Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Moonflower Murders

Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

8 reviews

hollewade's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Whoa, I liked Magpie Murders but this had me on the edge of my seat. I liked the format of this a lot more than I did Magpie, I felt I had more stakes in the story of Atticus Pünd and I was very shocked at the ending of both stories. I found it very easy to read and I enjoyed it very much. I would very much like Susan to rid herself of Alan Conway and Atticus, I think she's been through enough.

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hakins259's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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atalea's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

3.25/5

I was here because I'd been asked to read a book which might or might not be connected to a murder that had taken place eight years before.

After the events of Magpie Murders retired publisher Susan Ryland is living in Greece running a hotel with her partner Andreas. It should be paradise but exhaustion and doubts begin to creep in, so when people show up looking for her and offering her a new job she's ready to dive deep into the mystery. The Trehernes, a wealthy couple who own a boutique hotel, want her help locating their missing daughter Cecily. The connection? Right before disappearing Cecily was reading an Atticus Pünd novel and was convinced there were clues in it that exonerated a man convicted of a murder that happened in the hotel. The family is certain that by reading the book and solving the crime they might find their daughter. Armed only with a copy of the novel and her wits, Susan will do her best to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Just like in the first book this contains a tale within a tale, a full cozy detective novel sandwiched between a current mystery. I liked Magpie Murders more, my problem with this one is that I had issues suspending my disbelief. Susan made sense as a protagonist in the previous one because she had a realistic goal, finding the last chapter of the Atticus Pünd book, that intersected with solving the murder. Here she starts too removed from the central premise and gets dragged into it in a way that wasn't convincing to me. Yes, these books aren't 100% grounded in reality, yet I believe that if more time had passed since the disappearence it would make sense for the Trehernes to desperately think a retired editor with zero policing experience could help them. Susan isn't my favorite protagonist, I find her a bit dry and I do not care for her interpersonal issues.

The writing is still good, Anthony Horowitz can make the longest of books easy to digest. I was quite surprised when I realized it was 600 pages long, it never felt like a long heavy book. The mystery is still quite juicy, probably my favorite part of this whole thing. I did get there in the end but there were a couple of twists that had me second guessing myself.

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justineboots's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Very fun whodunnit. Follows the first’s story-within-a-story format with a mini third story nestled in the second as well.

I found this just as engaging as the first book - it seems to know just how much information to give you to feel like you’re making progress in the investigation without actually giving it all away.

Unlike the first book, I didn’t guess who the killer was but when the big reveal was made, I found it quite satisfying and the pieces fitting together quite nicely.

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