I can’t make my mind up about this book. Parts of it are really good. There are well written parts that gave an insight into the characters lives. Then there are confusing parts which are too long and rambling. Most of the book makes sense by the end. I feel though that the book still seems very disjointed.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

3 for neutral. I’ve tried a few times to get into this book, but have not been able to. I’m a very moody reader and will update later if finally able I read and enjoy. As I didn’t see anything I disliked, just didn’t grab me.

I'm left divided by my own opinions on Magpie. There were parts of the book that were brilliant and some that I just felt were a little too long.
The characters of Duncan the vet and patriarch, Claire, very intelligent wife and yet under Duncan's control she couldn't even take care of herself let alone Joe the son who has troubles enough of his own.
Overall I feel it's an average read.

I really wouldn’t put this as a thriller, more like a suspense.

It’s a slow burner for sure. I had to take a few breaks and read something else in between as I tended to get a bit frustrated with the chapters back and forth.

Forward, then six weeks back, forward, then six weeks back and different POVS.
It was very hard work.

The story was good......in the end, not fantastic, but OK.
I just got twisted in knots using too much brain power.

The ending was good though.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon books for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed this book, although it was slow and hard to get into. I love that the ending was a complete surprise. I look forward to reading more by this author.

This really wasn't very good...

I've not read Sophie's other book even though I've heard good things, I don't think I'll be picking it up soon after reading magpie.

I really didn't like the plot of this book. It felt very weak. I also didn't like the before and after format. It was hard to follow and got very confusing.

I really didn't like many of the characters, apart from Joe. I especially didn't like Duncan.

I thought the writing was okay, but the story just seemed to drag and lacked any exciting plot twists or turns.

There was also a good opportunity to have a discussion about aspergers in this book, which would have been nice especially for a thriller but it was completely overlooked.

This book really wasn't for me unfortunately and I don't recommend

TW: domestic abuse, animal abuse and abortion

This was a good read which kept me guessing to the end. I had figured some of the story out but enough of it was still a mystery to keep me wanting to consume the book to the end. I have read Sophie Drapers previous book which I also enjoyed but I definitely preferred this one. The two main characters were a little hard to like, but by the end you feel really quite sad for them. I look forward to Sophie’s next book.

I found the book to be confusing at first and difficult to get into. The “before” and “after” interested me but I think it needed some clarification in the beginning to alert you the fact that the story was written around what happened.

I was really excited to be presented with an opportunity to read and review this book. I have heard a lot of brilliant things about this author and the blurb and cover equally intrigued me. However, this did not meet all my expectations and I wonder if I had too high hopes for the story?

This is a dual-narrative that follows the perspectives of both Duncan and Claire. We are presented with chapters titled ‘Before’ and ‘After’; it is not until we are fully into the story does it become clear what this actually means. For the most part, readers are witnessing the breakdown of Claire and Duncan’s marriage. There is distrust, arguments and their poor son, Joe, often gets caught in the cross-fire. The writer cleverly manipulates the reader into feeling sorry for both Joe and Claire, although it is not until the final chapters do we really understand the full extent of the story.

For the most part, there is a lot of focus on setting. Draper’s vivid descriptions of the reservoir, its surroundings, and the use of pathetic fallacy, created a spooky and isolated feeling. I was glad to be wrapped up warm and inside as a result! However, I feel that this stagnated the plot and made it a rather slow-paced story. Claire seems to be running around a lot, trying to find her son, and is paranoid that she is turning mad. Duncan, who shows little care towards his family, is taking out his anger and frustrations on everyone around him. Then we have Joe, whose only escapism is metal detecting and researching his discoveries.

The title of the novel is really clever. At first, I thought it referenced Joe’s metal detecting and finding a precious coin. However, not only does Claire see magpies during the story, but also the concept of protecting special things plays a massive part. Being attracted to all that glistens – both literally and metaphorically – reflects the recurring theme of the novel.

Overall, I found the plot rather slow and a little uninteresting in places. Indeed, I felt like I had seen this all before with a broken marriage, distrustful wife and cheating husband. I would liked to have seen more detail on Joe and the people he has started to mix with as a result of his findings. I think this would have diluted the jealousy that is rife in the plot and could have provided another perspective to the narrative. It was only until I reached the final few chapters did I really find myself engrossed in the story. I could not predict the ending and found my hands would not release the book until I had finished it! This, I believe, is the type of writing I was expecting from Draper.

In conclusion, I feel this was an average thriller. For the majority of the story, it does not stand out from other books yet, the closing was dramatic and interesting. I would still wish to read Draper’s other stories and believe that her flair for creativity and unexpectedness is something that showcases her talents as a writer.

With thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really couldn’t get into this book and almost gave up half way through. I couldn’t get interested in the characters and I found it very slow and not the best storyline. Not one of my favourites, sorry

I really enjoyed this one. It is the first book by this author that I have read, it was well written and held my attention from the very beginning. Definitely a recommendation from me.

On the surface, Claire has it all: married to her college sweetheart, Duncan, who is a successful veterinarian, the pair live with their son, Joe, in an architect designed house in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. But things are not always as they seem. Duncan is a serial adulterer, their son Joe is on the spectrum and fixated on his obsessions, and Claire is bored and frustrated with being a housewife.

When Joe goes missing, Claire must piece together what is really going on within the confines of her family, and confront their secrets. And maybe the darkest secret of all is the one Claire is keeping from herself...

The book was well written and I had high hopes from the premise, which is exactly the kind of thriller I usually go for, but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. Duncan's character in particular is really two dimensional - even in the flashbacks to when they were young in love, we don't really get an idea of why Claire would put up with his affairs and his absolute condescension now. I found present-day Duncan such a starkly villainous character, he was almost a pantomime villain - there was nothing redeeming about him at all.

I liked that the plot switched back and forth between then and now, even if the chronology was a bit scatty and confusing at times, and I do enjoy a split narrative. But ultimately I felt that the plot could have been fleshed out more, and it was so slow that I almost gave up on a couple of occasions. There was also a ton of repetition, which I understand to an extent, but it was reaching the point of tedium in this.

The cover and the premise both infer that this is a psychological thriller, which I think is misleading. The story is slow, and lacking in pace and substance - it's mostly Claire complaining, and there is a distinct lack of thrills. I can't say too much about the ending because I don't want to spoil the big reveal, so suffice to say that I hated it so much, it would have ruined the book for me even if I'd enjoyed it up to that point - the twist uses one of my loathed tropes. I like my psychological thrillers to be rooted in realism, and the twist recast it into something else entirely.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm sorry it wasn't a better one - I don't like to leave negative reviews, but I really disliked this one and feel it would be disingenuous to say otherwise.

While this book was intriguing, it was not the fast paced thriller I was expecting. I would say it's more along the lines of Joyce Carol Oates, with lyrical and detailed narrative, and a touch of Gothic atmosphere. The chapters were divided "before" and "after" an event, but it takes almost the entire book before we learn what that event was. Claire is living in an unhappy marriage, with a difficult child, whom she adores. But, in typical teenage fashion, her son, Joe is pulling away from her, while her husband, Duncan, seeks attention from other women. The descriptions of the "abandoned" village and the visceral feeling you get as the author describes the fog, snow, and rain falling by Claire's cottage are beautifully evocative. While this is not my type of novel, the writing deserves four stars.

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon Books for the chance to read and review this book. I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked all the twists and turns, but I had trouble following the story line (probably just me). This book was good, but not great for me!

Claire has been secretly planning to leave her husband Duncan, when their son Joe is eighteen. Their marriage hasn’t been happy for years and he cares more about his veterinary practise than he does his family, she suspects he has been unfaithful to her several times.

Joe goes missing and the chapters alternate between before and 6 weeks after he goes missing, slowly revealing secrets and keeping the tension building!!

I did enjoy this book even though it was a slow burner and took me a while to get into it. I found the family secrets and infidelity intriguing I wanted to find out where Joe was.

For me it was a surprising ending and I had to go back a chapter to see if I had missed anything!! I think I had gotten confused with before and after chapters and wasn’t sure if I was coming or going. Definitely saved the biggest surprise until the end!!

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would as it is well written and defiantly gave me food for thought at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy on exchange for a review.

I enjoy mystery’s and thrillers but found this one too disjointed and a little dull I didn’t find the characters sympathetically drawn which made it hard to care about the events. For me it was a struggle to get to the end

Terrific read! Very fast-paced. Claire is one of my favorite characters of the year. I loved all the details of the setting - the author really made me feel like I was there. I can’t wait to check out more of her books.

So I found this book a bit unjointed at first and hard to get stuck into as it seemed a bit all over the place BUT I'm glad I stayed with it and got to the end. Some really good twists and turns that you may not see coming.
Overall a slow started but worth it.

This book was not what I expected. I found myself lost a few times while reading. There are some things that seemed to take away from the book and I feel didn't really need to be there.
Claire and her husband Duncan have a very strained relationship and Claire has finally reached her breaking point after Duncan’s latest affair. Claire has decided that she will finally leave him and plans to take her son Joe with her. Joe is obsessed with metal detecting and convinced that he will find treasure on their land. Claire has found the perfect place so that she can be hidden and Joe can still be close to his dad and the land where he spends all his time. Claire decides that she must sneak away and not let Duncan know that she is leaving. Claire has packed up Joe’s room but he seems to have disappeared. Claire continues with her plan to leave and continues her search for Joe from afar in her new home. Though Joe has disappeared a few times before, Claire believes that this time is different and because Joe is 18, the police are reluctant to get involved.
The story switches between past and present Claire and Duncan and explains the issues leading up to the demise of their marriage as seen through their perspective. Though Duncan was unfaithful to Claire, he loses himself without her and his missing son Joe and ends up lashing out at the people around him.
I wasn’t thrilled with the ending but it was a surprise that I didn’t see coming.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

It is a long time since I reluctantly turned the page in a book and forced myself to concentrate. The reason being – I don’t like to abandon a book and so I persevered. I was slightly put off by the title – Magpie as I feared the text would be haunted by the bird – but in reality there were a few mentions but not many. I get the whole ‘one for sorrow’ etc, but other than that – odd title. Maybe something I missed. Also the synopsis looked as though it would be exciting.

I am so sorry to say that I found the whole thing dull. Claire lives with her husband and son in what we are told is a beautiful glass house. He is has a successful veterinary practice and her son has given up on school and is a bit of an odd ball. Not surprised living where he does! Life is not good for anybody there and the plot unfolds between Claire’s point of view and Duncan’s with the addition of Before and After sections. It all gets a bit confusing and boring especially when things are repeated several times. I didn’t care about the characters, he was charmless and she has nothing about her whatsoever. Their son is characterless, just a name to hang in the air to give Claire something to go on about. So she decides to leave her husband – and what a splendid place she decides to move to – really?

I skim-read in a few places (a very few as I think that is cheating) but I was not enthralled by the endless descriptions of the landscape, the reservoir, the weather; just give me something to get interested in. Thrilling it is not, exciting it is not – well to be fair, that is just my opinion. For which I heartily apologise Ms Draper, truly.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.