Outstanding! I read the authors notes at the end of the book and immediately bought Because She Loves Me. Keep them coming, please. ( )

Jamie and Kirsty move into their new flat, excited for their future. Everything seems fine until strange things begin to happen such as hoax fire calls, pizza not ordered, taxis turning up. Who could be doing this to Jamie and Kirsty, surely not the neighbours.

This is the first book I've read by the author. The Magpies is one I have heard off so thought I would start there.

This story is a neighbour from hell tale and has been done many times before so nothing new. As the story does progress it did remind me loosely of the film with Michael Keaton ' Pacific Heights'.

The story I found very flawed. There are plenty of ways realistically that could have put to stop to everything, changing the locks for one. I was really getting frustrated with thus book at times and nearly gave up several times. The book however was a quick read and I wanted to know why it was called The Magpies. This does become clear in the second half of the book and I have to say this section was the better part.

I thought the book was an OK, average read. No big twist at the end which was a surprise as most thrillers have that twists. Also there was too many sex scenes and references which did nothing for the book whatsoever. There are a further two more books in the series but I don't care enough to read them. I may try another book by the author in the future but I'm in no rush. ( )

Nope. Just nope. Sadly, this book was a waste of time. On the upside, it only wasted a few hours of my time. And I finished it, which is why it got 2 stars rather than 1. Granted, I finished the last third by simply skimming paragraphs and pages because I couldn't care less anymore what Jamie was thinking, drinking and doing.

The premise is interesting enough but the writing is simple and lacking any poetry or nuance. There is a distinct lack tension for something that I can only assume is meant to be a thriller. There is no mystery unless you count the fact that the author leaves a number of seemingly supernatural incidents completely unexplained.

On the whole, I couldn't care less about the protagonists or their plight. I just wanted it to end. ( )

What a strange book! Jamie & Kirsty Knight thought they had such a great deal with their new flat - they loved it, and the price was really good. What could go wrong? Not much, if you don't mind dead rats at your door, and spider invasions in you home, and neighbors who complain about every little sound. But those were just minor things, as were the fake pizza deliveries, and fake fire calls, etc, although it was getting to be a bit much after a while. Personally, I thought they were not very smart about handling any of the problems, and after a while, I got to the point where I almost wanted to stop reading because of the dumb things they did and didn't do. Like, at one point they wondered if certain neighbors might have a key from a previous tenant. Wait, they didn't even change the locks or at least rekey the old ones? Pretty dumb, if you ask me. Also, I'd go through a new home before moving my stuff in to make sure I knew what everything was, to make sure there were no hidden spy cams, mics, etc. Evidently, they didn't do anything like that, either.

I was almost sure that I had the basic trick figured out, and suspected I knew who it might be, but I was wrong on both accounts. Then, towards the end, I started thinking Jamie was just plain stupid and it became a little painful to read, but I kept going to see what would happen. After all, he was under a lot of stress (mostly self-induced, I though), so wasn't making rational decisions. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, though. After all, they were British, and they probably do things differently over there. :-)

The ending wasn't exactly happy, but I suppose it could have been worse.
( )

The Magpies is a disturbing story about a young couple, Jamie and Kristy, who move into a new apartment only to find their neighbors are on the weird side - something everyone fears. The suspense builds nicely as they begin to realize just how crazy they are until they suddenly fear for their sanity and their lives: great suspense and a cliff-hanger ending. ( )