Moonflower Murders

A Novel

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Lesley Manville, Allan Corduner

Featuring his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of the worldwide bestseller Magpie Murders, a brilliantly complex literary thriller with echoes of Agatha Christie from New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. 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 truth be told, she's beginning to miss London.

And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married—a picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Halle—fascinates Susan and piques her editor's instincts.

One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim—an advertising executive named Frank Parris—and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Cake, on that very crime.

The Trehearne's, daughter, Cecily, read Conway's mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris's murder—a Romanian immigrant who was the hotel's handyman—is innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened.

Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep listeners guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds, Anthony Horowitz.

©2020 Anthony Horowitz (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Keep a note pad handy

Whoa -- you might need to write down the names of all the characters in this very complex story-within-a-story. Suggest creating two side-by-side columns with the names of Story 1 characters in the first column and the names of Story 2 characters in the second column. As the book progresses, you may be able to draw connecting lines to associate a character in one story with a character in the other, but be sure to draw in pencil! A very cleverly plotted mystery (even more so than Magpie Murders), and I enjoyed it very much. Excellent narration, too, but I might tackle it again in hard copy so that I can more closely follow all the plot twists and turns. This one will keep you guessing, and after all, isn't that just what we want in a mystery?

The epitome of a mystery

I think this is the most exciting Anthony Horowitz’s books I have read He is a wizard.
Such skill and talent.
Really enjoyed this.
And the narrator made story flow.

Clever!

Different...clever...thoroughly entertaining! I loved Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders! If this is your genre, these novels are a breath of fresh air!

excellent

this is a wonderful follow-up to the previous book and I highly recommend anything by Anthony Horowitz!!!

pretty good!

Loved the mystery but agree with other reviews that the relationship issues were a little much.

Enjoyed every minute

Magpie Murders was one of the best books I’ve ever read and I was thrilled that there was a new installment. The book within a book was a novel story line (no pun intended) and I really like getting 18 hours of entertainment from 1 credit While I enjoyed listening to how Susan Ryeland unraveled the mystery of Alan Conway’s death, it was Atticus Pund that held me enthralled. I never saw that ending coming and I’m pretty good at figuring out who done it. I had the same joyful experience with Moonflower Murders. Maybe it’s a bit far fetched for Alan Conway to have hidden something in all of his books for Susan to discover, but I don’t care. Keep them coming Anthony. That Alan Conway is a heck of a mystery writer. ;)

Awesome!!

It was even better than Magpie Murders!! Lots of twists & I love Susan the main character. Also like how present real crimes are integrated into the crime books written by Alan one of the characters. Great Book!!

Well structured mystery

Great plotting, effective use of the book-within-a-book device, plausible characters who are at least bearable if not likeable. The ugliness of crimes is kept at arms' length. Fair use of coincidences and red herrings for a satisfying read.

Not my favorite of his

I enjoyed this book, but thought Magpie Murders was much stronger.
And the Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery series is even better, with its elements of humor.

Get a little notebook

Loved the book within a book. Someone in a previous review suggested taking notes or at least write down the different characters names and a quick description. This helped keep everyone straight. This is a great read/listen!