This book absolutely floored me. I did not see any of the twists coming and they just kept coming. Elizabeth Day does a fantastic job of introducing you to these characters and making you understand them and then immediately turns everything on its head. This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.

Okay now that's a twist!!! FUN!!!
I didn't think I was going to like this book as much as I did. I was expecting lots of musing about motherhood (and there was lots of musing about motherhood) but there was so much more. A fascinating protagonist. A weird little love interest. A compelling villain. That's all I can say without spoiling. What a fun time!

Magpie is cleverly-plotted story about with three women who are involved in the surrogate birth of a child. Kate is Jake's girlfriend. The couple would like to have a baby, but Kate is unable to carry an infant to term. Marisa is a woman in her twenties who (spoiler alert) decides to stop taking her mental health medications when she becomes the surrogate for Jake and Kate. Annabelle is Jake's mom who takes in Marisa to care for her during the pregnancy. So, there are three females, all with different agendas, surrounding Jake, a guy who just wants to be a dad. Kudos to Elizabeth Day for crafting a good page-turning novel who has readers wondering who the crazy person really is. Slightly similar to Julia Fine's The Upstairs House, but each book shows pregnancy and mental health in a different way.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book has some serious twists and turns, and quite a dark side once it comes out.

Marisa and Jake are starting out their lives - they have not known each other long, but are moving in together to save money and start their family. Marisa does not have a family anymore and hopes that this will help her with her feelings of loss. Jake is there to support her and is a great shoulder to lean on. As they try to conceive, funds become tight in the house and they agree that they should rent out the extra room.

Kate moves in and "takes over the house." Marisa starts becoming resentful of Kate and lashes out. However, all parties are not who you think they are.

It is hard to post a summary about this book without giving away the major twists that happen. There were some issues with the back and forth; however, it was a very interesting concept and I would read another book by this author.

The book in one word, was crazy! In all honestly in delves into mental illness at the heart of it so maybe crazy isn’t the exact word I would want to use. But once you start listening to Kate’s point of view in the second half of the book you really start to wonder who is in their right state of mind.

Overall I liked this book, the writing was good and so was the storyline!

***thank you Netgalley for and ARC copy in return for an honest review***

The Magpie by Elizabeth Day

Published: May 3, 2022
Simon & Schuster
Pages: 332
Genre: Psychological Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Elizabeth Day is an author, journalist, and broadcaster. Elizabeth is a columnist for You magazine on the Mail on Sunday and a feature writer for numerous publications in the UK and US, including The Telegraph, The Times, the Guardian, New York Magazine, the Observer, Vogue, Grazia, and Elle. She is a contributing editor for Harper's Bazaar. Elizabeth grew up in Northern Ireland, and her first job was for The Derry Journal. She won a British Press Award in 2004 for Young Journalist of the Year and was Highly Commended as Feature Writer of the Year in 2013. She has a ginger cat called Huxley who approves this message.

“Anger always wins.”

Marisa is looking forward to the next chapter in her life. Moving in with her dream partner, starting a family, and just being happy. Kate wants to start a family, and after years of trying with no success, she and her partner decide they will have a child via surrogate. They never expected things would get so chaotic.

I loved how this story was told. The narration was so well done. The storytelling was flawless! The twist is bananas and not at all what I thought it would be.

The characters were all well done, especially with how the story is told. You see such a complete picture of who everyone is, and it’s fantastic.

I like that this novel handled infertility with care and ease while accurately describing the emotions that come with the weight of being infertile. I found the whole situation respectfully and thoughtfully plotted.

This was a roller coaster ride of emotion, twists, and moments that make your jaw drop. I enjoyed this book a lot. The writing style was easy to read, and the story hooked me from the beginning.

I loved how the raw vulnerability was presented in all situations. This was a brilliantly crafted book, and I highly recommend it.

The story deals well with the constant hoping and heartbreak of dealing with infertility, and infertility treatments, as a couple makes their way down the line of options for a baby they desperately want. We see the first part of the book from Marisa's POV and then we change to another POV and the story is blown wide open. I enjoyed both POVs for the most part but the intrusion of the evil mother in law flattened my enjoyment of the story. No one needs help from that meddling witch. This was a 3.5 read for me but rounding down for evil MIL and an ending that seems too rosy for several reasons.

The book starts out from Marissa's viewpoint - telling the story of her and Jake's new relationship and their desire for a child. When Jake suggests getting a lodger to share expenses and quicken their plan, Kate moves in. Once the viewpoint switched to Kate, things seemed to not be as originally thought. It was a weird transition that left me thinking there was going to be another switch. I felt disappointed at the end, expecting so much more.

I think I was just mostly...confused? It felt so slow paced that it was difficult to keep track of characters - but once it finally did pick up, I was already a bit lost and confused. I just wasn't grabbed in anyway. Part II started off with a bang - but because I had already spent time with the characters...and wasn't invested...even the wild twist couldn't keep me engaged.

It’s intense when you really want to have a baby, but there are hurdles to overcome. Whether those hurdles are physical, financial, about timing, or don’t fall into any of those categories, it can be hard for women to silence that biological clock that just keeps ticking. And many women, will stop at nothing until they hold their cherished newborn in their hands.

Jake and Marisa are expecting a baby, but have taken on a lodger, Kate, in order to make more money. It’s a bit peculiar to me. Having had three children, the last thing I can imagine wanting to do is to have someone I don’t know staying in the house to witness all the crazy. Not only that, but Kate kind of becomes a problem and Marisa is super confused about what to do.

This is really one of those books I can’t say too much about. But I can say that three’s a crowd and just wait until Jake’s mother gets involved….

Special thanks to Netgalley and and Simon and Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

The themes of "Magpie" are infertility, surrogacy, and mental illness. Spoiler Alert—The reader must determine which of the two women in the tale is inventing stories in her mind as the plot centers on them and one male. One of the women is in a long-term relationship. Sorry if this sounds confusing, but so is the story. Reading this one sent my head into a tailspin. I wondered just what the heck was going on. However, reading of the sorrow experienced by a young couple as they learn to live with the woman's inability to conceive and the painful details of her IVF treatment is what saves this novel. I sank into this part of the tale empathizing with the woman. Still, I am sure other stories deal with IVF, and they will not make you dizzy. Maybe, the author shouldn't have mixed the genres.

This book was great until the ending. It starts out with Marisa's point of view then switched to Kate's which makes the story blow wide open. The contrast between the two points of view made the story that much more compelling. The only issue with the book I have is that the ending could have been better, it seemed a little far-fetched to me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

The gaslighting is strong with this one.

Whew. I think a lot of people will absolutely love this book. It is suspenseful but I am just over the books where the woman to gaslit into thinking she is crazy or mental health is used as a trope.

So for me this book was not my cup of tea. But I do think a lot of people will enjoy it.

A frenetic paced page turner! You are spun around and unsure what to think until the very end. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy dark, twisty suspenseful plots.

I got into this book in only the first few pages. There were so many twists and turns and unexpected events. I would have never guessed the ending, but I’m so happy it ended the way it did!

This psychological suspense novel is about a couple who, after years of struggling with infertility, decide on surrogacy. I didn’t love the pacing of the story and the ending felt rushed….even with the entirety of the book dragging on. The title, ehh…like I get it, but just a symbol loosely intertwined (I think only twice) was anticlimactic at best.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Marissa and Jake find themselves in a whirlwind romance upon meeting each other. Everything seems perfect and they decide to expand their family, but when Marissa has troubles conceiving they decide to look into other options. The couple meets Kate and she seems to be the perfect fit to help them on their pregnancy journey. Kate moves in and things seem to be going great, until they aren’t. As Kate seems to be moving closer to Jake, Marissa finds herself worrying about how things will all shake out. Told from the alternating perspectives of Marissa and Kate this book will keep you on your toes and wondering which of these ladies to believe.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

An amazing book with a fabulous twist in the middle! Loved it! Gripping from beginning to end. I found the motivation of the ultimate villain to be a little hard to believe, but other than that, it's fabulous.

The plot was kind of all over in this one, but pretty easy to follow along if that makes sense🤷🏼‍♀️ i felt like it was pretty easy to see what was going to happen next. The ending twist was pretty much what i expected it to be besides a couple details. But i guess that’s kind of what excited me to speed through the last 25% of the book because i wanted to see if i was right! I liked the 2 different POVs because it really made you second guess all of your expectations. Over all a 4 star read for being a book i was kind of intimidated by!! Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!!

I was really surprised at how much I liked this book. The character development was really strong and the twists/reveals were well-paced. I loved the manipulative narrative voice - at no point did I know how I should feel.