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.

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

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 show more 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. show less

This book was slow to start, like a slow burning fire. It drew the reader in as the need to find out what happens next took over. I found it compulsive reading, although it missed a couple of realistic situations, skipping them to help draw out the plot - I mean, why wouldn't they change the locks the second they suspected someone had been in their flat, rather than try and find out if someone else had a key? And although the ending was realistic in many ways, it was disappointing, even with a glimpse of hope at the end of some kind of comeuppence for the bad guys.