** spoiler alert ** if you don't want to read spoilers I suggest not reading this review. I was really excited to read this book after reading the synopsis. The book started off really strong but then it took you on a wild whirlwind of a read. I loved the idea of the story but I feel like the author wanted to cram too much into one story. You can write a book without adding four of five different twists. The twist of his mom was too much. You already twisted it when Marisa is actually the surrogate and then added his mom as the villain. It made me roll my eyes. The other thing I had a really hard time with was the whole surrogate storyline. They randomly pick this girl to be their surrogate and didn't get any background information about her or her health history. Then they decided to move her into their lives. Who does that? It was hard to read. I feel like the story should have not been so drawn out. It feels like a lifetime movie.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A couple struggling with infertility invite a lodger to stay with them to help pay for all the costs they will incur trying to make their baby dreams come true. Marissa and Jake welcome Kate into their home, not knowing they have sealed their own fate (Do these people every watch Netflix or read a book?). Because Kate has an agenda of her own, one that includes Jake and a baby, but not Marissa. This is an enjoyable read but is one of many domestic thrillers using the same basic plot line.

What a roller coaster of a ride this novel is. The story is told from alternating chapters by the main characters Marissa and Kate. At the beginning of this book Marissa is pregnant and describes how she and her husband Jake take in a boarder to help pay the rent as they have just bought a new home. Alternating chapters from Kate tell a differing story which adds a lot of suspense. Also Jake's mom Annabelle is an interesting and not very nice character that is very attached to her son at the expense of everyone else's lives.
I really enjoyed reading this book and speculating about which character was telling the truth. I read this book quickly in two days and also enjoyed the very satisfactory ending.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day started off well as a young couple falls in love and buys their dream home. They take in a lodger, and from there everything falls apart. The twist to the story came fairly early on, and then the book kind of droned on and on. Maybe another twist at the end would have made this more exciting or noteworthy. I lost interest once the twist happened, way too early in my opinion, and just skimmed the rest of the book.

Magpie
by Elizabeth Day

WOW!! This book had a huge GOTCHA! From the first to the last page you just shake your head wondering and wanting to know. Brilliantly written and the storyline...WOW. Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and this wildly talented writer Elizabeth Day for the advance copy.

Really enjoyed this domestic drama by Elizabeth Day. It was very well written and executed. I loved all of the characters and felt totally invested in the story. Ah, the powers of motherhood
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

This book was not for me. At all. I was so bored and confused through most of it. Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much pointless description and fluff for my taste, The prose was weird. “Kate is cleaning. Kate is confused about this.” It felt choppy. 3rd person, present doesn’t work for me at all. 25% in it flips and everything you’ve been told is a lie. Not even a good, plot twist lie. Just a flat out “everything thus far didn’t happen.” Might as well have been reading a fairytale, which is what this felt like anyway. Fairtytale with a hint of family drama. There was no thrill. There were no twists. It ended with everything all tied up in a bow. Not my cup of tea. The premise was great but that’s the only thing I can say I enjoyed about it. I hate that.

I raced through this book because I had to know how it ended! Marisa, Kate, and Jake are fascinating characters and I rooted for them all. Not sure I'd consider Magpie a thriller, but it definitely kept me on my toes psychologically. Bravo to Elizabeth Day for pulling of a mid-book twist that I did not see coming!

Be aware that this book contains references to mental illness, rape, casual drug use, pregnancy loss, infertility, and psychological abuse.

Not your typical domestic thriller. Fun as a summer reader for book clubs. I wou,d read this author again.

Whoa this book. This book! I absolutely loved it, and I couldn’t put it down, staying up late into the night to finish. It was well-written, beautifully spun, and tense and tight. I highly recommend.

This book was billed as appealing to people who liked Gone Girl. I have to say that I don’t think it compares well to Gone Girl. While it’s very well-written, the twist is apparent very early on in the story, unlike Gone Girl, and that makes it less enjoyable IMO. Also, the end was too pat for me. It seemed unrealistic, I enjoyed the book though. The two female protagonists are well-written and compelling.

I did not anticipate the plot twist! The pace started off a bit slow for me but it picked up. The twist was revealed about halfway through and the rest fell kind of flat for me from there. It was a good story but it wasn’t as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. I enjoyed the ending.

While it’s hard to review Magpie without giving too much away, the story was missing a little something for me. Fairly predictable at times, but enough suspense to keep me engaged until the end. The characters were not incredibly likable, but I did find the story to be more plot driven than character driven. I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Day’s Paradise City, so I wanted to read more of the author and then this one showed up on Netgalley. A thriller. Because of course why write a serious drama about serious subjects like immigration when you can write a thriller that’ll sell like hotcakes because it’s all anyone wants to read these days. Can’t fault the author for wanting to be popular, but also…can’t help but be left wanting.
Mind you, this might have been an exceptional thriller, with mind-boggling twists and stunning writing and so literary as to make even the snobbiest of readers happy to have read it, but it wasn’t…well, not quite. It came very close, mind you. But as Bond would say, No Cigar, Moneypenny.
It did have a terrific plot twist, but it was a. kinda predictable and b. came about third of a way in which is way too soon. After that, it mostly went on like a messed-up but fairly straight-up narrative about…well, motherhood.
Yes, after all that, and all the layers of literariness, beneath it all it’s just another mommy thriller. Well, ok, technically mommy and daddy thriller. It’s all (and I mean ALL) about the absolutely insane crap people will do to have a baby.
Can’t talk too much about the book without giving something away. The official plot description only covers the first third of the novel, the juicy third that leads into the plot twist. Reader beware, the other two thirds of the novel will likely not live up to the previously set standard.
But also…does the world need another mommy thriller? Another reproduction-obsessed couple? I mean, when is it going to be enough? Just stay childless (the world really doesn’t need any more people), or adopt and shut up about it, already. Your genes are not that precious and there are a lot of kids out there desperate for a family.
Day is a very good writer, and so it’s quite frustrating that she decided to throw her not inconsiderable talent in this direction. Understandable, but disappointing all the same.
Because of this talent, the book is a compelling read, but in the end doesn’t amount to much. An evilly manipulative mother-in-law and babies, babies, babies at all cost are the sort of plot drivers that are dime a dozen. And if you’re into that sort of thing, this is the book for you. Maybe the author can go back to something original now with all that thriller dough. Thanks Netgalley.

I was really interested in this book based off of the synopsis… but honestly I think that’s all I liked of this one. I felt like the book didn’t have a point,,, what I did like was that it was a very quick read. I also really liked the character development. What I didn’t like was how annoying the characters were. I also was not a fan of the ending. I would say this one left me feeling quite conflicted.

Quick moving thriller with a gotcha twist like a M. Night Shyanmalan movie! Marisa moves in with Jake quickly, just after 3 months. They are equally in love and anxious to start a family. However, when Jake's business takes a hit, the new border they take in might have something else in mind.

This book moves quickly and dreadfully - you won't know what hit you! Elizabeth Day has a great way with painting interesting characters that pull you into a story that you may think you have heard before. I guarantee this one is new to you! If you like a BIG TWIST grab#Magpie #netgalley #netgalleyreads #Simon&Schuster

Marisa and Jake move into their new home hoping to have a baby right away. When some money problems result in them having to bring in a lodger, Kate, things start to change. Why is Kate so interested in Marisa and Jake? Why is she so interested in their unborn baby?

I was really hoping to love this book with all of the rave reviews, but I found it just wasn't for me. I tend to love domestic thrillers, but something about this one just didn't quite land right. I loved a majority of the book and was really wrapped up in the story, but by the end I felt that it fell a little flat.

I think if you love Gone Girl or other domestic thrillers, it's worth giving this a shot! It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I don’t even know how to properly explain this without ruining it. The characters were captivating and the story kept me interested in to the last page. I would highly recommend this book.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day has been compared to other suspense novels such as Gone Girl. This novel does hold the readers attention with three different sections, keeping one slightly off-balance. Taking an already stressful event of dealing with a pregnancy, Elizabeth Day adds in the ordinary horror of dealing with a hostile mother-in-law, so to speak.

Magpie wasn't at all what I expected based on the description. While sometimes that can be a good thing with thrillers, in this case, it wasn't. The characters felt one-dimensional and I kept getting restless with the plot. While I appreciate the author's background in fertility challenges, this book was not a good fit for me.