Member Reviews

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC, which I have enjoyed reading.
I have read the other books in the Magpie series and enjoyed the final volume in the series which meant the readers knew that Lucy would finally be imprisoned and that Kirsty and Jamie would also have closure and be able to move on with their lives.
Excellent ending to an enjoyable series.
Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Twelve months ago, Jamie Knight walked straight into Lucy Newton’s trap. Both Jamie and his ex-wife Kirsty barely survived. Now, with the police investigation into Lucy’s disappearance going nowhere, Jamie teams up with a true crime podcaster to track down his nemesis.

But can Jamie persuade Kirsty to help? Can Kirsty forgive him for his past mistakes? And who, if anyone, will survive the final showdown? Featuring extracts from Lucy’s secret memoir, Last of the Magpies brings the trilogy to a shocking conclusion.

I've read most of Mark Edwards' books and just love his writing style. The way he writes a story is so realistic and that's what's most frightening, and also why he's one of my favorite authors. This one didn't disappoint me either! It was a great conclusion to this series and I loved the author note at the end of the book.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #LastOfTheMagpies
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2019

Was this review helpful?

Even though this book was the last in the series and I had not read the previous ones I got hooked. I can see why this series was so popular. I easily got caught up and was fully invested in the characters, I found myself hurting for Jamie, how lost he felt without the love of his life Kristie. I also could feel Kristie's pain of not being able to put the past aside and get on with her life.

The serial killer Lucy was one screwed up girl. Even though she didn't make much of an appearance in the book you were able to get a look into when this all started for her. As a young child her father could see the type of person she was going to become. Her great Aunt encouraged it even! How crazy is that??

This book was a quick read but a worthwhile one! If you like twists and turns you will love this book/series.

Was this review helpful?

I’ve managed to read the other titles in this series. They were all very good. This one is the best so far and sets the bar even higher. The different twists and plots sustain interest and with the good pace of the book retains the reader to the end. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

The Last of The Magpies – Mark Edwards

I came across Mark Edwards through Netgalley and I’ll be honest I haven’t been disappointed yet. He’s a natural storyteller (although I dare say he’d say differently). I personally believe that these could have been written as two slightly longer novels.

This is the third book in the trilogy involving the Magpies following on from A Murder of Magpies and it’s been a roller coaster of a ride. These absolutely need to be read in order; there is far too much background into the psyche of the main protagonists to start anywhere but with the first book The Magpies. I have to say there are some weird ass people out there and I would check out your possible new neighbours before signing on the dotted line.

When we begin this instalment we find that the adorable Lucy Newton is still at large and that Jamie and Kirsty are still living in fear. While they are working their hardest the police are getting absolutely nowhere. After being persuaded into joining forces with bolshie Pod caster, Emma he realises that the two of them just aren’t going to be enough. Jamie decides that he need help to find Lucy and the only one that can really do that is Kirsty but first he must make her accept his apologies over his mistakes from their pasts.

The characters in this book are disturbing in more ways than one. Neither Jamie nor Lucy were what I’d call likeable, Jamie slightly more than Lucy. Kirsty should have run a mile in the opposite direction from Jamie and then I suspect her life would probably have been so very different. Jamie is weak and in my opinion gives Lucy the blame for running his life, far much more than she deserves. Whereas Lucy appears to be as mad as a box of frogs.

I really can’t say too much more without giving away too many spoilers and that would be a shame.


Read for an honest reciew. Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing

Was this review helpful?

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!

This is the conclusion to the Magpie series. And in my opinion it was a fabulous conclusion.

You absolutely should read the other b ooks in the series before t his one in order to fully understnad what has occurred.

Id hate to give away any spoilers, but just know this book is fantastic.

Was this review helpful?

I've read a couple of Mark Edwards' books and quite enjoyed them so thought I'd try this one. It's the third in a trilogy about Lucy (a serial killer) and how she has effectively ruined the lives of Jamie and Kirsty who in the first of the trilogy, The Magpies, meet her through being her neighbours. The Magpies was reasonably good especially when Lucy and her then husband were being just very bad neighbours which is why I think it resonated with so many people.

I haven't read the second in the series so found parts of this a little difficult to follow. It's very short and in my opinion adds nothing to the original book. Everything that happens is very predictable. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC,

Was this review helpful?

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Was this review helpful?

I love Mark Edwards and really enjoyed his magpie series. I was worried that a third instalment might be drawing it out but I was happily mistaken. This book was just as gripping and I read it in an evening (an impressive thing when you have 2 under 2!). Some of our favourite characters returned, and it made for an exciting ending to this mini series.

Was this review helpful?

Last of the Magpies

This short book is an epilogue to the Magpies series by Mark Edwards.

Its now a year since Jamie and his ex-wife Kirsty nearly died at the hands of serial killer Lucy Newton. Lucy escaped police custody and has been on the run ever since. The police investigation has come to nothing but for Jamie his nightmare continues, knowing that Lucy is out there, somewhere, means he cannot bring any closure to his traumatic ordeal. When a true crime podcaster asks for his and Kirsty’s stories as part of her new true crime podcast series he is reticent at first but then decides to go ahead, however convincing Kirsty who has been battling her own terrors will be difficult, if not impossible. He’s made a lot of mistakes, has Kirsty forgiven him yet?

However, when they do start looking into Lucys disappearance they get more than they were expecting. Lucy is still in the country and they manage to track her down for a final showdown – but who they can trust is a different matter.

This is a great conclusion to the Magpies and it moves fast to get to a gruesome end. Its well worth a read if you’ve read the other 2 books, but even on its own it’s a readable book and worth the time.

Was this review helpful?

Crikey, what a read. In this book we truly see Lucy and how her mind works. This could be read as a stand alone but as the third in the set still leaves you begging for more.

Was this review helpful?

I did enjoy this book, but I was a bit lost, as I’d not read the others in the series and wasn’t to sure what was happening. I think I’ll read the others in the series and do a full proper review on Amazon when I’ve read them back to back.

I didn’t realise that this book was the last one in the series!!

My thanks to Netgalley and Mark for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I've read a number of books by Edwards and this one met my expectations. As always, Edwards delivers a gripping, fast-paced story that brings this series to an end. I'm already curious to see what this author comes up with next.

Was this review helpful?

To be completely honest I didn’t care for all three of the Magpie books. I requested this because it was Mark Edwards, he’s a great author. I also didn’t realize this was a novella and an extension of the original story. So I went back and read the first book, unfortunately I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t like the characters at all! I’m not one that necessarily needs to like the characters but Jaime was so weak and continued to be weak throughout these books. I found him to be annoying. I also didn’t like Lucy as a villain. I just found these books kinda ridiculous. Edwards said the first book was one of his first stories that he wrote, he definitely got a lot better!

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Brilliant! I’m sad that this tale has come to an end as I’ve really enjoyed it. The story is just as gripping as the first two books, and the ending didn’t disappoint. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?

What a fabulous conclusion to the magpie series. I wizzed through this just because I needed to know the outcome. I was invested in Jamie and his campaign to get his revenge and demons laid to rest. I was invested in Lucy and her outcome.
Intense and hard hitting is how I would describe all 3 books however this by far managed to crush the other 2 into insignificance!
Fast becoming one of my all time favourite authors.

Was this review helpful?

I want to start out by saying that I'm a huge fan of Mark Edwards and although some of his books I've not enjoyed as much as some others I've got some favourites in there too, I believe he has a real talent for writing thriller novels and keeping the reader engaged the entire novel which is hard to do and he does it perfectly. One of my favourite novels he's ever written is The Magpies and so when I saw there was two little sequels I needed to read them right away so I was pleased when I got approved for this arc. You should not be reading this book if you haven't read the magpies and I suggest you read the magpies because it's such a great book, with that being said let's go into my review on this final book.

The pros on this book was getting to see the characters again, Lucy is such a messed up character and I just wanted to see her get sent down for what she had done but there are cons to this book, I feel that although this happens in real life people becoming weirdly intrugued or in love with crazy killers, I felt like this was at times unbelieveable as it happened twice and I just knew it was happening again in this book because of the previous book and was suspicious from the get go.

With everything being said and gathering all my thoughts I think they are worth reading if you love the magpies however to me it really doesn't add much to the story and the magpies is gold on its own.

I will be reading more by this author because I believe he is very talented.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Mark Edwards for the opportunity to preview this finale to the Magpie trilogy.

It’s a good read that summarises the series well and needs to be read in conjunction with the first 2 books. It’s also a novella, so, a quick read.

Mark Edwards is such a good author and the storyline flows well and is fast paced.

Was this review helpful?

Good to have an ending to the Magpies tale.
Short story that didn’t have the same thrill as the initial book but a welcome conclusion.
Looking forward to Mark’s next adventures.
3.5 stars

Was this review helpful?

A good and fitting end to the Magpies trilogy. Maybe not quite as gripping as the first two, but still a very enjoyable read. Beautifully written as always by Mark Edwards, this conclusion is a short but satisfying read.

If you haven’t read any of this fabulous trilogy before you really should! Viewed as a whole this series of books is storytelling at its very best. Highly recommended.

Was this review helpful?