Such a good gentle investigative tale! I wanted to know Flora’s secrets as much as her nephew. The trail of clues was so fun as he discovers the connections. Would love to read his other books.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'Mr Magenta' by Christopher Bowden

Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Amolibros and Christopher Bowden.

Publication date 6th October 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Amolibros. I have yet to read a book published by Amolibros that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).


This novel consists of a 25 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


This book is based in London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.


This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonist being Stephen Marling. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is a slow paced but intriguing mystery. The writing is very descriptive and Christopher really put me in the storyline along with Stephen. Christopher has done a fantastic job of weaving the past and present together, sprinkling them with elements of mystery, family and romance creating a fantastic storyline. I enjoyed going on a journey with Stephen from New York to London to New York and back again. My heart went out to him going from a home he knew with a girlfriend he loved to losing his Aunt, moving into her home surrounded by people he recognised but didn't know and mourning not only the loss of his Aunt but Nancy (his girlfriend) too. I enjoyed the mystery element of this book and loved it when Stephen found new clues about Mr Magenta. His Aunt Flora sounded like a fascinating woman and I really enjoyed discovering her story. I absolutely loved all the book references that were scattered throughout the storyline especially Christopher Morley's 'The Haunted Bookshop'. The title has me intrigued already so I will be looking for a copy myself. The characters were very well developed and realistic and I became completely invested in both Stephen and Flora's stories. They were both very likeable characters along with the residents of Paxton Square. It sounds like a lovely, friendly community which I would love to read more about.

Overall an intriguing mystery that will take you on a journey from New York to London and suck you in until the end.


Genres covered in this book include Fiction, Literary Fiction and Crime amongst others.


175 pages.

This book is just £3.47 to purchase on kindle and £7.15 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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I loved this. Absolutely loved it. Somehow expected a more concrete ending, but on reflection, it was just right. The kind of book to read on an autumn afternoon. Lovely.

I would rate this book at 3 3/4 out of 5 stars.

Stephen Marling recently inherits his Aunt Flora's estate in England upon her passing. His closeness and warmth with his aunt place being a refuge which at times caused friction at home, a home where even though his parents were there he was left to his own devices. With the passing and starting to go through her things he feels his aunt is relying on him to act as her custodian, the keeper of her secrets. But how well did he really know his aunt? He knew that his uncle had provide well for Aunt Flora upon his passing but really not much else other than this was the place he like to go when he was growing up. So, as he starts to sort through his aunt's things, he comes across a piece of paper with the name Mr. Magenta on it. This grabs his curiosity and makes him wonder if there was more to his aunt's life then what appears on the surface. Even though he could have ignored the paper and moved on with his life he wondered what he may be missing out on. In amongst this he is dealing with wanting a change in life and career. This a quick read that is pretty good.