When the brilliant yet mean-spirited author Alan Conway is found to have jumped off of his tower, there is no evidence to suggest that it could have been anything more than suicide. In fact, no one cares to look into it too much, since there were more people who detested Alan Conway the person than who loved Alan Conway the mystery novelist. However, his editor, Susan Ryeland, has her suspicions.

After all, Conway had just submitted to her the manuscript of Magpie Murders, his latest and final novel in his world-famous Atticus Pünd series, but the last chapter is mysteriously missing from the pages. As Susan searches for the missing pages, she comes to the realization that, perhaps, the supposedly “fictional” novel is actually based on real events, and that maybe, just maybe, the murderer in reality caught wind of Conway’s tactics to expose them and took matters into their own hands…

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is an interesting read because of its story-within-a-story format. On the outside, there is Susan Ryeland’s investigation into Alan Conway’s life, the missing pages, and the murder the novel was based on. Within this framework, however, is the actual Magpie Murders, an Atticus Pünd detective novel written by Alan Conway (without the ending, of course). I enjoyed this format because it almost felt like a two-for-one read, where there were two well written mysteries in the span of one book. 

I would recommend this novel to any fans of Agatha Christie, since there are obviously a lot of similarities between her books and those of “Alan Conway” (compare Hercule Poirot to Atticus Pünd, for starters). However, any and all fans of mystery and adventure will enjoy this novel too.

– Mahak M.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

It was a clear, cold morning in an unnamed village in Colombia. Excited to see the bishop, who visited their town very rarely, the villagers were stunned when they learned, a few hours later, that the well-loved and respected Vicario twins had murdered a fellow villager, Santiago Nasar, in an attempt to restore her sister’s honor. The greatest irony of the situation, however, is that although the brothers tell anyone who will listen about their plans to murder Santiago, in the hopes that they will be stopped, the villagers either ignore the announcement, assume someone else has taken care of it, or, in some cases, actually encourage the twins to follow through.

This is the premise of Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s enduring literary work: Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Surprisingly, the actual novel is not a chronicle in any sense of the word; the narrator is shockingly unreliable and tells the sequence of events completely out of order. As for “death foretold,” where one might expect that to refer to the fact that the Vicario twins made their intentions perfectly clear to all, thus announcing the death, the truth is that the entire novel is steeped in dramatic irony, since the reader knows from the outset that Santiago Nasar is fated to die – it has been “foretold” by the narrator.

Aside from the murder itself, one of the more significant aspects of the novel is its representation of Colombian culture and society. Although traditional authorities are present, such as the bishop and the police, it quickly becomes clear that the ultimate authority in the town is the social construct of honor. The Vicario twins, who are established as good people, are pushed to commit a heinous crime because of honor, and people encourage them to do it because of the same. Even if the authorities previously mentioned attempt to stop them, the need to retain honor prevails. 

Ultimately, Chronicle of a Death Foretold is intriguing because it completely subverts the reader’s initial expectations for it while also shining a light on the influence of society on a murder. A departure from traditional “murder mysteries,” this novel manages to retain the aspects of a mystery while also being open about its true meaning, making it a fascinating read.

– Mahak M.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

I have reread this book so many times and it’s never gotten old. Reading each story feels like I’m reading it for the first time. It’s genuinely so refreshing to read something inspired by fairytales, myth and folklore, that isn’t repeating something I’ve read a million times before. Each story has plot twists, magic, revenge, love, betrayals, and sacrifice.

Bardugo’s writing style is another thing I love about this book. Her descriptions, dialogue, and pacing makes me feel like I’m a part of the story. I’d also like to give credit to Sara Kipin who did the illustrations for this book. Her drawings add another level of depth to these stories and help me visualize even further the scenes in the stories. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read that still keeps you interested and engaged.

-Sophia H.

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Recently, LRMS had a school Book Fair. I wanted to support the school, so I bought a book called Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman, published in 2019. It details the true story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares, or the “Children’s Ship” during World War II. As I like survival novels and historical nonfiction/fiction books, I thought this book would be pretty good, and it was.

The book takes place in the 3rd person point of view, retelling the stories of different people related to the tragic sinking of the ship. Relying on the memories and interviews of survivors of the sinking ship, Deborah was able to capture the feeling and mood of the entire story very well, and it allowed me to imagine exactly what everyone was going through on the ship.

Now, let me get into what the story is all about. Like I said before, it tells the story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares, which was a large boat assigned to take CORB children from England to Canada, and then to America so they would be safe from the war. CORB was a program in which children were sent by their parents away from England so that they would be far away from the bombs and gunfire in their country. Most of these CORB ships delivered the usually hundreds of children that boarded them safely, but the City of Benares has a tragic story. While it was carrying children, it was also carrying government officials, meaning that it was highly targeted as it was on war business. Now, during this time, large ships like the Benares were being torpedoed by German U-boats because of their size and what they could be holding. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to the Benares. On September 18, 1940, a German U-boat shot a torpedo at the Benares, sinking it and killing many people, including children.

While it is a very sad story, it is interesting to read about, especially in Torpedoed. The author did a great job with the writing and tells about all the actions of many different people aboard the sinking ship. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves survival novels such as the I Survived series. Another thing I love about this book is that it doesn’t use fictional characters. These characters were actual people on the ship who survived to tell the tale.

Happy reading!

-Brandt D.