Magpie follows Marissa, Kate and Jake. Marissa and Jake seem to have a perfect relationship. So perfect, in fact, that they dream of having a baby together. Kate, is their perfect new lodger, whose rent should help them start their family. She gets on with Jake quite well.

All sounds perfect, doesn't it? Guess what, if it seems that way, it's probably not. We all read Thrillers, we know this. It's not just the fertility issues that start to put a strain on their relationship. Their new lodger also seems to like to push boundaries. It's most distracting.

Magpie is a good book. It's a solid story that I know a lot of Readers will really enjoy. I'm glad I picked it up, but unfortunately, I don't think it is one that will stick in my mind for long. For one, I'm not sure the subject matter really suited my tastes. Additionally, from the beginning I couldn't stand Marissa. I felt like I was supposed to be on her side and if anything, it was the opposite for me.

This book is broken into separate Parts. Part I is from one perspective and then Part II shifts to another. Right around this time there was a big reveal. For me, the reveal felt like it happened too early, because after that it was sort of just telling the aftermath of that reveal. It sucked any intrigue out of it for me. I also feel, and this is 100% personal taste, that I would have enjoyed it more if it would have had a format that alternated perspectives for much longer. Sure, this could add some confusion, but also, that's part of the fun.

There was something else more towards the end, but that ended up falling a little flat for me in comparison. Overall, this is a solid story. The things that didn't work for me are personal taste issues and completely subjective. I'm sure many, many Readers will have a lot of fun with this. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a shot. There's a book for every Reader and a Reader for every book. This one could be a new favorite for you.

This review feels a bit shorter than those I generally tend to write, but this one is really difficult to talk about without going into specifics. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so will leave it here. Magpie is entertaining, if not super memorable. I'm glad I gave it a shot. Even though it won't end up on any of my favorites lists, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.

This book was amazing! And the plot twist came out of nowhere and left me speechless.

I must say this is the second book that I read with a similar secondary story line, but the way this was written was so clever that I was truly shocked when it was revealed.

In this story, Marissa and Jake are the perfect couple, and their relationship is going great until Jake decides to rent their home's empty bedroom to Kate. Things are great at first, and Kate's rent money will allow them to finally start the family they both have dream to have since they met. Kate is the great roommate until she starts to get too friendly with Jake and she pushes Marissa's boundaries. And when Marissa finally announces her pregnancy, things start to get worse in the perfect picture image that she has created in her mind. As she tries to figure out whats happening between Kate and Jake, Marissa realizes that everything she has worked so hard to create with Jake is in danger, and Kate is not to be trusted.

This story was truly engaging and I just couldn't stop reading to learn about Kate's motivations. I must say that at first, Marissa came out as truly unhinged and non-trusting, and I was truly frustrated with her overreactions to Jake and Kate interactions. But as she shares more about Kate's behavior, I grew suspicious of Kate and Jack's intentions. It seemed that they were both gaslighting Marissa and making her look bad on purpose, so I start to feel sorry for her. However, I truly liked Kate and felt like she was more authentic in her interactions with Marissa that what she was leading us to believe. Overall, I feel that both characters were written in a wonderful way which makes the developments in the story even more shocking. This was a wonderful read, and I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. Also, loved the secondary story line with the Monster-in-Law and felt that it gave the main plot an unique perspective. It was an amazing book!

Truly could not predict where this one was going. Such fascinating characters and truly gets to the heart of motherhood. Thanks to S&S for the arc for my honest review.

Wow! This was quite the nail-biter- can’t put down-stay up all night book! Be prepared for a number of both surprising and shocking twists!

4 stars! WOW...Magpie was a rollercoaster! The tension and twists are strong with this one. Recommend!
Thank you to Elizabeth Day, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a quick read for me and it was so difficult to put down. I was so engrossed in this story and loved the writing style. This was heavily focused on infertility so I’d keep that in mind if that’s a triggering subject for you before you read this one. It really broke my heart at times and I really felt for these characters.

Solid psychological thriller. The twists made me question everything and I liked that the perspective flipped half way through (a la Verity, where suddenly everything you believed is flipped on its head).

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Man this book was a ride for sure!!! I had the pleasure of reviewing Magpie by Elizabeth Day for #netgalley and I’m so glad I did! There were so many twists in this book I was t sure what was real and what wasn’t. What starts as a relaxation shop story—-a couple longing for a baby takes a turn into a psychological thriller that leaves you wondering which end is up. I can’t give a more specific review without spoiling but this one isn’t one to miss! Part relationship story, part journey to motherhood and part mental health twists…pick this one up for sure. #magpie #netgalley #elizabethday #bookreview #booksarelife

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great mystery thriller novel. Recommend

👩‍🍼 I generally enjoyed this domestic thriller, but I did have a few issues.

👩‍🍼 There are two major twists in the story. The first one comes quite early, and I honestly saw it coming a mile away, so it fell flat for me when it finally happened. But I was still intrigued enough by the situation to continue.

👩‍🍼 The second twist was a little more impactful, which made me more concerned about the characters and involved in the story. However, the cause of the “twist” was resolved so easily that it was ultimately dull.

👩‍🍼 The ending was the main issue for me. It was way too perfect and neat. For a thriller, I was very underwhelmed. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it a thriller now that I’ve read it. It is much more like women’s fiction.

👩‍🍼 All that said, I did appreciate the dual perspectives about what was going on, and there are some interesting themes in the book that I think were handled well – particularly regarding mental health, infertility, and motherhood. If those themes interest you, I think you might appreciate this book.

Thank you @NetGalley @SimonandSchuster for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Jake and Marisa rent a room to Kate in order to make ends meet in their new house. Marisa and Jake have been trying very hard to get pregnant and that process isn’t helped by Kate’s intrusion into their relationship. That’s part one of the book - then comes the Big Twist, which did surprise me.

The book veered back and forth between Marisa feeling insecure and put upon and Kate feeling insecure and put upon. Jake just tried to please everyone (but especially his domineering mother) and did what he was told to do by the women in the book. This is not a thriller and not suspenseful but I did want to know how it turned out so I kept reading. The ending was actually a little wimpy. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I thought that were both just OK.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

She has almost everything. The rest she’ll take.

Single White Female meets The Perfect Nanny in this taut, psychological suspense novel about a perfect couple and their seemingly perfect roommate—that is until she threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create.

Marisa and Jake are a perfect couple, and Kate, their new lodger, is the perfect roommate--and not just because her rent payments will give them the income they need to start trying for a baby. Except no one is perfect. Sure, Kate doesn’t seem to care much about personal boundaries and can occasionally seem overly familiar with Jake, but Marisa doesn’t let it concern her. Kate will soon be gone, and it will just be her, Jake, and their future baby.

Conceiving a baby is easier said than done, though, and Jake and Marisa’s perfect relationship is put to the test through months of fertility treatments and false starts. To make matters worse, Kate’s boundary-pushing turns into an all-out obsession--with Jake, with Marisa, and with their future child. Who is this woman? Why does she seem to know everything about Marisa and Jake?

In her quest to find out who Kate really is, Marisa might destroy everything she’s worked so hard to create: her perfect romance, her perfect family, and her perfect self. Jake doesn’t know the half of what Marisa has created and what she stands to lose. Magpie is a tense and twisting novel about mothers and children, envy and possession, and the dangers of getting everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

My review: honestly this one is a hard one to review, I felt that in the beginning I liked it and was intrigued but I started to loose my interest about half way through. So I would probably have to give this a 3.5 because I was probably a 4 in the beginning and a 3 at the end.

An unforgettable story with a wild twist that will have you racing to the last pages to see how it all ends. Marisa and Jake meet and get right to the point. Both are looking to start a family immediately. They move in, and things are going well, until one day Jake's job is no longer as stable as it once was. Next thing you know, they decide to take in a lodger, Kate, but not only does she move in to their house, but also moves in on Jake. What comes next, you'll have to read it to believe it. Excellent and kept me interested until the very end.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Creepy, creepy, creepy but in such an amazing way! Take all of your worst fears about a relationship and money and put them together - tempest in a teapot time!!

A story that starts out like a nice novel of nice people getting along and helping each other through tough times...until it turns into an intense read about confused identities and mean intentions. Who the heck is Marisa, really, and who is Kate? The novel is tough to sort out, which is the best reason to keep turning the pages.

This book felt like it started out to be about one thing and then took a major left turn into territory that had nothing to do with the original premise promised to the reader. There were some really nice surprises -- Annabelle's take-charge attitude when Marisa breaks down, for example, was a change from other books in this genre. However, What started as thriller kind of morphed into a family drama. It was confusing and disappointing all at the same time. And at the end, I was left wondering why on earth the book was named _Magpie_. Other than a couple of appearances of the bird, it didn't seem to bear much weight -- literally or metaphorically -- on the story at all.

This didn't really do much for me at all.

I really enjoyed this one but I will say it took me awhile to get into it. There was something about it that despite the interesting plot and good writing that just did not suck me in right away. That being said I still recommend Magpie if you enjoy thrillers/mysteries.

Elizabeth Day gives a well-written voice to the sadness of infertility, the misunderstandings surrounding mental health and the stereotype of evil mothers-in-law. The book stalled in places, but the audiobook version made the lags tolerable. The shift in voices, from Marisa to Kate, are confusing, but ultimately truths, or at least as they personally interpret them, are revealed.

Premonitions abound from the beginning. A creepy house. A tenant without boundaries. Dealing with infertility puts the principles on edge. The pull of motherhood, the failure of IVF treatments. The narrative moves just at the right moment. What remains is a story with depth and insight.