The very first thing I should say is that this book is not the book I thought it would be. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book. It had me hooked and I simply could not work out what was going on. I did eventually work out the twist before the end but it was still quite a shock which is always good. This book has such an eerie atmospheric feel to it, which I really wasn’t expecting but really added an extra level to the book.

Magpie jumps between the POV of Martin and Claire and between “before” and “after”. In this respects, it takes a lot of concentration to really get the full story as you’re throw from one place to the next, trying to piece together the story and work out how it all started and where it was all heading. Fortunately, I love it when books do this as it makes it feel more like you’re trying to work out a puzzle but I do know that some people can find this jarring so I thought it was important to mention it.

The characters in the story are the main reason I enjoyed this book so much. I wanted Claire to find her missing son and I wanted to know why Duncan was acting the way he was. It was very much a book that relied on character development. You witnessed how each event affected each character and how that in turn had different consequences that continued to spiral. A very interesting way of writing a book.

I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who enjoy domestic thrillers.

I thought the writing was good in this book, and the ending was good – but not good enough to make up for the incredibly slow, tedious pace of most of the rest of the book.  Again, the three main characters were well developed, and felt real – but I could not engage with, or like, any of them.  Claire was once an intelligent, educated, capable person, but throughout the book came across as a whining, indecisive woman, who compensated for her loveless marriage by overindulging her ungrateful son, Joe.  Duncan, her husband, was selfish and completely insensitive to the emotions and needs of other human beings (OK with dogs though).  Joe was obsessive, paranoid, and rude, and most likely suffering from mental health issues.  The only likeable character, was the dog, Arthur.  For the others, I had no interest whatsoever in what they got up to.
Claire wants to leave Duncan – why, is perfectly obvious and understandable.  What is not, is that she insists on waiting until Joe turns 18 – because he ‘needs his father’ when he is young.  No, he doesn’t!  Duncan cares not a jot for Joe – and makes that abundantly clear.  If Claire had left much earlier, Joe might have had a chance to grow up into an independent and capable young man, instead of an anti-social ne’er-do-well, having to listen to his parents arguing all the time.  Claire might have resumed her career, or otherwise have made a full life for herself, instead of whinging about how life (and Duncan) had let her down.
Not until right near the end of the book, do you discover the trauma that marked the start of Claire and Duncan’s marriage, and blighted it ever since.  Yes, it would have been awful for any couple to have gone through, but how they ‘dealt’ with it was weird and unhelpful in the extreme.  Why were they so afraid of Joe finding out?  Why not talk to the lad for once?
By choice, I have no children.  Maybe if I had, and if I had been in a better mood, I would have liked this book more.  But, it took me so long to get through.  If I hadn’t received it as an ARC, and felt obliged to finish it, I would have abandoned it weeks ago.  It is the debut novel of the author, and she obviously has potential, but urgently needs to sort out the pacing of her future books – and not pack everything of interest into the last chapter.  To create suspense, the reader needs to engage with the story, and to care about the outcome.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A story about infidelity and its impact on his wife and son - a story that shows Duncan in a very bad light as he lived for himself without caring what happened to others as a result. And then they had all hidden heir actions...
Why were they married after all? They were young and it had seemed right but... Claire was the one who had struggled from his decisions, but was it all his fault? Could CLaire have done things differently rather than blaming him for everything?
And Joe. He was the ultimate sufferer. He and his stray dog and his inability to communicate with people.
A dark story with multiple story lines and despair oozing out of it. I couldn't say I enjoyed it, it was too sad, but well written and had the impact on me, the reader, the author no doubt wanted.

I have to admit, this book took a little while to get going for me. It is the story of a troubled family, living in a small village in the Peak District. Duncan and Claire have been married a long time, but the marriage is in difficulty, not helped by the problems suffered by their only son, Joe. Claire is on the verge of leaving when Joe goes missing and everything really falls apart.

The book is told from the dual perspectives of Duncan and Claire and, to begin with, neither of them were characters I particularly warmed to which made it difficult to form that connection with the book. It is hard to know which of them is telling the truth about their relationship. As well as jumping between the perspectives of Duncan and Claire, the story also runs on two timelines – Before and After (before and after what is the crux of the story)- this made the book a little difficult to follow, it requires a certain level of concentration to keep up with who is talking and in what point of the story. I am not sure I have read a book that jumps about in quite such a complicated and disjointed fashion.

However, and this is a big however, this book is absolutely worth the perseverance it took to get into the groove. A third of the way through, I became completely hooked on the story and raced through the rest of the book in desperation to get to the end. This story has so many elements that I love in a novel – suspense, deception, atmosphere – and it is extremely creepy. The author does a wonderful job of bringing to life the oppressive feel of remote corners of the Peaks, especially in winter when the looming crags and endless expanse can feel claustrophobic (I used to live in Ashbourne, so I know this area well).

You will find it hard to categorise this book. Is it a thriller? Is it suspense? Is it gothic? It is all of these things and more. It took a while, but it eventually got under my skin and became a compelling story that I had to pursue to the end. I had no idea what was going on for the majority of the story, I did not guess what was coming until very close to the end and it was a story that really took me by surprise. That can be a hard thing to do to someone who reads as much as I do.

An initially slow-burning novel that turns in to an atmospheric treat with a marvellous pay off. If you are looking for something a bit different and are willing to have a little patience, this is a fulfilling read.

Claire and Duncan's marriage is in trouble, from the outside it looks like they have it all but the reality itself is far different with Duncans growing coldness and numerous infidelities seeming to be a route cause of a lot of the problems between them.
Her eighteen-year-old son through not diagnosed definitely has an ASD and his additional needs have also piled on the pressure on top of what is already a pressure cooker just waiting to explode.
So this narrates the events in a before and after fashion from both Claire and Duncans POV.
This did keep me turning the pages to discover the truth and I did enjoy the mysterious obscurity of it all as I pieced the puzzle together.
I must confess I did guess the twist so the ending here didn't really come as a surprise to me but some of the whats and whys were news.
I also realised the further I read that the same story could be interpreted differently depending on who you actually listened to and that this actually was a lot of shades rather than the black and white like I originally thought.
I could kind of see how events had come to pass the way they had, of course, I am in no way excusing it just understanding how they had come to be at the stalement they now were.
Guilt and blame can rot the strongest of foundations and Duncan's games are almost like a crutch he uses to cope.
So for me, this was a bit repetitive and also a tad slow.
The narrative at times was also overly descriptive and somewhat confusing though it did set a great spooky atmosphere.
I was also left feeling somewhat sad and melancholy after finishing.
One last thought I really liked the inclusion of the son Joe in this: my own son has Aspergers and I really could appreciate a lot of similarities between them.
My son is as obsessive in his interests as Joe was here, he also extremely literal so I got that also.
I did have a few issues with this but it was still an interesting experience.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Magpie.

I read, reviewed and loved Sophie's debut novel 'Cuckoo' and I couldn't wait to get hold of a copy of her follow up novel called 'Magpie'.  It sounded like the deliciously creepy sort of read that I would thoroughly enjoy.  I managed to get hold of a copy and started to read.  Oh boy, 'Magpie' was most definitely a creepy read in more ways than one for reasons which I will explain further in a bit.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Magpie' but more about that in a bit too.
I can honestly say that I didn't take to either Claire or Duncan at all but that wasn't a bad thing because it meant that I didn't favour one over the other.  They are a married couple, although to say that their marriage is strained is a bit of an understatement.  Claire is convinced that Duncan is having an affair but she doesn't know who with and Duncan seems to be a domineering, bully of a man.  That said, I wasn't sure if either Claire or Duncan were telling the truth.  They have a son called Josh, who seems to behave slightly oddly.  I don't mean that nastily but Josh will go out with his metal detector and he will spend all night searching for 'treasure' in the hope that he hits the jackpot.  Josh's relationship with his father is strained.  I can totally understand why Josh is reluctant to spend a lot of time in the family home.  Can either Claire or Duncan be trusted?  Just who is telling the truth?  Is there a twist to the tale?  Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
I mentioned earlier that this was a creepy book in more ways than one so I will explain as best as I can.  The title of the book is 'Magpie' (obviously) and when my late father passed away, I am convinced that he came back to us in the shape of a magpie and this magpie has regularly come to 'visit' us.  Secondly, when my father passed away, tradition dictated that we had to give him enough money to 'pay the ferryman' for the journey over to the other side.  So imagine the shiver that went down my spine when I got to the end of the book to read about a character having money to pay the ferryman.  It's made even spookier when you consider that Thursday is the anniversary of my father's death. Add all that together and you have a very spooked and shivery me.  
It took me next to no time to get into this book.  As soon as I started to read, I just knew that I would have to binge read the book over the course of a couple of days.  I wasn't sure who to trust or who to believe.   I had my own suspicions as to what the truth of the matter was so I had to keep reading to see if my suspicions were going to be proved correct.  The pages turned over at speed and at one point the pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves.  All too quickly I reached the end of the book, which I was disappointed about.  I had been enjoying the author's writing style, the characters and the storylines so much that I just wanted the book to continue for longer than it did.
'Magpie' is well written.  Sophie has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with.  She certainly knows how to draw you into the story.  Once she has your attention, she will not let it go until the moment you have read the last word on the last page.  Sophie takes you on one hell of an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride through one hell of a story.  The story is written differently to what I am used to.  It's obvious that there has been an 'incident' which is as serious as it gets.  It's not clear as to what has happened although little clues are given throughout the story.  The different chapters are written from the points of view of both lead characters and they detail what happened prior to the 'incident' happening and after the 'incident' happened.  I did worry that perhaps the jumping about of the story might prove to be confusing but I needn't have worried because the way Sophie has written the story really works and the story flows seamlessly as a result.  'Magpie' is definitely a book that messes with your head.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Magpie' and I would recommend it to other readers.  I look forward to reading more from Sophie in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

A story told separately  by a husband and wife both in the present and also in the past. How they married and how the marriage develops. I found myself more in sympathy with Claire than her husband.
I kept thinking I knew what was about to happen - but I didn't.

If dark, domestic thrillers give you a buzz, then you must read Magpie, the latest novel written by Sophie Draper. Even though I have yet to read some of this author's earlier work, I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this one, and it was pretty good.
 
Claire, her husband Duncan, and son Joe, live in a beautiful house overlooking the water. But Claire feels as if she’s married to a stranger and one who is cheating on her. This has been the pattern of their marriage so she decides now is the time to take Joe and their dog and move into a cottage across the pond. As soon as she can get Joe away from him, she’s determined to leave Duncan. Then Joe vanishes and Claire is fraught with angst, living in the cottage alone with their dog, struggling to find her son, and attempting to make sense of the events of the night that tore them apart.

In Magpie, Sophie Draper explores the darkest corners of a toxic marriage in a mesmerising tale of  secrets, lies, infidelity, quietly seething hatred, and sorrow. Written in two timelines - before and after Joe's disappearance - from the perspective of Claire, I was given the opportunity to see things from the protagonist's intensely personal angle. Sophie Draper's characterisation was so impressive, and she explored the psyche of her characters with great conviction, making them very credible. 

I particularly liked the author's portrayal of Claire who displayed a fascinating concoction of characteristics -  detachment, emotional instability, and simmering rage. Each character had a part to play in the story and all of them came across as being good or bad, or both, which made this a very believable read. Everyone had different motives and priorities for their actions, thoughts or behaviour. The pace was mostly slow, and the events ordinary and repetitive, because it portrayed the family's lives. The twists, when they came, had more oomph because of this.

The Derbyshire setting was great as it's place I'm a little familiar with and the author portrayed it artfully. Magpie brought few disappointments, capturing my attention for the most part and Sophie Draper created an underlying sense of unease and foreboding that I found gripping.

I appreciated the tautness of the plot, the twists and revelations, and the overall quality of the writing as the story spiralled its way towards a superb denouement. I have found a new  psychological thriller writer in Sophie Draper and I highly recommend Magpie. 

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Avon Books via NetGalley at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I did enjoy this gripping story, lots of twists and turns to keep you intrigued.  Ultimately it isn't a book that will stay with me, but good escapism.  Thank you.

Very well written this book pulled me right in with the suspense. The twist when it came was completely unexpected. An excellent book which I really enjoyed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Claire and Duncan are married with a son named Joe, they live in a beautiful house on a cliff overlooking the water but Claire isn’t happy. Duncan seems to care more about his job at the veterinarian clinic and Claire believes Duncan has cheated on her numerous times. Claire decides to leave but she’s waiting until Joe turns 18. There is a problem though, Joe has disappeared. Did he ran away? Was he  taken or if he’s just out with his metal detector looking for his next treasure? 
This story is told between Claire and Duncan in a Before and After fashion. Unfortunately their stories didn’t seem to mesh very well. I didn’t find this book to hold my interest, it took me awhile to get into it and I was disappointed I didn’t have any edge of the seat or twist and turn moments. For this reason, I am giving this book 2.5-3 stars. 
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Unfortunately this is my first book by the author but I had to stop reading around 30% in . 
The blurb and the first chapters sounded promising but then it becomes too confusing and very repetitive. 
Maybe I’ll give it another try at one point but for now I just can’t keep reading. 😔


Thanks Netgalley for my review copy.

A dark book with so much unhappiness and a compelling read nonetheless. Reinforces how life isn't all determined by choices but that bad things really do just happen. How we react to and deal with them, however, is another matter.

This book is beautifully written, moving from Before and After for Duncan and Claire, a couple caught up in an unhappy marriage with a troubled son, Joe, looking on. Duncan and Claire are both flawed characters, each holding the other responsible for their failed relationship. The writing is atmospheric and compulsive making excellent use of Derbyshire's rural countryside, the inclement weather and Claire's disturbed state of mind. A fascinating story promising mystery and surprise.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Sophie Draper/Avon Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Magpie was a strange book for me.  I found it long and dragged out in places but that’s just the writing style and something I personally don’t enjoy but for others it might be something that they look for in a book.  I was going to give up at the half way point but something made me go back and read on.  I’m glad I did because the twist was amazing and turned everything on it’s head.  
3.5 stars but only because I didn’t enjoy the writing style.  The story is very good

Claire and her husband Duncan seem to have the perfect life but under the cracks there is much wrong with their marriage. Claire is compelled to move away from the family home in order to pick up the pieces of her life, however, this transition does not go smoothly and there are other dramatic complications, particularly surrounding Claire's son, Joe, which greatly affect how Claire reacts to some catastrophic changes.

Initially, I found the narrative to be a little bit slow and as it moves both forwards and backwards in time it becomes important to keep a firm grip on the plot just so you can keep track of where this complicated family drama is heading. Using both Claire and Duncan's individual stories in separate chapters allows their different stories to be heard, and I must admit to finding one rather more compelling than the other.

The author seems to be developing her niche in this particular genre and I enjoyed reading her debut novel, Cuckoo, earlier in the year.  Magpie is something of a slow burner in comparison but it stands on its own merits as an interesting look at the minutiae of family life. I especially enjoyed how the author interpreted some local mystical qualities, which pattern the landscape, and her imaginative description of places and situations certainly helps to create an atmospheric edginess.

Magpie is an interesting family drama which gets stronger as it goes along. I look forward to seeing what this talented writer does next.

Magpie is Draper's second novel after Cuckoo, which was published in 2018 to rave reviews. Magpie begins as a psychological thriller about the Hendersons, a family with relationships that we're all familiar with: a cheating husband, a paranoid wife, and a wayward son. Yet, it soon becomes clear that Draper is playing with genre as the book is simultaneously a mystery, a folk tale, a domestic noir, and a Gothic tale. In fact, the book's setting is strongly reminiscent of Wuthering Heights as Claire lives in an isolated cottage in the midst of an atmospheric and haunting landscape complete with tales of a ghostly church that was submerged when the nearby reservoir was built and an abandoned village. These are important motifs of the past coming back to haunt the present. The often heavy focus on the setting could have stagnated the story but I found it very well written and very successful in conjuring images of the otherworldly. In addition, Claire feels like she is going mad looking for her missing son Joe and she questions her own sanity, again reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. It's also a book about how we deal with grief and guilt, both in the distant past and in the more immediate past. The book isn't a typical high-concept thriller with a very high-paced narrative, which contemporary readers have become accustomed to. Instead, Magpie is a very refreshing and satisfying read because of its slower pace and its focus on atmosphere rather than action.

The book is told in chapters that are set before and after the night that Joe disappeared from both Claire and Duncan's point of views. The various timelines and perspectives are easy to follow and are never confusing with Claire's chapters written in first person past tense and Duncan's in third person present tense which offers a nice stylistic shift. The 'before' chapters describe Claire and Duncan's turbulent marriage and their unhappy home life with their 18-year-old son. Claire is planning to leave Duncan and suspects him of having several affairs. The chapters often go back further in time to describe when Claire first met Duncan. The 'after' chapters are beautifully written as Claire is living on her own in a rundown house not too far from her family home. She was hoping to bring Joe with her but he disappeared when she was making her escape and she has no idea where he is. There's also a storyline about a puppet rider coin that Joe found near the house that ends in a revelation that is quite sensitive and unexpected particularly as it's an event that a lot of readers, including myself, have experienced for themselves. However, the topic is dealt with in a sensitive manner.

Magpie is a cleverly written and utterly engaging book unlike anything else I've read in a while. The title of the book is also quite clever as it not only refers to the motif of taking that which isn't ours and being attracted to shiny objects, both of which are important themes in the book. This is the first of Draper's books I've read but I can't wait to read Cuckoo next.

#Magpie #NetGalley 
Breathtakingly chilly. 
Claire and Duncan's, a not so happy married couple live in Debyshire with their son Joe who's keen about finding coins with metal detector. Duncan is a vet while Claire is a housewife. Then something happened, something bad and it tears their lives. Now they both hate each other so much that they want to live seperately. Claire found about his husband affair and twists started coming one after the other until you turn the last page.
Told from two POV's of Duncan and Claire, before and after, this story is breathtakingly chilly with an ending you won't see coming. 
All the characters were awesome as they should be in a psychological thriller. 
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller. 
A must read.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.
It was very confusing and it felt disjointed. I just couldn't get into the story. It was very slow paced.

However Just because I couldn't connect with the story, doesn't mean others won't love it and I would hate for my review to put someone off.

This book wrecked me so much. It will be in my heart and head for a long time. Magpie lured me into a false sense of security, gradually leading me to the conclusion I was reading a sad, often dark book about a marriage falling apart and secrets between spouses only to yank the rug from under me, toppling me flat on my back and completely winding me. I loved the way the book is narrated and structured, alternative first person narrators from Claire and Duncan’s point of view which move back and forwards in time. This works really well, revealing piece by piece the secrets, lies and eventually horrors of their marriage and offers two different views of the events. I felt such sympathy for Claire, struggling to win the love of her odd son Joe and coming to terms with the fact that whatever love she once had for Duncan and vice versa has been erased. I really didn’t like Duncan. He swans around like he’s hot shit and treats his wife and daughter with indifference. My heart was in my throat as Claire frantically wonders what’s happened to Joe, why he didn’t come to the cottage with her and where he is now. The twist at the end completely stunned me. I didn’t expect it at all. You find out the truth about Joe’s disappearance and the true function of the cottage. Utterly heart-breaking.