My Review for Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz #Murder #Mystery #Suspense

 

Title: Moonflower Murders

Series: Susan Ryeland #2

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Publisher: Random House UK, Cornerstone, Century

Pub Date: 20 Aug 2020

Pages: 608

Rating: 4.5/5*

 

My Review:

This is a book within a book murder mystery, a literary conundrum to keep you guessing.

Susan Ryeland has been forced to retire as her publishing company literally burned down. She’s now living and working running a small hotel with her Greek boyfriend. They’re following his dream, but she’s tired out and missing her previous life as they struggle with the pressure of their new roles. When hoteliers from England turn up to enlist Susan’s help in discovering where their daughter, Cecily, is, Susan is initially confused and reticent but then agrees to help – for a substantial fee. It seems that Susan was the editor for Alan Conway who wrote a book, Atticus Pund Takes The Case, based on a murder which happened in their hotel eight years ago. Their daughter read it and contacted them to say the wrong person has been convicted of that murder and it is all in the book. The next day she vanished without revealing just who she thought was guilty. . . . As Alan died two years earlier, they believe Susan is the person to help discover what has happened to their daughter and reveal who was guilty of the murder and so this intriguing story begins!

This is an intriguing mystery and you even get to read Atticus Pund Takes the Case to look for the clues yourself. As Susan investigates what people remember of the events from eight years ago, she endeavours to build a picture of it all, putting the pieces together before re-reading the book to look for additional clues. She needs to be careful though as the murderer is still there and has already murdered someone….

There are some brilliant characters portrayed in this story, which has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing right to the confession letter at the end. The interactions between the characters, the revelations, secrets and suspense make this a fascinating read, a real page turner from this master of this genre.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and finding it a fascinating read.

Synopsis:

A bestselling crime novel. A labyrinth of clues. A killer with a lot to hide.

Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly intricate and original thriller

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend. It should be everything she’s always wanted – but is it?

She’s exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does. And she’s beginning to miss her literary life in London.

And then an English couple come to visit, and the story they tell about a murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter, Cecily, was married is such a strange one that Susan is fascinated by it.

And when they tell her that Cecily has gone missing a few short hours after reading Atticus Pund Takes The Case, a crime-novel Susan edited some years previously, Susan knows she must return to London to find what’s happened.

The clues to the murder and to Cecily’s disappearance must lie within the pages of this novel.

But what Susan cannot know is that very soon her own life will be in mortal danger…

Buy links: Amazon