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.

Claire lives with her husband Duncan & their son Joe in a designer house. Joe has his issues & his only interest is in metal detecting. Claire is unhappy & is tired of trying to ignore her husband's infidelity. She is working up to leaving him. The story is told from both Claire & Duncan's point of view, before & after a momentous event- we are not sure what that is.

I enjoyed Cuckoo so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I was disappointed in it. The characters didn't 'grab' me. I found a lot of it boring. I was tempted to give up but plugged on till the end & the revelation- that I think I'd guessed. Sorry, not one for me.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

3.5-4*
Something has happened – we know not what!

Duncan and Claire married young, straight after University. They have a son Joe. He’s a difficult character, Claire thinks he may be on the autism spectrum. Still she loves him, he’s just turned eighteen and obsessed with history, especially old coins, and metal detecting.

We read the story from two points of view – Duncan and Claire; from two times – before and after.

Duncan is a very successful vet, Claire gave up her career to be a mother and wife.

Their marriage has been deteriorating for years, they ‘put a show on’ in public. Claire realises it’s time to go. She has made plans. She wants Joe to go with her and Arthur, their dog. She and Duncan are always arguing it’s no wonder Joe feels the need to go off. He’s gone missing before. Claire is so worried this time. Duncan says he’ll be back, he always comes back.

Then something happens.

This book is very evocative of its setting around Derbyshire which is lovingly drawn by Sophie Draper, it has a very eerie atmosphere and a deep sense of sadness, of loss. What happened we don’t know and it gives this book a tension and keeps you hooked wanting to know what it was, what will happen, how will things be resolved and then there’s a twist! What you have been reading is put into a different perspective and, after an intake of breath, you will understand. This book leaves you with a slightly creepy feeling but mostly with a lingering sense of sadness.

Thanks

My thanks to Avon Publishing for an eCopy of Magpie by Sophie Draper via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own, I have not received any payment for this review.

Blog Tour

Thanks to Sanjana Cunniah at Avon for the invitation to review Magpie and join the BlogTour. Like to read more? – then take a whirl around this incredible list…. https://lovebooksreadbooks.com/2019/12/04/magpie-by-sophie-draper/

Having read Sophie Draper’s book ‘Cuckoo’ and enjoying the writing style, I was keen to read ‘Magpie’. It did not disappoint.

Claire and Duncan in a fantastic house and seem to have everything but they don’t! They have a tempestuous relationship due, in the main, to Duncan’s philandering. After another argument between them, their eighteen year old son goes missing. The hunt for him takes us on a mysterious and thrilling ride. This book held my attention and the characterisation was excellent.

Magpie is a haunting, eerie and incredibly atmospheric novel set in rural Derbyshire. The author has clearly spent a great deal of time in this part of the country as she writes extremely eloquently about the landscape and wildlife, giving the reader a vivid sense of place.
Setting is important in general but particularly so here since this novel combines elements of folklore, the supernatural, domestic angst and a little bit of mystery. Please don’t be fooled though; this is NOT a psychological thriller which I was expecting. There is a pervading sense of unease throughout, as the reader is introduced to Duncan and Claire and teenager son Joe. Their marriage is in tatters with Duncan, local vet, preferring to indulge in extra marital dalliances than domestic bliss with Claire. Quite why she has stayed by his side all these years is beyond me, especially as she hates The Barn where they live, very much isolated. Metal detecting addict Joe completes this sad trio of individuals. Both Duncan and Claire aren’t characters I could warm to which meant that from the very beginning I struggled to maintain any interest in the unfolding storyline. It pains me to say it as this very rarely happens to me but I found reading this book a chore rather than a pleasure. For me there wasn’t much of a plot and at times I became confused as to whether the scenes featuring Claire were real or delusions on her part. Subsequently there was no flow to the narrative giving the novel a disjointed feel.
As events unfold it is easy to guess the mystery element so there are no twists and turns in this tale. The ending I thought was good and unexpected and made sense of previous chapters but by that point I was relieved to reach the end!!
My thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately on this occasion I have to say Magpie was not my cup of tea.

The Magpie is the twisted, dark, haunting story of a couple whose marriage and world is falling apart around them. I had already known that a Magpie was a bird, but after I finished the book, my curiosity as to other meanings got the best of me. I looked the word up in the dictionary and was intrigued to find a few other explanations; someone with mischievous habits, a collector of things. I had an aha moment!

Claire and Duncan have been married for over 20 years. Having met in veterinary school they fell in love and immediately married. While both did graduate, Duncan was the one to pursue the career. Claire stayed home and took care of their son Joe. Over time, Duncan was able to open his own practice. To make a good living.

The resentment they have for each other is palpable. The bitterness in their marriage awful. The routine of their lives bitter.

Joe was a difficult child from the beginning, always the odd child, prone to tantrums and with not too many friends, and Claire had been the protective parent. Now that Joe was 18 and not in school any longer his one aspiration was to spend time with his metal detector scouring the ponds and highlands surrounding their secluded house.

Claire knows that Duncan is cheating on her. This has been the pattern of their marriage. She just can't figure out who it is this time. Until she does. And she decides now is the time to take Joe and their dog and move into a cottage across the pond.

Then Joe goes missing and Claire is beside herself living in the cottage alone with their dog and trying to find her son. What has happened to her? What has happened to Joe? And what will happen if people find out the secret she and Duncan share?

This is a heartbreaking story of lies, infidelity and sorrow. But it is also haunting in so many ways. Draper's scenic writing skills are both breathtaking and grand, perfectly woven into this shocking tale.

Thank you to #NetGalley #Avon #Magpie #SophieDraper for the advanced copy.

I had a hard time getting into this book. The writing was decent, told from multiple points of view and in the vein of before and after something. It had very slow build suspense but maybe a little too slow for me. When I was reading it, it held my interest enough but was too easy to walk away from an not pick up for a bit. Others might love it, this was just my personal experience.

I found this book quite difficult to read and a little disconcerting.
The way the story was told felt at times quite confusing.
However I did finish it and felt very sad at the end.

Claire has just left her marriage behind. But she never meant to leave her son, too. And now he's missing. Where can Joe be? Does Duncan, her husband, have anything to do with it?

After more than 18 years of marriage, Claire is ready to admit that her marriage has fallen apart. Duncan has been cheating for years. They barely communicate. And then, there's Joe. Her eighteen-year-old son has always had social difficulties, and Duncan never got over that. Claire raised him practically on her own. So, Claire decides to leave. And she's taking Duncan with her.

Claire has it all planned out. She'll soon have the keys to the cottage she rented. She's slowly gathering her personal things without letting Duncan notice. And she's almost ready to talk to Joe. But Joe has been absorbed with metal detecting for too long. And with his recent discovery of an old and valuable coin, strange people have taken notice. Amid preparations to leave her husband, Claire worries that her son might be in danger.

And then Joe disappears.

Magpie is a psychological thriller with an admittedly unexpected ending. Moving back and forth in time, the story shows us what this family's life was before it broke down, and what happened after. As we watch from both Claire's and Duncan's angles, there's always that one question stuck in our minds: where is Joe?

Magpie raises for the reader enough questions to keep them on their toes. And, in the same time, we go back in time to find out the true story of a family that used to have love for each other, but is now falling apart.

It's true that in some parts the story was a little slow-paced. But as a whole, Magpie was a very interesting story to read. It ticks all the psychological thriller boxes. And, as a bonus? An ending you'll definitely not expect!

I was provided with an ARC of this title from the Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This compelling tale of suspense drew me into a world of hard-kept secrets, buried emnity and the downward spiral of a marriage on the rocks. There were multiple threads of mystery woven throughout the story that kept the plot engaging and intriguing.

Claire and Duncan have a marriage based on obligation and possession. Claire gave up her promising career to raise their autistic son, and Duncan became a serial cheater. When their son turns 18, Claire moves out and files for divorce, convinced their son will move in with her. But Joe is on a mad chase for hidden treasure, and beyond her reach.

Then Joe disappears, and a body is discovered on the grounds of their farm. You will be riveted by this descent into orchestrated chaos.