Anthony Horowitz has written another clever, engaging, unique, and exciting mystery. His use of the story-within-a-story works well in the Moonflower Murders. For readers who enjoyed his earlier books, this one is sure to please. A great read!

What must it be like to be Anthony Horowitz? Surely exhausting to have a brain working so well in so many directions all at once. After the brilliance of Magpie Murders, one could never expect the same level of dazzle for the second one. I mean, after all, the man wrote a novel within a novel plus some, and made every single thing effortlessly fit. Could he do it again.? Well, yes, of course he could, and did. Admittedly, this is the same man who created Daniel Hawthrone just so he could claw down the fourth wall as his sidekick,. (And, if I let this be Ode to AH, I'd have to mention how long ago, Foyle's War opened a new relationship with my father and Alex Rider a new one with my daughter - okay okay I'll stop, I love this man...). Moonflower Murders brings back author Alan Conway, still deceased, Poirot like Atticus Pund, still fictional, and the surprisingly solid character of editor/publisher Susan who is now living in Greece! A couple on vacation visit the hotel she runs with her boyfriend, (also returning from Magpie), and asks her to find their daughter. They feel that the Atticus Pund mystery that was based on their personal events, hold the key to her disappearance. And so begins yet another wild ride. Yes, you could, in theory, read without having read Magpie Murders, but to be honest - don't. Read both. In order. Enjoy.

If you read and loved the delightful Magpie Murders, this is a wonderful treat. Susan Ryeland and the deceased Atticus Pund are back in a mystery that is unspeakably clever. It helps if you've read the first book, but even on its own, it is a tour de force. A book within a book again, and I want to read all the Atticus Pund novels. I absolutely loved this book, if you can't tell, and will recommend it to my mystery group and everyone I know.
Congratulations to Mr. Horowitz and thanks for brightening these oppressive summer pandemic days.

Thoroughly enjoyable mystery! I loved Magpie Murders when I read it, finding it both a fresh take on the genre with its book-within-a-book structure and a loving homage to the golden age of detective fiction. Moonflower Murders is the follow up to Magpie Murders where the reader is reunited with publisher turned amateur detective Susan Ryeland as she attempts to solve a mystery related to a novel published by her (deceased) writer: Alan Conway. As this book follows the same structure as Magpie Murders it wasn't as impactful this time around, but I will still continue to read each addition (hopefully there will be more!) to the series.

I’m a fan of everything Anthony Horowitz writes and Moonflower Murders is no exception. I like that it’s a sequel to Magpie Murders as I really like the character of Susan. You can start with this book alone and not miss a thing, but I think it’s more enjoyable to read Magpie Murders first.
A first rate mystery that shows Anthony Horowitz for the master mystery writer he is.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the book within book conceit and the narrator, Susan Ryeland, is very relatable. Great mystery.

A great read for those of classic mysteries. I clever and fun read for those who like twisty tales of murder and mayhem.
#MoonflowerMurders

At the conclusion of Magpie Murders we find Susan Ryeland giving up her career in publication for a life in Crete with her fiance Andreas and this is where Moonflower Murders begins. Susan and Andreas own and run the hotel, Polydorous, in Crete and while the scenery is breathtaking and she loves Andreas, Susan is feeling that the constant problems with the hotel and the lack of financial security are almost too much to bear when Lawrence and Pauline Treherne arrive at the Polydorous and request that Susan look into their daughter's disappearance. It turns out that Alan Conway, whom she thought she would never have to deal with again, had based one of his Atticus Pund novels on the people and events at Branlow Manor (the hotel run by the Trehernes). They offer her 10,000 pounds to re-read the book and find the connection between a murder that occurred at the hotel 8 years ago and their daughter's disappearance.

While I found this book enjoyable to read, there were parts that I found unrealistic and a bit of a stretch. It does seem odd to me that a couple would seek out a former publisher and offer her such a great sum of money. The book within a book story had been done with Magpie Murders so it wasn't as fresh in Moonflower Murders and it was hard to stop in the middle of the story to read the entirety of another story before being able to return to the original story. That being said, both of the stories were engaging and while I had strong inclinations on whodunnit in Atticus Pund Takes the Case, I was definitely fooled on the culprit in Moonflower Murders.

The other complaint that I have is that Horowitz likes to try to be clever with his connections, however, a great deal of his allusions will be missed by most people as they tend to be really specific and niche. But this didn't stop me from enjoying the book a great deal and I will definitely recommend this to ardent mystery readers.

I have really enjoyed Anthony Horowitz's children's books, having read the Alex Rider series. I have frequently recommended this series to boys, particularly action driven reluctant readers.
THE MOONFLOWER MURDERS was one of my favorite mysteries this summer. The plot twists and the mystery within a mystery kept me focused on both plots. The characters were well fleshed out-I loved Susan. The ending tied things up in a very satisfying way without being cliched. I have THE MAGPIE MURDERS on my Kindle, but I haven't read it yet-I can hardly wait!

I'm a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz and was eagerly awaiting the second mystery featuring Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pund. Moonflower Murders follows the same conceit of Magpie Murders where there is a mystery novel contained within the mystery, so it's a two for the price of one. I would recommend for readers of classic mysteries who enjoy large casts of characters and plenty of clues. It's a very enjoyable whodunit. I hope Horowitz continues with the series.

I am a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz and his latest novel does not disappoint! In fact, I enjoyed the intrigue in Moonflower Murders more than his first Susan Ryeland series title, Magpie Murders. There are many references to Alan Conway and the events in Magpie Murders so I would recommend reading that novel before beginning this one. It is not entirely necessary to do so, but in my opinion, it adds more depth to the characters and overall story if you know the details from Magpie Murders.

The novel begins with Alan Conway’s former publisher, Susan Ryeland, running a hotel with her fiancé in Crete. A couple approach her nviting her back to their hotel in England, where they hope she can help them locate their missing daughter, Cecily. Just before Cecily’s disappearance, she told her parents that she had recently figured out who murdered one of their hotel guests, Frank Parris, eight years earlier. She had discovered who the murderer was by reading Alan Conway’s third novel, Atticus Pünd Takes a Case. Since they are not able to have Alan Conway help them with their daughter’s disappearance, they ask Susan and she agrees to come, for a fee.

The rest of the story unfolds as a mystery within a mystery where Susan meets and interviews those who were present when Frank Parris was murdered, and then the book, Atticus Pünd Takes a Case, is plopped right in the middle. We read the book, just as Susan is reading the book, thus a mystery within a mystery. Susan is trying to identify what Cecily would have read in Atticus Pünd Takes a Case, that would have solved the murder of Frank Parris.

The way the story is told and the input of a second novel within it, really kept my mind alert and actively piecing clues together. The characters are a bit difficult to keep track of, but that is why I kept reading, I was so intrigued! If you are a fan of complex and fascinating murder mysteries, I highly recommend this series as well as Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne series.

Thanks to HarperCollins, NetGalley, and Anthony Horowitz for an advanced eBook copy in return for my unbiased review.

Classic Horowitz. Susan Ryeland was Alan Conway's editor. A couple from Alan's past approach her to find out what has happened to their daughter who had called them after reading Conways book Atticus Pund takes the case. She knows who killed Frank Parris on the day of her wedding at Branlow Hall. This is quite complicated with a large cast of suspects (everyone pretty much) and to make it more complicated there is the entire text of Conway's book inserted into the story. With it's own cast. Whew. I didn't see it coming right down to the let's meet in the hotel lobby for the accusation (a la Death in Paradise). Great read.
Only four stars because it's not a life changing type of story.

The book within a book conceit that Horowitz used in this novel and the prior book in this series is really special. You get two mysteries for the price of one! It’s a wonderful blend of contemporary and Golden Age mysteries. I appreciate the commentary the character who is an editor provided on the book within the book, including its discussion of characterization and the editorial process. I hope to read more in this series in the coming years. Recommended for fans of Golden Age mysteries.

One of my favorite authors suspense authors of late, Horowitz does not disappoint with this fast-paced thriller. As with this last few thrillers, he always uses unique elements to tell his tale, this time being a book within a book. The rewards of both stories are worth the effort. Loved it.

I read Magpie Murders and admit that I forgot almost everything about the plot, except that Alan Conway was a jerk. Luckily, the backstory wasn't necessary to enjoy this story quite a lot. I feel the book asks a lot of its readers, because there is a wide cast of characters to keep straight, some with the same initials or similar names, as well as the second set of characters and details of the book within the book. Nonetheless, highly enjoyable. Will recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me get my hands on this eArc. This storyline was good but it didn't have the same flavor/feel as the Magpie Murders however it is still a good read. Other reviewers mentioned this thought as well and I agree with them it may be because Susan was from the publishing world & not the detectiving. One little quibble I had with the story was there were too many characters for me to keep straight in this story and I found myself having to stop and go back to figure out why they were in the story & how they related to Susan/Alan and others. A wonderful read for 2020 and worth the continuation of Susan Ryeland series if you enjoy Mr. Horowitz's writing.

Ex-editor / publisher Susan Ryeland is living in a not-so-glorious involuntary retirement in Crete after the events of Horowitz’ Magpie Murders in which her primary author (Alan Conway) was murdered and her publishing company offices burned to the ground. Now she is approached by a pair of distraught parents who want to help find Cecily Treherne, their missing daughter. Why Susan? Because just before she went missing Cecily had called them to say that upon rereading Conway’s Atticus Pund Takes the Case, she realized that the wrong person had been jailed eight years ago for a murder taking place in the Treherne hotel. I love British murder mysteries but I am constantly amazed that anyone is left alive in the country!!

This is a murder mystery steeped in literary detection. Right in the middle of the novel we are treated to the entire text of Atticus Pünd Takes the Case to try to decipher what Cecily read. I didn’t figure it out and neither will you (let me know if I’m wrong — I’d love to hear!). The literary “clues” are deeply embedded in the book and we need the main character to unpack them for us. Luckily there are also a lot of un-literary clues that follow more traditional murder mystery lines.

Lots of fun to read, though I admit to having had a hard time keeping track of the initial characters once the book-within-a-book began (it is not short). Horowitz is an adaptable writer — he does a great job of writing in the style of another (his Sherlock Holmes stories are a case in point). The embedded Atticus Pünd book is in the style of Agatha Christie and Pünd himself is a thinly disguised Poirot (I literally just finished watching the entire David Suchet series so it was easy to spot).

Possibly a little long — especially the embedded book. I like the Horowitz style of writing better than the Agatha Christie-like writing so that also added to the feeling of wanting to get back to the main story a little faster. As always, though, the plot twists were just the right amount of convoluted and surprising. Worth reading.

Moonflower Murders is the sequel to Magpie Murders. Susan Ryeland is living in Crete and gets called back to London to investigate the disappearance of a hotel owner. Susan's involved because Alan Conway, author of the Atticus Pund novels, had fictionalized the hotel, it's occupants, and the murder that took place there, in a book that Susan edited. Fun fact - I first heard of Magpie Murders because someone contacted my library asking how they could read the rest of the Atticus Pund series. I figured if the story was that convincing, I had to read it too. My favorite part of this series is always the Atticus Pund book within the book. It took me a little while to get into the book at first, because I don't find Susan's character very compelling. I also don't give a hoot about her romance with Andreas. But I suppose we need something to humanize her, rather than a one dimensional book editor/detective. Once I got to the Atticus part though, this book hooked me. Two interesting mysteries, and the easter eggs that "Alan Conway" plants are always fun.

Couldn't be happier to reunite with amateur sleuth (ex-publisher and book editor) Susan Ryeland--her most famous (now deceased author), Atticus Pund--and the book-within-a-book format. Hooray! Susan is coaxed back to England from Greece, where she and her partner run a hotel, by parents of a missing woman. Can she solve the case--which of course includes murder--using clues from Pund's novel? A clever, classic murder mystery. I was diverted and satisfied!

This book was a little bit confusing. I had to read it in a few sittings and forgot all the characters. I couldn't remember if it was in the " book" or part of the story. I did enjoy it and never guessed who did it!