I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

*Magpie* by Sophie Draper is a psychological thriller that attempts to explore the complexities of relationships, but ultimately falls short in several areas. While there are a few intriguing twists, including a decent one at the end, the book suffers from significant repetitiveness throughout. The pacing is slow, making it a bit of a slog to get through, especially for those hoping for more action or suspense.

The characters—particularly Claire and Duncan—are not very likable, and their strained relationship, which is central to the story, is painful to read. Their interactions often feel forced and lack the natural flow of genuine dialogue, leaving the characters feeling flat and artificial. This made it difficult to become emotionally invested in their journey.

While *Magpie* has potential, the stilted writing and lack of compelling characters ultimately prevent it from being a truly engaging read. It may appeal to readers who enjoy slow-burn psychological thrillers, but I found myself wishing for more depth and connection.

A difficult book for several reasons. I didn’t like either narrator at all- neither character drew me to them or behaved well. The narrative flipped back and forth between narrators and between time periods - ‘before’ and ‘after’’.

This was a frustrating, rambling story. Fleeting hints were buried in overly long thought monologues. I could honestly have hurled this book across the room at times for its deliberately opaque delivery- leaving me wondering only why I was still reading rather than about the plot.

Two thirds in and the plot finally grabbed my attention. I was however relieved to finish this. The twist to the tale wasn’t entirely unexpected as the hints had been there, and there was such a disquieting feeling arising from the pages. .

I’m sorry this book didn’t ultimately work for me. It’s clearly divided readers and I’m in the negative camp.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I always appreciate the chance to review books like this.

Magpie follows the POV of both Duncan and Claire, and the events before and after the disappearance of their son, Joe. The couple have since parted ways, and we see how differently they are both coping with the disappearance of their son and their break up, and Claire’s desperation to find answers and get to the bottom of it all. The back and forward between the different POV and timeframes was a little much at times, but I do think that it was necessary for this story to work. The way Claire’s mind operated in the after sections was particularly interesting. She was living in a world of paranoia and denial, and I really enjoyed how that was shown within her actions.

If I’m honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of many of the characters, which meant that I didn’t really connect with them or feel much for them. The only one I did feel sorry for was Joe. A lot of the time, Claire and Duncan only seemed to care about themselves, and often it seemed that they forgot that Joe was even there. He clearly didn’t grow up in a healthy environment, and it’s no wonder that he struggled. Claire did redeem herself a little on that front, but it was too little too late for me. Claire and Duncan had been through so much together, and the weight of that was ultimately what tore their relationship apart, and consequently destroyed their family. Maybe if they had communicated with each other a little better, they could have avoided much of the heartache.

There were some very tough subjects tackled towards the end of the book, and a twist that I did see coming, but it was a very good touch, and extremely well executed too, so the fact that I had already predicted it had no real effect on the impact that the twist actually made to the book. The storyline had so much potential, and I did enjoy it, but I just felt that it was lacking something, and that has been reflected in my rating.

I give Magpie a 3 star rating.

I heard a lot about Cuckoo when it was released. I haven't got around to reading that yet, but I was eager to see what Sophie Draper can do. I wasn't disappointed! The novel is separated into "before" and "after" chapters but it's not clear what divides these times until the very end. This is just one question that runs through Magpie and I was forever intrigued as it reached its climax.

Magpie is set in rural Derbyshire and Draper sets the scene wonderfully. It makes the novel incredibly atmospheric: the scenes in the woods in particular are really creepy and I often felt my skin crawl!

At the heart of Magpie is a dysfunctional marriage and it's brilliantly observed. Through the dual narrative, the reader sees both sides of the story. This made it very easy for me to get to know the characters and understand their actions and they have left a very poignant mark on me.

Magpie, by Sophie Draper, was very haunting and atmospheric. I was a little confused about the woman’s living situation near the beginning, but it eventually made sense. I am thrilled I continued to read. I loved her descriptions of her interactions and thoughts.

I wasn’t as crazy about the back & forth in time line, but it made sense once getting to the end. This was a great read that I got through quite quickly.

I was provided this book on exchange for an honest review.

Not for me, persevered to the end however found myself skipping chunks to do so. Plot a little slow and a little confusing too. Was promising so maybe a one off!

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I found myself rushing to get it finished as it was confusing, repetitive and slow. This was disappointing about enjoying her previous book, Cuckoo.

I was fairly disappointed with this book, the synopsis seemed really good but the book just didn't deliver. It was very long winded and I struggled to finish it.

I found it difficult to get on with the slow pace and the narrative flipping between then and now but I'm glad I stuck with it and saw it through to the twist at the end.

This book had a lot of potential, it was enjoyable but left me wanting more. I felt there was a lot more that needed to be told.

I liked it then I didn’t then I did again! I really couldn’t make my mind up on this and then 2/3rds through I couldn’t put it down. A great read and recommended.

Magpie by Sophie Draper
Rating *** 3.5/5
Claire and Duncan Henderson meet at university. He goes on to run a successful Vets whilst she becomes a stay at home Mum to their son Joe.
Joe has problems in relating to other children and different situations so Claire’s plans to return to her vocation never materialise.
Duncan is a good provider and builds them a dream home but it’s not Claire’s dream. Now Joe is eighteen, the marriage has broken down due in no small part to Duncan’s numerous affairs and attitude. Claire plans to leave and take Joe with her.
A good start but it kind of floundered only to reach a startling, twisting conclusion with many red herrings. I was glad it stuck with it as it was a wow of an ending, many things falling into place.
Worth a read.
My thanks to Sophie Draper, HarperCollins/Avon and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel for which I have written an honest and unbiased review.

This book isn’t a thriller but also isn’t a mystery. I am unsure how to categorise it.
I felt that this book lacked pace and was a slow burn. At times I found it boring.
The storyline jumped backwards and forwards so many times that it was confusing.

I I loved the synopsis of this book and had been looking forward to reading it, but ultimately it let me down and I really struggled to finish it. In fact I gave up and only went back to it 8 months later! I found it quite slow, ,repetitived depressing. Not for me, sorry!

I was looking forward to reading this book but was a little disappointed. In my opinion I thought it was very slow and nothing much happened throughout. I have this authors book ‘cuckoo’ to read so I’m hoping that will be more to my taste.
Thank you netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Claire lives with her husband Duncan and teenage son Joe in a state of the art barn conversion overlooking a reservoir. She and Duncan have been married for over twenty years, having been married fresh out of vet university. Whilst she absolutely adores her son, she hates her husband who has consistently cheated on her throughout the marriage and treats her coldly but Claire has decided that she’s had enough and it’s time for her to leave. So she starts getting everything in order for her departure, signing a rental agreement for a cottage that she’ll live in with Joe and even going as far as doing an online grocery shop ready for moving in. So why can’t she leave? Why does she want to find out who the current other woman is so badly? And what will she do when she discovers the truth?

This is a slow burning story with an awful lot of descriptive language which bored me occasionally but I feel that it’s worth it at the end. The ending surprised me very much, it was so clever and I genuinely didn’t see it coming.

Many thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Well written mystery. Great plot and character dynamics. I highly recommend. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

Magpie is Sophie Draper's second book and although I haven't read the first I have heard great things about it, so I was excited to read this one.
It is a mystery story that is based around the lives of Claire, her husband Duncan and their son Joe. It is clear that their marriage is not a good one and Claire has been planning to leave for some time. She was just waiting for Joe to grow up it seems but then he goes missing. Where did he go? Is he still out treasure hunting?
I found this story quite hard to follow as it does switch back and forth quite a lot and at times I found it confusing. I also didn't really connect with any of the characters, I'm not sure if this was due to the constant back and forth or that they just weren't very likeable.
I did think the ending was quite thought-provoking but I feel I somehow got lost along the way.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books for my chance to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and Avon Uk for the opportunity to read and review this book. Just started this one and it is intense. Love a good domestic mystery. And that cover is stunning!

She’s married to him. But does she know him at all?

Claire lives with her family in a beautiful house overlooking the water. But she feels as if she’s married to a stranger – one who is leading a double life. As soon as she can get their son Joe away from him, she’s determined to leave Duncan.

But finding out the truth about Duncan’s secret life leads to consequences Claire never planned for. Now Joe is missing, and she’s struggling to piece together the events of the night that tore them all apart.

Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they’ve told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family … But can she face the truth?

You’ll get lost in this dark domestic mystery – with a twist you won’t see coming…

I quite liked how this book went back and forth between 'before ' and 'after '. This kept the story interesting. Quite a good ending, which I didn't guess until the very end.