The Magpies

I loved this book, the neighbours from hell, smile at you one day and try burn down your house the next, its happened to me! So on a relatable level it struck a nerve for me. The writing and story are very soothing if that makes sense, despite what this couple is going through it's penned in a very readable manner, like a page out of a personal diary. If you enjoy a physiological thriller then I recommend this book. This is also book one in a series of 3 I believe so I'm looking forward to the rest.4.4 stars

Mark Edwards is one of my favorite authors. I have read so many of his books but haven't read his first solo book until now. It was good. I feel he gets even better after releasing the first solo venture. I love his latter work. The ending of this book left me feeling sad for Jamie. I'm looking forward to completing the magpie series.

This is my first Mark Edwards’ book and it had me finding reasons to listen/read! Looking forward to more of his books.

I think Mr. Edwards is a talented writer and good storyteller, but a few things kept The Magpies from getting a fourth star. I thought (and actually hoped) for some insight into the minds of the lunatics downstairs, but really, they just come off as cardboard cutout a-holes. We've all met people who enjoy making other people miserable just for the sake of making them miserable. But, I don't want to read 300+ pages about these evil drones. Give me something--some reason for their behavior that is plausible. Saying they are psychopaths just doesn't make interesting characters.I thought there might be a plot twist in the end, but there wasn't. SPOILERS: So, what purpose did the whole scene with the creepy children's book author serve? Why is he important? And Mary? Where they just introduced to help lure the evil neighbors away at the end? PLOT device! "We just happened to have some extra food for a dinner party and although we know you probably hate us or suspect us of witchcraft or whatever, but c'mon over anyway." WHY would Lucy and Chris do that? And why did they not torment these neighbors? I wanted to smack the crap out of Jamie by the end of the book when he didn't leave with Kirsty. He became a mindless idiot! A loser without a job, money, wife...and he wallowed in it. Get a frickin' grip. I wonder what he told Kirsty about her half of the money they'd saved. Five thousand pounds! He took HER money!! Grrrr! I'd like to know what she said about that!! And when he finds all the evidence he needs in their apartment...instead of taking pictures or calling the police he decides to burn the place down. Yeah,at that point, I couldn't stand his whiny butt anymore. And the sex scenes? I don't want to hear where her fingers probed--this isn't supposed to be erotica. It's not that I was offended. And truthfully, it's not poorly written. It's just that all that sex didn't do anything for the plot--at all. I was hoping something would crawl out of the vent or from under the bed while her fingers probed or whatever. But, no. They just had noisy sex. And there seemed to be a lot of 'filler' scenes. A good editor might have cut some useless scenes. For example: (not verbatim) this type of exchange. "Do you want to order a pizza?' "Yes, let's do that. Order it with pepperoni and mushroom." "Okay. Yes. Mushrooms are great. Maybe some sausage, too." So, I picked up the phone, dialed the pizza shop, ordered a pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms. The doorbell rang a few minutes later and the pizza guy delivered our pizza.) WTH? Really? How about cutting all that to: That night Kirsty and I ordered pizza. Would that not have been just as satisfying to the reader? A good writer like Mr. Edwards should not need to have so much filler. Even some of the sex felt like filler. Overall, the creepiness kept me interested and that's what's important. Mark Edwards does write the creepy parts very well. I would probably recommend it to a friend, but probably not one I'd get excited about telling her to read. I went back and forth between the Kindle edition and the listening to the audio when I was on my way to work. The narrator did a very good job!

Dear Mr. Edwards,I have just finished The Magpies. Let me just say that you are one smart little thriller writer, yes indeed!!! I have to say this is one of the cleverest, if not the cleverest, suspense novel I have ever read. And this is your debut book? Brilliant!As I waded into your story, I noted how fast the tension starts, actually beginning in the prologue. Nice start. As the story progresses, the tension meter veeeery sloooowly sneaks up little by little, to a taut 4-5, with an occasional heart-jolting blip to 7-8 and even a couple of dreadful 9-10s. The meter never falls below 4, keeping the reader on edge relentlessly. I have only experienced this type of non-stop tension in one other book over these last 2 years that I have been seriously reading. That book is called Because You Love Me. I think you know that one, Mr. Edwards. What a fabulous method you have here. Very, very effective if you are looking to create stress ulcers or even heart attacks in your readers.Every time anyone did anything in this story, I went on red alert, asking myself if I was facing a real clue or if my thoughts were just a manifestation of my newly acquired paranoia. There were so few characters in your book; it should be easy to figure out, right? Well, shoot, you made it so unclear, I had to suspect every one of them of being involved at some point. And what about that boatload of clues that kept coming? So many clues, but you made it impossible to get them to add up to anything I could figure out; and then it was laid out so nicely in the end. I hate feeling like I am fooled, Mr. Edwards, and by golly, you got me good. And yeah, I admit in retrospect that all the clues were there to lead me to the answers, but you weren’t going to make it easy, were you?And how about that ending, Mr. Edwards? Have you not been to Hollywood to learn about Hollywood endings? My, my, my. Apparently not. Lucky for you, I think an author brave enough to steer away from a Hollywood ending should get a gold star.How can I not say how delighted I was to see your note about this book being based on a true story (yours) and is therefore a memoir of sorts. Write what you know, right? The real capper is the part about a potential recurring “something” that just might be popping in and out of your other writings. Great way to ensnare us readers into checking out your other novels. Clever, I say, very clever.I read The Magpies along with 3 reading buddies, and we had loads of fun critiquing it to death. Even though for the most part you tripped up all of us, I must begrudgingly admit this is one heck of a story you wrote, Mr. Edwards. I am also going to have to recommend this tale to all fans of psychological suspense and thriller lovers, albeit with a warning: Make sure you check with your doctor first to see if you can take it.Kudos, Mr. Edwards!Sincerely,Christine, your fan.

Very well written. Surprises with every page turned. The interactions of participants was challenging to follow but very interesting. The graphic set scenes were not needed. Basic suggested sexual activity would have been sufficient.

Great thriller which produced physical anguish while reading. The outcome was just and unexpected , highly recommended for suspense lovers .

One of f best thrillers I've read 😄😄

ON A TOUS RÊVÉ DE SE DÉBARRASSER DE CERTAINS VOISINS...BON ROMAN BIEN ÉCRIT ET QUI TIENT EN HALÈNE JUSQU’À LA FIN.

Un libro che ti prende dalla prima all’ultima pagina. Veramente ben scritto. L’ho letto tutto d’un fiato. Consigliato agli amanti del genere.

Aunque normalmente no suelo opinar sobre las novelas que leo, pero sí leo las opiniones de los lectores antes de elegir mis novelas. Me sorprendió el hecho de que ésta solo contara 3 de media. De las 50 novelas que he leído este año es una de las pocas que se me ha quedado grabada por la originalidad de su argumento, por la capacidad de ponerme los pelos de punta y por el hecho que quizá en mayor o menor medida le pueda pasar a uno mismo.