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Magpie Murders

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Magpie Murders
Cover for Orion release
AuthorAnthony Horowitz
Audio read byAllan Corduner
Samantha Bond
LanguageEnglish
SeriesSusan Ryeland
GenreMystery fiction
Published2016
PublisherOrion
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback, paperback)
ebook, audiobook
Pages560 pages
ISBN1409158365 First edition hardback, UK
Followed byMoonflower Murders 

Magpie Murders is a 2016 mystery novel by British author Anthony Horowitz and the first novel in the Susan Ryeland series. The story focuses on the murder of a mystery author and uses a story within a story format.

The book has been translated into several languages and has been adapted into a six-part television drama series with the same title.

Synopsis

Susan Ryeland, a book editor, receives from her superior the manuscript of the latest novel of the best-selling writer Alan Conway but notices that the final chapter is missing. Shortly afterwards she learns that Alan Conway has died in an apparent suicide by falling off the tower of his mansion. A suicide note in Conway's handwriting is delivered to her office. However she has doubts and decides to investigate Conway's death in order to know the truth and to find the last chapter of the manuscript.

Development

Horowitz first developed the concept of Magpie Murders during the first season of Midsomer Murders, which premiered in 1997. He has stated that he wanted the novel to "be more than just a murder mystery story" and to be "a sort of a treatise on the whole genre of murder mystery writing. How the writers come up with the ideas; how these books are formed."[1]

Release

Magpie Murders was first released in hardback and e-book format in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2016 through Orion.[2] An audiobook adaptation narrated by Allan Corduner and Samantha Bond was simultaneously released through Orion and BrillianceAudio.[3] The novel was given a release in the United States the following year through HarperCollins and HarperAudio in hardback, e-book, and audiobook format.[4][5] Paperback editions were released in the United Kingdom in 2017 and the United States in 2018.[2][5]

In the following years the novel has been published in several languages, including Korean and Japanese (2018, through The Open Books (열린책들) and 東京創元社, respectively),[6][7] as well as Chinese and German (2019, 新星出版社 and Berlin Insel Verlag, respectively).[8][9]

Reception

Reception for Magpie Murders was largely positive, with a "Rave" rating from the book review aggregator Book Marks based on eight independent reviews.[10] It was reviewed by outlets such as The New York Times and Time magazine, the latter of which called it the "thinking mystery fan’s ideal summer thriller."[11][12][13] Common praise for the series centred upon its characters and the use of the story within a story, with some criticism noting that the story within a story also made it difficult to keep up with the goings on.[14][15][16]

Adaptation

In July 2020 Deadline announced that PBS's Masterpiece would adapt the novel into a six-part drama series and air it in the US, and on BritBox in the UK.[17] Horowitz was to prepare the script and Masterpiece was to produce it along with Jill Green and Eleventh Hour Films.[18][19] Tim McMullan was signed to portray the character of Atticus Pünd after actor Timothy Spall pulled out of the production due to scheduling issues.[20] Lesley Manville agreed to play the other central character, Susan Ryeland, who has a more significant role in the series than in the book. Daniel Mays appears as the local police detective, Alexandros Logothetis as Susan's lover and Claire Rushbrook as her sister. Jude Hill and Matthew Beard were also part of the series' cast.[21]

The role of author Alan Conway was played by Conleth Hill.[22] Other members of the cast included Pippa Haywood, Michael Maloney and Beverley Longhurst.[23] Director for the series was Peter Cattaneo.

The television series was filmed in 2021. Some exteriors were shot in London, and extensive shooting was completed in Suffolk, where much of the story takes place; the production spent more than three weeks in the village of Kersey,[24] where the Bell Inn became The Queen’s Arms.[25][26]Filming also took place in and around Dublin, with Dublin City University properties used for some scenes.[27] Other filming took place in Bloomsbury in County Meath.

On Britbox in the UK the series began streaming on 10 February 2022,[23] while in North America, the PBS series premiered on 16 October 2022.[28]

On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a 100% rating based on reviews from 12 critics, with an average rating of 8 out of 10.[29]

The adaptation aired on BBC One on 1 April 2023 and released all episodes on BBC iPlayer, but aired the six episodes each week on BBC One.

References

  1. ^ "What Makes A Good Whodunit? 'Magpie Murders' Author Spells It Out". NPR.org. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b Horowitz, Anthony (6 October 2016). Magpie murders. London. ISBN 978-1-4091-5836-3. OCLC 934197047.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Horowitz, Anthony (2016), Magpie murders, ISBN 978-1-4091-6737-2, OCLC 962356490, retrieved 7 October 2020
  4. ^ Horowitz, Anthony (2017), Magpie Murders, Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-06-283453-9, OCLC 1032596461, retrieved 7 October 2020
  5. ^ a b Horowitz, Anthony (6 June 2017). Magpie murders (First U.S. ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-06-264522-7. OCLC 959036988.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Horowitz, Anthony (2018). 맥파이 살인 사건. ISBN 978-89-329-1918-8. OCLC 1105729802.
  7. ^ アンソニー・ホロヴィッツ; 山田蘭 (2018). カササギ殺人事件: 上 (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4-488-26507-6. OCLC 1055199411.
  8. ^ Horowitz, Anthony; Wolff, Lutz-Werner; Insel Verlag Berlin (2019). Die Morde von Pye Hall Roman (in German). ISBN 978-3-458-36415-3. OCLC 1057844629.
  9. ^ Horowitz, Anthony; 梁清新 (2019). 喜鹊谋杀案 = The magpie murders. ISBN 978-7-5133-3578-2. OCLC 1122858029.
  10. ^ "Book Marks reviews of Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz". Book Marks. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  11. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (8 June 2017). "Anthony Horowitz's Whodunit Within the Whodunit (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Review: Anthony Horowitz's 'Magpie Murders' Is Catnip for Classic Mystery Lovers". Time. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  13. ^ "MAGPIE MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz Read by Allan Corduner Samantha Bond | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz review – fiendish whodunnit". The Guardian. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  15. ^ Cha, Steph. "'Magpie Murders' dishes up two tasty mysteries in one". USA TODAY. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  16. ^ Dobbin, Muriel (3 August 2017). "A mystery of simple themes and an intricate solution". The Washington Times. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (21 July 2020). "'Magpie Murders' Drama Series Adaptation Set On PBS' Masterpiece". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  18. ^ Hallemann, Caroline (23 July 2020). "The 'Magpie Murders' Is Being Made into a TV Show". Town & Country. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  19. ^ "MASTERPIECE to Co-Produce Magpie Murders | PBS". Masterpiece. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  20. ^ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "The Crown star's new drama Magpie Murders looks seriously good - see first look". HELLO!. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Meet the 'Magpie Murders' Cast". Newsweek. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b Molly Moss (7 February 2022). "Magpie Murders' Daniel Mays and Lesley Manville face off in teaser". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Where is Magpie Murders filmed?". Radio Times. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Kersey: Village pub thrown a 'lifeline' by Magpie Murders series". BBC News. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  26. ^ "MAGPIE MURDERS: Creator and executive producers on new PBS series – Exclusive Interview". Assignment X. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Film Locations on Campus". DCU. Retrieved 30 October 2022. We had the pleasure of Filming the Murder Mystery TV Series 'Magpie Murders' at DCU (All Hallows and St. Patricks)
  28. ^ Hanh Nguyen (16 October 2022). "Murder, she edited: In PBS' "Magpie Murders," Lesley Manville is a publishing world mystery sleuth". Salon.com. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  29. ^ "MAGPIE MURDERS (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
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