I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A Murder of Magpies was a really funny and relaxing read. What made this cozy mystery stand out for me was its unique protagonist, Sam Clair. Now, Sam isn't your usual detective. Not one bit. She's a 40-something book editor who's not afraid to ask all the right questions to some very wrong people. I just loved her independence and intelligence, and her witty, highly sarcastic commentary made me laugh out loud for a great part of the book.

While the character of Sam made the book very enjoyable, I couldn't really bring myself to care all that much about the rest of the characters. Actually, most of the time, to me they just felt as "fillers", like they were there just because they were supposed to be. I also wasn't overly keen on the romance. I saw it coming pretty early on, and so I was more or less just waiting to see how it would develop. Unfortunately, when it did develop, I just couldn't feel it. To me, the whole thing felt slightly rushed and a little forced.

As for the mystery itself, I was surprised by the solution, even though I had a lot of trouble bringing myself to care about it at all. Now, mystery lovers may disagree with me, but while I was very intrigued at the beginning, I gradually lost interest. The mystery just became too complicated for me to follow, and I gave up even trying to guess 'who did it'. Even though I really appreciated all the research the author clearly did to make the work stand, all the details about corporate finances and frauds that surround the primary investigation made this mystery slightly too heavy and hard for me to follow.

Now, don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad book at all. I really enjoyed reading it, and its incredibly amusing main character really made it worth it. If you're looking for a cozy mystery that will make you laugh like crazy, then I think you'll probably enjoy this book. ( )

Murder mystery in the publishing industry featuring slightly neurotic middle aged british editor and her crazy lawyer mom. Enjoyable read, not least beacuse the characters are quite engaging and the inner look at publishing is neat. Supposed to be very funny, but apparently not my sense of humor. ( )

Interesting with decent characters. Hope the series continues. Plot perhaps a bit convoluted. Nonetheless, likes the writing style ( )

OMG, a book where the heroine is (gasp) a middle age professional woman who's good at her job and has sex. I know. Better, she's not always the most together person, what a relief, but the book has three generations of women working together. Sam Claire is getting ready to publish a fashion expose by her friend Kit when he goes missing. Enlisting her goth assistant and her elegant lawyer mother, Sam goes in search of her missing friend. ( )

This was an enjoyable cozy. I liked Sam. I liked the supporting cast (especially her mother, who is both a high-powered, high-energy lawyer and Sam’s sidekick). I liked that the mystery wasn’t the usual “there’s a dead body in the flower bed”, but got into libel and the mechanics of book publishing and upped the tension in occasionally unexpected ways. I liked the side plots too, though I wish the goth assistant mentioned on the cover had more of a role. I laughed a fair bit too, which is always nice. I don’t think I’ll pounce on the sequel the way I do for some series, but if it’s in the library when I’m looking for my next read, I might just pick it up.

6.5/10 ( )