The Magpies

“In cities, after all, you are always within screaming distance of a psychopath.”
― Mark Edwards, The Magpies

My first 2020 book!

So I finally read The Magpies.

People, this book is good. But more then that..it is GENUINELY frightening. And I do not say that about many Domestic thrillers.

So a brief plot outline..Kirstie and Jamie have moved into the flat of their dreams. They fell in love with the place and plan to make their lives here. Then they met their neighbors, Lucy and Chris.

I do not even know what to say without giving stuff away. Needless to say, the book had me at hello. I could not put it down. I bet you will not be able to either.

One thing that was tough for me..as the harassment went on I started getting more and more show more angry at these neighbors from Hell so that I'd have to put the book down every so often. I wanted so badly to punch them. And I am not a violent person. But these two nutters would test ANYBODY'S self control. Read all about em and see for yourselves.

SPOILERS:

I would REALLY like a part two of this. I would like to see what happens to Jaime, what happens to Paul and Heather..also even a prequel as to how the two sociopaths got together would be a cool idea.

EDIT:..There IS a part two which I did not know when I wrote this..there is a part three too..I'm on it!

I must confess..my patience eroded with Jaime. He did not even seem to love his wife anymore. All he cared about was getting even with the neighbors. How many of YOU would stay after some of these things? And just giving away all their money like that? I understand he was slowly losing his mind but still..

I read that the most common question the reader gets is what the heck happened to Paul. Paul was my favorite character. I also really did not get why he did not blame Chris for what happened and was so quick to dismiss Jaime's concerns.

Was shocked to see this was based on a true story..glad the writer did not do what Jaime did. It must have been terrible to go through.

So in short..a brooding, intense book with an ever encompassing feeling of dread that I believe would hook most thriller fans. It is SCARY..really so much so..and the atmosphere created is terrific. Now I want to read every book this incredible writer has ever written. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Jamie and Kristy are wonderful, completely likable characters. When the first few incidences happened I wondered who it actually was that was doing them and whether they were just coincidences. Then they started to get worse....and then much, much worse. It was impossible to predict what would happen next at any stage of the book. If you have seen the films "Fatal Attraction" and "Jagged Edge"...then be prepared for the same feeling of terror as those physiological films gave you. I was just wishing that Jamie and Kristy would get out while they still could. I have loved everything that Mark Edwards has ever done but this one may well be the best ever.

3.5*-- There were typos and grammatical errors, the gratuitous sex didn't fit with the book's genre or premise and secondary plotlines weren’t fully formed.

The Magpies by Mark Edwards is a story of a hopeful young couple who buy a flat outside London. Their happiness comes to a grinding halt when their sociopathic neighbours instigate a game of harassment that quickly escalates from a nuisance to a threat.

Edwards portrayed Jamie well by gradually developing his protagonist's personality to support his ending. He did a realistic job of showing Jamie’s psychological reaction to the events he faced by illustrating the character’s stages of grief as he struggled with his circumstances.

The fact that Kirsten had the same dream as a show more cameo character she’d never met was a miss. It shifted the genre from psychological thriller to supernatural, which didn’t support the plot. There were episodes of redundancy that dragged the pace, and the secondary characters’ roles were weak. Paul was an important addition to show the level of threat and the abandonment issues Jamie faced, but Edwards’ emphasis on irrelevant points left the storyline dangling. Again, it shifted to supernatural but Edwards abruptly abandoned the direction, leaving the preceding passages disjointed. The buildings’ other tenants were a confusing addition. Removing superfluous details and focusing on their role would have tightened the suspense.

Overall, an easy to digest read. show less

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 show more 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. show less

A young couple (Jamie Knight and Kirsty Phillips) move into a new apartment building. They love their new apartment and look forward to living there. They eventually meet all the neighbors in the building. Soon after, they begin to have problems. One day they find a dead rat on their doorstep. They keep getting deliveries of parcels that they didn't order. Then the letters start coming. Things rapidly get worse. A certain couple in the basement flat (the Newtons) seem to be trying to make Jamie and Kirsty's life a living hell...

This was a totally captivating, entertaining, and intense read. Talk about your neighbors from hell! The Newtons were a very strange and scary couple. I felt bad for Jamie and Kirsty, seeing how optimistic and show more happy they were in their new apartment, and then how they became depressed and worried as the Newtons started and continued their terror campaign against them. I would have moved out of that building a long time ago!

A hard to put down, tension-filled read. show less

I had a tough time with this book, to be honest. I read the summary and thought I would absolutely love it. I mean, what is scarier than a realistic story about neighbors that seem perfect at first glance and then become monsters? I was even sucked in early on, but the thrill quickly faded. So, kudos to the writer of the summary for the book, because it hooked me in. I just wish I enjoyed the book as much as I thought I would.

The story follows Jamie and Kirsty as they embark on a new life adventure: living together. The young couple finds the perfect paradise to start a new chapter in their lives and fall in love not only with their new apartment, but also with their seemingly normal neighbors. Paradise slowly plummets into hell with show more the downstairs neighbors, Lucy and Chris, turn their world upside down. Dead rats on the doorstep, banging from the floor, harassing letters and spam mail are just a few of the things Jamie and Kirsty have to deal with, but the pranks get increasingly violent just when they think the worst is over.

For more thoughts on The Magpies. show less