Thursday, November 12, 2020

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

First Line: The Polydorus is a charming family-run hotel, located a short walk away from the lively town of Agios Nikolaos, one hour from Heraklion.

No matter how beautiful Crete is, no matter how she values her relationship with long-term boyfriend, Andreas, the daily grind of managing a hotel where nothing ever runs smoothly is wearing Susan Ryeland down. So much so that she feels as though she misses London. So when the Trehearnes come to tell her of their missing daughter and the connections both to a murder that took place in their Suffolk hotel over five years ago and to a book that Susan edited, she accepts their offer and boards the first plane to England.

Is the missing woman right? Is the solution to the murder to be found in the pages of Alan Conway's mystery Atticus Pünd Takes the Case? With so many suspects being economical with the truth, Susan realizes that she's going to have to read the book in order to have the slightest chance to solve the mystery.

~

In Moonflower Murders, readers will soon learn that Anthony Horowitz does indeed have a devious mind. This book is all about solving puzzles, and there are lots of them. If you wonder why the book weighs in at 608 pages, it's because you get two books for the price of one. Like Susan Ryeland, you have to read the Alan Conway mystery that Susan edited, Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, in order to figure out what's going on and who did what. 

I did get tired of Susan procrastinating about reading the book, but I think Susan procrastinated in order to have readers become hopelessly tangled in the story. This is a marvelously twisted bit of plotting. The only problem I had with it is that I think I overdosed on puzzle-solving-- there are just too many. But it is fun, so if you're in the mood to decipher an ingenious tale full of twists, turns, and red herrings, Moonflower Murders may be just the book for you.
 
 
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
eISBN: 9780062955470
HarperCollins © 2020
eBook, 608 pages
 
Amateur Sleuth, #2 Susan Ryeland mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Net Galley

8 comments:

  1. I keep hearing this is a good 'un, Cathy. And I did really enjoy The Magpie Murders. I really think that 'story within a story' idea is a good one if it's done well,, and Horowitz uses wit very effectively. Yeah, this is on my list!

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  2. I'm enmired in beautiful Ireland right now, in the pages of Tana French's The Searcher. And I'm on several Overdrive library books.

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  3. Yes. I will put this on my TBR list when I can give the time to 608 pages! Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore is her debut book. It's not a crime-solving book, but it is about a crime against a young teenager and how many women view it and how the townspeople view it. Everyone takes sides, and the bigotry in a Texas town is shocking, even though the victim is so young.

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  4. I'm glad you liked it, Cathy. I wish I'd liked it better, but I'm in a minority!

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    1. I was lucky. This is the type of book I have to be in the mood to read. Fortunately, I was.

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  5. Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore is a very good book and takes a strong stand against bigotry against Mexican immigrants and against misogyny, while telling of the impact of the oil boom on West Texas in the 1970s on various women and girls. Very well-done.
    I would have to make a commitment to read this book, which will take longer than some of my relationships (years ago).

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