Review : The Magpies by Mark Edwards

Published by  : Createspace

21 March 2013

Copy : Paperback - Reviewer purchased

The Blurb

When Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home together they are full of optimism. The future, in which they plan to get married and start a family, is bright. The other residents of their building seem friendly too: the horror writer and the middle-aged herbalist who live upstairs, and the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms.

At first, the two couples get on well. But then strange things start to happen. Dead rats are left on their doorstep. They hear disturbing noises, and much worse, in the night. After Jamie's best friend is injured in a horrific accident, Jamie and Kirsty find themselves targeted by a campaign of terror.

As Jamie and Kirsty are driven to the edge of despair, Jamie vows to fight back – but he has no idea what he is really up against…

The Very Pink Notebook Review

Magpies...They attack the nests of others... This is the premise of the book and Mark Edwards has constructed a brilliantly written, tense and enthralling psychological thriller.

We start, of course, with blue skies.  A happy couple, Kirsty and Jamie.  Young and in love they move into their dream flat.  Then it starts.  The torment.  Starting small with annoying, little things that build slowly but surely to much more sinister goings on.  The perpetrators are clever, cold.  Evil.

I found the telling of this thriller unusual (I won't say why because it will spoil too much) but despite, or because of this actually, I could not guess what was going to happen next, or who the perpetrator was going to transpire to be.  This made for a fantastic and nail biting read which I completed in two sittings.  Assisted by the wonderfully uncomplicated writing and brilliant dialogue which moved along at a punchy pace I thought Edwards produced a group of sound, well developed characters, who drew me in and kept me guessing.  All with different quirks the author used them to their utmost to make you wonder - are they just innocent quirks or is there something more sinister in their meaning.

I could really feel the emotional drainage of Kirsty and Jamie, as their happiness fall from their grasp and desperation leads to a raw and aggressive need for revenge. 

It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that the prologue jumped into my mind and I suddenly had to re-read it.  Then the Oh.My.God. moment happened.  I wonder if it is just me or if a delayed recognition of the significance of it has been common in general for readers and if that was the intention all along by the author.

This is the first book I have read by Mark Edwards and I am certain it will not be the last.

The Magpies by Mark Edwards receives a Very Pink Notebook top rating of :