Member Reviews

I anxiously awaited this title and was not disappointed! This book was satisfying with the story within a story like the previous books (Pund has a new mystery which connects to real life). I wish the Pund part of the story was a little longer, but there were a lot of clues and I was surprised at the big reveal. It looks like this will be the last in the Susan Ryeland series, which is too bad, but does do a good job of concluding Susan’s journey.

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Susan Ryland is back from Greece and working on a continuation Atticus Pund mystery. The new author, Elliot Crace, is every bit as mercurial and difficult as Alan had been. Susan is drawn into Elliot's life and family drama (his grandmother was a famous children's author). Susan's delving leads her back to her former employer. What will happen? What trouble is Susan going to get onto this time?

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Marble Hall Murders
Anthony Horowitz


A cozy, comforting, compelling murder mystery, for the reader, he pushes all the right buttons. The subjects and settings seem familiar , but somehow different. The plots become increasing complex and the characters more elaborate.There are the predictable twists that end in unexpected ways.
Be sure to read Magpie Murders which lays the foundation for this three book series. Another Horowitz success.

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Susan Ryeland has returned to England and she's back working as a freelance editor of the final Atticus Pund book.
I, for one, was very happy to welcome back Susan. I seem to feel we have a personal relationship1. Her new author is Eliot Crace. Murder, Mayhem and interesting family dynamics make this a fabulous addition to Ryelands adventures.

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SPOILER ALERT!!!

No matter how many friends tell you how good Anthony Horowitz's "Marble Hall Murders" is, do not crack it unless you have read "Magpie Murders" and "Moonflower Murders."

Of course Marble Hall is another brilliant story from Horowitz that can stand on its own, but it is so much better if you know the history of book editor Susan Ryeland. You are robbing yourself of two suspenseful reads if you just plow into book three.

Susan is back in England and editing a book by another very difficult author, comparable to the very difficult author in "Magpie Murders." For a third time, Horowitz provides a story within a story so the reader learns not only what's up with Susan but also watches 1950s private detective Atticus Pund (think Hercule Poirot but not so prissy) solve a very challenging puzzle.

Horowitz is the best. His television credits include "Midsomer Murders" and "Foyle's War." Magpie and Moonflower have both been produced by PBS for Sunday night viewing; Marble Hall is surely in the works already.

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Love this series and this one is no exception. Part of it I figured out, but wasn't sure that Susan had and she was making me nervous. The other part I did not see coming! Of course Atticus Pünd plays a pivotal role and Alan Conway plays his part as well. Satisfying read in what I hope is not the last in this series.

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Super engaging mystery that had me on the edge of my seat! I will certainly look for future publications from this author!

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Susan Reyland is back and getting into more trouble in this latest installment. Returning to England, Susan is asked to edit a new Atticus Pund, written by Elliott Crace, a troubled young man, whose grandmother was a literary giant.

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Normally, I inhale Horowitz’s books, and this one was no different. I always feel like I want to know what happens, and then feel down that I’ve finished it so quickly and there isn’t more to read. This story had a few lines of interest, and for the first time I immediately knew 1/3 of the culprits. I’m hoping this was intentional and that most other readers would have guessed it, and if not, I hope it doesn’t mean that there will be less challenges to come in future books. I never know who it was, but this one was like a light from a lighthouse to me. Even so, I always love reading a Horowitz book. I can’t wait for more, and each time they are over too quickly. Even if you can guess, it’s still worth it to read through to see if you were right. And it’s a good surprise and ending even as this book comes to a close. I anxiously await Mr. Horowitz’s next book, as he is one of the authors I look out for, and highly suggest this book if you’ve enjoyed any of his others. Thank you so much to Netgalley for an early reading copy.

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I was absolutely delighted to see a new installment in the Susan Ryeland series! I enjoy the characters more and more in each fresh new installment, and Anthony Horowitz's writing is superb, as always.
In this book, Susan has left Greece to permanently move back to England. She is editing a new Atticus Pund book by Eliot Crace, a young author charged with continuing the Pund series. His grandmother was a famous and well-regarded children's book author, and Crace believes that she was actually murdered. He has hidden clues of the real-life crime inside his new Atticus Pund book. Soon, Susan finds herself involved in the investigation. The mystery well plotted and I really enjoyed the final outcome.

I LOVE many things about this series, but one element is definitely how this series features a book within a book! It is creative and clever how the two stories are intertwined. I will recommend Anthony Horowitz books to anyone but, I really enjoy suggesting this series in particular to mystery readers who stick to mostly classics, like Agatha Christie. Inevitably, they love it every time.

I hope there is more Susan Ryeland to come!

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Definitely a fun return if you've read the previous books in the series. I don't think it would work as a standalone. I really enjoyed a return to the, admittedly even more far-fetched, sleuthing with Susan. And the novel within the novel device continues to be compelling, this time with the added meta-commentary on publishing continuation series. Seems like this will be the last installment and I think it's a worthy conclusion.

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I love Anthony Horowitz but this wasn't my favorite - and that's okay because I was still entertained. And with the Susan Ryeland mysteries, you basically get two books in one.

Having two separate stories does make me prefer one over the other. I liked the Susan/real storyline better than the Pund book at first (I found "Pund's Last Case" hard to follow and kept confusing characters). But then I liked the Pund storyline better toward the end when it was all the real people as fictional characters. I do appreciate that Susan isn't an idiot but I figured it out along with her about whodunnit and the various secrets everyone was hiding and that isn't fun - I want to be fooled! I want clues that are sprinkled around and I can't tie them all together until they are displayed at the end for me!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review in advance of publication!

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I’ll be honest: I kind of read this book as a mistake because the cover design made me think this was part of his other detective series. Once I realized it was the third book in a series I actually don’t like, I almost didn’t give feedback on it at all! But then I saw that it was marketed as a standalone and I thought all right I’ll see how it goes. This was actually an excellent mystery which I greatly enjoyed and would definitely recommend! Bonus for me: I read this while I was actually visiting London and felt like I was in the novel as I read it, so that was a very cool reading experience.

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As a longtime Anthony Horowitz fan—starting all the way back with Alex Rider—anytime he releases a new novel, it shoots straight to the top of my reading list. And, as always, he doesn’t disappoint. Marble Hall Murders, the third book in the Susan Ryeland series, is another masterfully crafted mystery.

I strongly recommend reading the first two books before diving into this one, as Marble Hall Murders references key details from the first title. Horowitz once again uses his signature book within a book structure, as Susan finds herself editing a new Atticus Pünd mystery—this time penned by a different author. But as she digs in, she begins to suspect that the novel may be mirroring a real-life murder—the death of the author’s grandmother.

Beyond the mystery itself, readers will get an inside look at the publishing world, and Horowitz keeps things engaging with plenty of red herrings. The story practically pulls you to the finish line, making it hard to put down.

I only hope this isn’t the final book in the series, as it appears to be. If it is, Marble Hall Murders is a fantastic (but bittersweet) conclusion.

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First, anytime you see the name Anthony Horowitz, you know it’s going to be great, and Marble Hall Murders is no exception. In fact now that Atticus Pund is a television series it added to the enjoyment of the book and was fun picturing Susan, Atticus and the other characters.

Susan has moved to England and is trying to get back into the publishing industry. . Her new boss assigned her a writer, who was known trouble, and writing the new Atticus Pund book. The author doesn’t want Susan to critique or change his book, only to read it. Although the book so far is quite good, Susan discovers he’s had a terrible childhood being the grandson of a famous children’s writer, and he’s writing a thinly veiled novel with his entire family in it. Not only that but he’s friends with Charles wife, the man Susan put in prison. Susan becomes a little too nosy in everyone’s life and is in danger on all sides. With multi layered multiple plots Horowitz once again proves himself to be a master at mystery, and creating characters. I only hope there’s many more books in this series. They’re not to be missed. I’d give it more than 5 stars.

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Number three in the Susan Ryeland series (after Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders — both now streaming on Masterpiece). Susan was the editor of the fantastically successful Atticus Pünd detective series — from inception until disastrous events brought the series to an end. You’d think she would have had enough, but dire straights lead her to accept a job editing a continuation novel, written by Eliot Crace — a well-known loose cannon who is nevertheless blessed with a beloved children’s author as a (now deceased) grandmother.

It’s a classic story-within-a-story format — we’re reading the Crace novel as fast as he produces pages while simultaneously reading Ryeland’s story as she keeps sticking her nose into the author and the story, which continues to mirror reality to an uncomfortable extent. The two stories dovetail in weird and twisted ways and I never saw what was coming, though the clues were all there. I love Horowitz’s writing — clear and concise and bringing characters to life with minimal, essential, prose. The mystery (two in parallel really, one fictional and one not) is excellent on its own, but I also loved the meta layer exposure of the literary world — how writers write, the relationship between author and editor, and basic survival tips for the publishing industry. It’s full of anagrams, ethical discussions, and deliciously clever (albeit often evil) moves. I always appreciate a book that has no stupidity — intentional or not — in its pages!

Some facts new to me: According to the Authors, Licensing and Collecting society, the average salary earned by a novelist is a mere 7,000 pounds a year — not a lot (not even a little, really). There are around 200,000 books published in the UK every year ( and as many as 1 million in the USA) and as Horowitz writes: “How many of them do you really think are going to end up on the front table at Waterstones?.” Lastly, I had never heard of the Nazca lines in Peru — giant geoglyphs in a Peruvian desert dated between 500 BC and 500 AD that are so large they can be seen from space (for those who have read it, this reminded me of Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan.

Easy read, completely engaging, and (IMHO) book clearly better than the Masterpiece series (which itself is very good, but the book is better)

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I was so excited to get my hands on this ARC, and it did not disappoint! . Susan is now a freelance editor and is given the opportunity to edit a new Atticus Pünd novel titled Pünd's Last Case by Eliot Crace. Eliot's grandmother, Marian Crace, was a famous children's book author who died 15 years ago, and Eliot believes she was poisoned. Susan starts to make connections from the Atticus Pünd novel to Marian Crace's death.

This is the third and seemingly last book in the Susan Ryeland series, and I'm sad to see her go. I really enjoy following her and her precious cat! This is one of the best modern mystery series I've read, and you need to get your hands on it! This book does spoil the ending to Magpie Murders, so make sure to read that one first!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

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I love Anthony Horowitz! This was another excellent entry in the Susan Ryeland series. As always, great characters and an interesting and intricate plot with the novel within a novel conceit. Now I'm hoping for the next entry in the Daniel Hawthorne series.

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I had mixed feelings about this one. It’s very very long…albeit with several mysteries in one book. Some of the mysteries were obvious to me, others not. Virtually all the characters in the main mystery and the mystery within the mystery were nasty, loathsome. Normally I enjoy unlikeable characters but this was overwhelming. Susan Rylance makes odd choices, is defensive about being an almost murder victim and is basically persecuted by almost every other character. Yet I kept reading! The book is clever and well-written and kept my interest to the end

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Love Anthony Horowitz and this books takes on similar characters to prior books in series.... this reads a bit more like a script for the next series rather than a mystery .

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