Moonflower Murders - 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.

Blurb taken from Goodreads. 

*

I was so excited when Moonflower Murders was announced! I'd read Magpie Murders a few years back and thought it was such an interesting idea. A book within a book, used as a source to solve a fictional murder mystery! Magpie Murders was easily a five star read for me, and I was so optimistic that Moonflower Murders would be the same.

Having finished it, I don't think Moonflower Murders quite lives up to the first book. The novelty had kind of worn off, so although it was still a fun way to use the book within a book, it wasn't as exciting as when I first experienced it. I found this one a little bit confusing in places, if I'm entirely honest. However, it was still a really strong story that was cohesive and wrapped up really neatly (which I love to see!). 

All in all, a great book, but perhaps not as much of a novelty.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

The Story

I imagine it's incredibly difficult to make the idea of a book within a book work. There needs to be enough context before we launch into the second story to keep us interested, but this second book also needs to be realistic as its own story. Atticus Pund Takes the Case was actually a decent sized length, and I enjoyed it as a standalone! When we revert back to our story, we need to be completely comfortable to launch back into that world. It's a bit of a balancing act, and I'm really impressed with how well it was carried off! I would have really loved to have seen a bit more depth to the story outside of the included book. That felt very cohesive, whereas the story outside of that felt a bit disjointed in places. 

However, it was a great story to follow. I loved the setting of the hotel, and the characters were all really interesting. It like it had a lot of natural narratives that spanned out to make for some classic red herrings. Surprisingly, I quite liked Susan's storyline as well, showing how she came from Crete to be involved in the mystery. And it was all wrapped up so neatly, which I really appreciated. Every little detail was explained at the end, and although it was a little excessive in places, it made sense.

If I'm honest, it just felt like a bit of a stretch. Magpie Murders made really great use of Alan Conway's death in a way that made for a really dynamic start. Moonflower Murders was a bit more fabricated, and it therefore took a little while to get going. I did really enjoy it, but it didn't feel as natural as the first book.

The Verdict

I've been a little bit critical of Moonflower Murders in this review. That's purely because my expectations were so high, and Anthony Horowitz is such a clever author, that I did hold it to a much higher standard. Truthfully, this was a really clever novel and I really enjoyed it. It's nice to read some really original fiction, and I enjoyed getting my teeth into this one. I don't think it was as good as Magpie Murders, but that was always going to be a very high bar. It was still a great murder mystery that I really enjoyed.