Moonflower Murders: A Novel

Written by Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by Lesley Manville and Allan Corduner

Narrated by Lesley Manville

New York Times Bestseller • Soon to be a MASTERPIECE mystery series on PBS!

Bestselling author Anthony Horowitz brings back his famous literary detective Atticus Pund and Susan Ryeland, hero of Magpie Murders, in an inventive, labyrinthine story that is “catnip for classic mystery lovers” (Time magazine).

Retired publisher Susan Ryeland is living the good life. She is running a small hotel on a Greek island with her long-term boyfriend Andreas. It should be everything she's always wanted. But is it? She's exhausted with the responsibilities of making everything work on an island where nothing ever does, and truth be told she's beginning to miss London.

And then the Trehearnes come to stay. The strange and mysterious story they tell, about an unfortunate murder that took place on the same day and in the same hotel in which their daughter was married—a picturesque inn on the Suffolk coast named Farlingaye Hall—fascinates Susan and piques her editor’s instincts. 

One of her former writers, the late Alan Conway, author of the fictional Magpie Murders, knew the murder victim—an advertising executive named Frank Parris—and once visited Farlingaye Hall. Conway based the third book in his detective series, Atticus Pund Takes the Cake, on that very crime. 

The Trehearne’s, daughter, Cecily, read Conway’s mystery and believed the book proves that the man convicted of Parris’s murder—a Romanian immigrant who was the hotel’s handyman—is innocent. When the Trehearnes reveal that Cecily is now missing, Susan knows that she must return to England and find out what really happened.

Brilliantly clever, relentlessly suspenseful, full of twists that will keep readers guessing with each revelation and clue, Moonflower Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction from one of its greatest masterminds.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062955487

Anthony Horowitz

ANTHONY HOROWITZ is one of the UK’s most prolific and successful writers, unique in being active in both adult and YA fiction, TV, theatre, and journalism. Several of his novels have been instant New York Times bestsellers. His Alex Rider spy series for young adults has sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and has become a hugely successful show on Amazon Prime Video. Marble Hall Murders, the third part of his Susan Ryeland series, has just been filmed for PBS. He lives in London and was recently awarded the CBE for services to literature.

[John Dickson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great mystery book! The narrators are excellent. Hope that there will be more.

[Mariam Shah-Rais · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very clever, complex, and well-written crime novel, and it is brilliantly narrated. I am impressed at how much thought and intricacy have gone into the conception of the plot.

[ellie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good listen with interesting, as always, characters., but a little too convoluted for my taste.

[Adir Puterman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent style of whodunit.
Even more than a regular detective yarn where the reader attempts to solve the crime before it is revealed by the author, here one is in lockstep with the protagonist.

[Cameron St.Michael · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant read that's a murder mystery within a murder mystery.

[Winston Green · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too long. Works too hard to be clever. Adds up to boring read.

[Jeffery Baker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was great fun to listen to on these cold
Winter days!

[Beverly Brown · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Unnecessarily long and I guessed the ending with 12 hours left in the audio book.

[Dani Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved all the twists and turns, and how the author kept my guessing. Great read! One of my favorite authors!

[Sandra Woodward · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mr. Horowitz makes his readers really work for the payoff in this novel as in its predecessor, Magpie Murders. A long, almost excruciatingly complex story, made even more challenging by the story-within-a-story, and not just a short one but a complex, tediously detailed one. I did enjoy the challenges of plot, obscure details, anagrams, and other tricks of the trade, but one drawback for me to Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders is that the “sideshow” of looking for the author’s admittedly clever devices still did not provide the connection with characters that is important to me. The people seem less important to their creator than his trickery, so I found them all a bit wooden, even Susan. I listened to the audiobook version, and while both readers were exceptional, I offer my deepest appreciation to Lesley Manville for a brilliant read! Bravo!

[Annette Ramershoven · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ingenious! Brilliant! I am more keen on looking through s
Susan Rylands glasses than Atticus Punts.

[Beth Neudell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the book. It's a book within a book with two different plots. Great details and storyline. Interesting characters .

[Charlene Romanosky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The real suspense that builds throughout and the fact that there are many story lines going this way and that you are never really bored.

[William Porter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well done. Complex. Requires commitment, coffee, a 10 hour rainy day alone. The novel is a super good procedural— and then, in the middle, ANOTHER Horowitz book appears, chapter by chapter [Atticus Pund Takes The Case] —- and Horowitz then weaves the whole thing together spectacularly. It was a teeny bit slow here and there but I quickly saw and felt the need for the rhythm. It was just a great, challenging, rewarding read—I both read it on my iPod AND listened on Scribd (another story, I’m afraid). Get this book and enjoy!!

[Marianna Brough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really hope there's another Susan Reyland novel. Very entertaining.

[Idarah Bryant · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too sordid. I didn’t engage with this one as much as the first.

[Janet J. King · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very entertaining... I can't wait for the next one. Kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Lewis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well weaved plot. The whole story comes alive as you read on. And as always, top quality narration.

[Mary Stella · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nice book, great story, decent characters, I recommend it to murder mystery fans. Hope to see it on TV soon like Magpie Murders

[Maria Jette · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I belatedly discovered Horowitz thanks to a review of Magpie Murders, which I loved. That started me on a Horowitz binge, and now I’m all caught up and impatiently awaiting the next— shouldn’t be long, as he puts out so much material. And it’s not just quantity— it’s quality! This was another book in a book, like Magpie Ms, and returning protagonist Susan Ryeland is persuaded to come from Crete to investigate in Sussex. Lots of suspects in both books, great characters, and a couple of deliciously labyrinthine plots. I listened to the audiobook— as in MMS, a woman read the “real” story, and a man read the Atticus Pund “book”. Both are splendid voice actors, and perfect fits for this assignment.

[Bertrand Viala · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great plot. Characters are all extremely credible and relatable. Narration is perfect

[atomic1964 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent murder mysteries interwoven together and a sequel to Magpie murders.

[John Campione · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m a big fan of Anthony Horowitz. This new installment of the Susan Ryeland series is a fantastic mysteries that keeps you thinking and envelopes you from the beginning.

[nigellicus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If anything, this second murder-mystery-within-a-murder-mystery is more assured and, I think, a bit cleverer than the first, quite a trick in what could be mistaken for a gimmicky literary game about a gimmicky literary gamer. Not sure how a third book in the series would come about, but Horowitz is, well, a cunning literary gamer, so who knows?

[Nicole · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm a fan of Anthony Horowitz, so nothing against the book - but I couldn't get myself to get past the first few chapters of the audiobook thanks to the narrator. The way she sharply stressed on adjectives and certain words made Susan sound like a petulant snob and very much unlikeable. Which is unfortunate because I found Susan very likeable when I read The Magpie Murders.

[Kim H · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Of all the Horowitz novels I've read, this one was the least engaging. I kept on reading hoping for some twist that would make it worth the effort. But sadly, that came too late. So it was just OK.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If your well read, know Agatha Christie and other major mystery writers and also nineteenth century classics this book is really good. If your not I wouldn't make this your first read into this genre.

[Laurel Girard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy These books, but it bothers me that I’m 2/3 way through the book and 3 women have fainted for different reasons. No men have fainted. When will Authors get it through their heads that women really don’t pass out so easily. I’ve never seen anyone pass out (except for honest medical reasons). Women deal with female issues, childhood illnesses and deaths , and medical emergencies frequently. We’re not shrinking violets.

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am watching the adaptation of this book on Masterpiece right now, and found it difficult to understand due to continuous cutouts from the fictional Atticus Pund’s investigation into two murders that occurred in a fictional English manor. These sidebars into fiction continually cut into the main mystery. I decided to listen to the book on audio to see if the story would become clearer. The book did help me understand both mysteries and also the juxtaposition of two murder mysteries in the same book. Horowitz has followed this type of plot twist before in his previous book The Magpie Murders. I found this book extremely long because the entire Atticus Pund mystery is encapsulated in the main story which is an eight year old murder and a disappearance eight years later from the same hotel where thAt murder occurred. Ex-literary agent Susan Ryland has been asked to investigate the disappearance by the family of the missing woman. The book is very complex and long and it just took too long to get to the solution. I lost track of the plot a couple of times whilst I was listening. The book is well-written and very, very clever which is not the usual expectation for most detective fiction readers. Two mysteries, four separate murders, and a whole entourage of disturbing and unlikable suspects makes for a harrowing denouement.

[natalieriley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such a clever series….a book within a book! This is a very well executed mystery. Susan Ryeland is a former editor living in Greece and running a hotel with her boyfriend. She’s hired by a couple to find their missing daughter back in London. Alan Conway’s novel Magpie Murders plays a role in solving the disappearance and a murder that happened the couple’s hotel years past. Never a full moment with all of the characters and crimes to be solved. Super engaging!