retained the same initials and could be easily identified. He also had his usual fun dropping in anagrams and clues hidden inside 'Easter eggs'. Susan makes for an unusual and interesting investigator and I liked her parts of the book much more than I like the Atticus Pünd novel, which I found a bit tedious to read in it's entirety, before being returned to the much more enjoyable current day plot. although well written, I found the Atticus Pünd plot a bit wooden and was never quite sure whether it was meant to be a homage to or a parody of Agatha Christie and the Golden age. Susan thinks that someone murdered Alan and begins investigating. She asks Charles about his dinner with Alan when Alan gave Charles the manuscript. He mentions a waiter dropping a bunch of plates. Susan talks to the waiter. He is Donald Leigh who believes Conway stole his murder mystery plot for an earlier Pünd novel at a writers workshop. You may find it interesting to know that Horowitz has mentioned many times that he writes down the ending to his novels before he finishes them. That way, the publisher will know how the book should end in case he dies before it's done. All we can say about that is that we hope it's never needed.Another of Alan Conway's infamous detective series stories is at the centre of a baffling and intriguing mystery in Moonflower Murders.