Book: The Magpies
Author: Mark Edwards
Pages: 350
Read On: My Kindle
How Long it Took Me To Read: 1 day
Plot Summary: Meet the neighbours from hell, in the gripping thriller that reviewers and readers describe as fast-paced, chilling, and impossible to put down. When Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home together, they are full of optimism. The future, in which they plan to get married and start a family, is bright. The other residents of their building seem friendly too, including the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms. But then strange things start to happen. Dead rats are left on their doorstep. They hear disturbing noises, and much worse, in the night. After Jamie s best friend is injured in a horrific accident, Jamie and Kirsty find themselves targeted by a campaign of terror. As they are driven to the edge of despair, Jamie vows to fight back but he has no idea what he is really up against.
General Thoughts: I am always up for reading a psychological thriller. And this was one of the first books I picked up when we signed up for our Kindle Unlimited subscription. Plus I don't think I've ever read a book about psychotic neighbours before.
Things I Liked:
1. I enjoyed the writing. It does a good job of showing both the love between the couple and their everyday life as well as when things start to go crazy.
2. I loved the pace of this book. It moved fast and I had to keep reading.
3. This was a really intense and unsettling read. Not scary exactly or in the traditional sense...it was just upsetting and really got under your skin. This is the kind of read that sticks with you and it's uneasiness lingers.
4. Jamie and Kristy were both very likable and it was really sad to see these awful things happen to them. You rooted for them and wished them well.
5. This isn't a book you read if you want a whodunit or a book you want to keep guessing who the culprit is. In this book you know pretty much at the get go who is the bad people are...there is little or no guessing involved. This is a book about psychological warfare and playing games.
6. Bad neighbours! Haven't we all had one version or another of those?! I had upstairs neighbours in Bangalore who woke up at 4:00 am every single day and pushed their furniture around! Ugh! But the people in this book make all bad neighbours pale in comparison! They are awful...malicious...petty and evil! It really irked me reading about them and all that they do! So sick.
7. The reactions Jamie and Kristy have in the beginning of their ordeal and even a little bit later seemed real and how most people would act in a similar situation.
8. We also get to see what happens to this other couple that lived in the same flat and pretty much had the same harrowing experience with the neighbours. It was nice seeing their story too and seeing how much they suffered and how they continue to deal with the after effects of being tortured and harassed!
9. The other occupants of the building were also well etched out and I liked how in the end they tried to help Jamie.
10. I love how non-typical this book is, the evil in this book is so different and the scary part is this could happen to anyone...also this book made me so thankful for my neighbours. They aren't perfect but at least they aren't diabolical!
Things I Didn't Like:
1.For most part I enjoyed this book and it left me feeling unsettled and disturbed...like a good psychological thriller should...but the ending wasn't my favourite. It was perhaps real and how things would turn out in real like but it was an unsatisfying ending. It made me a little sad. I wished things had turned out a little differently.
2. Towards the end when things get really bad...I think Jamie's reactions were a bit off and he really ought to have handled things better.
Rating: 3/5
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