Magpie

Magpie by Elizabeth Day
Reviewed by Mimi
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I have no idea how to review this without spoiling it but let me just say, I am quite envious of everyone who gets to read this for the first time!

Magpie follows the story of Marisa who is living her best life with Jake. They are expecting their first baby together and to make some money, they have a lodger move into their new family home. Said lodger Kate is suspiciously close to Jake and Marisa is increasingly unnerved so tries to figure out what their relationship is really about. What comes next is a gripping read. This book is exactly the kind of pacy, thrilling, and surprising read anyone and everyone can enjoy.

This novel deals with so many issues. Whether it’s fertility, friendship, parental relationships, or mental illness, Day's writing is so skilful that it never feels like a heavy or depressing lecture. The everyday element of all these issues shines through. Someone you know will be going through something like the characters in this book and that's what Day handles so eloquently.

Marisa and Kate are brilliantly distinctive characters that you can really understand and get on board with through the story. I know everyone who has read or reviewed this book has spoken about the twist so I won't add any more hype to it but OH MY GOD THE TWIST. I think I audibly gasped when I got to that bit.

It's the perfect read whether you're on holiday or you need a cure for reader’s block or neither! You just need to get it on your shelf!

Miriam Hanna

Aka Mimi. I have known Linda for a very, very long time. We grew up together and you learn very quickly that when she gets an idea in her head, you would be an idiot not to back her to see it through. When the idea of the book club came up it was another lightbulb moment where I knew this wasn't only going to be a success but really fun.


I have always been a bookworm. Remember when you were little and you went shopping with your mum or dad and they gave you a toy or something to occupy yourself with whilst you were in the trolley? I used to get books to keep me quiet. They were and are my ultimate form of escapism and more and more they are about understanding who I am as a person. Books make me cry more than films and TV Shows. I can get lost for hours. I love historic fiction, political thrillers and gritty crime novels but also biographies and memoirs of people I find interesting like sportspeople. I was fortunate to be in the Harry Potter generation and if weren't for those books I don't know what I would have. Young literature was so poor at the point. To have a book that had me and my family queuing up at midnight to buy was seriously special.

Whether you listen to audio books, read off a kindle or stick to carrying around good old fashioned hard copies (that's me!) I truly believe reading is the best way to spend some time every day.


The books I would have with me on a desert island? πŸ“šπŸHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

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