The Susan Ryland mysteries by Anthony Horowitz are one of my all-time favorite amateur sleuth series by an accomplished master of the genre.
I became a fan of his after finding out that he wrote the first seven episodes of Midsomer Murder. He’s written numerous standalone books and series including the wildly popular Alex Rider Young Adult books, as well as authorized Sherlock Holmes and James Bond novels.
He appears as a main character in his series, Hawthorne and Horowitz. You can learn more about his books on his website.
In the Magpie Murders, editor Susan Ryland is struggling to edit the latest manuscript of her bestselling author, Alan Conway. His fictional detective, Atticus Pund is investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house.
Horowitz manages to artfully deliver a novel within a novel ,which challenges us to attempt to solve both the fictional murder, as well as unravel secrets occurring in Susan’s time. The multiple points of view in each plot will keep you guessing to the very end.
The book was serialized on BritBox in 2022. It starred Lesley Manville as Susan Ryland and Tim McMullin as Atticus Pund.
Let me know if you have read Magpie Murders or any other books by Anthony Horowitz in the comments below.