Caricamento
The Magpies
Sintesi
Meet the neighbors 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…
The Magpies is a gripping psychological thriller in which the monsters are not vampires or demons but the people who live next door. It is a nightmare that could happen to anyone.
Praise for The Magpies
"Mark Edwards achieves what other writers yearn for, by creating characters that genuinely feel like real people, individuals you know personally-and then puts them into the scariest of situations so that we cannot help but suffer with them. Edwards takes the places that should feel safe and subverts them, shifting the ground beneath our feet, until we're left clinging to the book, hoping against hope for a positive conclusion. There's something deeply unsettling about The Magpies-and that's exactly as it should be." -Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner
"The Magpies is absorbing, claustrophobic and terrifying. Read this book! Then get a top notch alarm system fitted in your house." -Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Cry
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Recensioni
This book was slow to start, like a slow burning fire. It drew the reader in as the need to find out what happens next took over. I found it compulsive reading, although it missed a couple of realistic situations, skipping them to help draw out the plot - I mean, why wouldn't they change the locks the second they suspected someone had been in their flat, rather than try and find out if someone else had a key? And although the ending was realistic in many ways, it was disappointing, even with a glimpse of hope at the end of some kind of comeuppence for the bad guys.
mark edwards, where your mind goes...I can't imagine
The story was good, but the writing seemed quite amateur really. I certainly didn't find this book as 'creepy' as some of the reviews have made out!
More like 4.5 stars.
This book was awesome. So glad I decided to pick it up. Psychological thrillers are wonderful if executed well and Mark Edwards did it fantastically. Can't wait to read more of his novels.
This book was awesome. So glad I decided to pick it up. Psychological thrillers are wonderful if executed well and Mark Edwards did it fantastically. Can't wait to read more of his novels.
Books like The Magpies are risky investments for me. They can be either incredulous and/or poorly written. This book was neither of those things. In fact, I have subsisted on a heavy diet of mystery books for so long that it is nearly impossible to shock me...and yet this book managed to do so, and with the last few chapters in the balance, at that. Jamie and Kirsty are a young couple very much in love, with a promising future ahead of them. They manage to find the most perfect flat in the middle of London at a price they can afford. Their neighbors all seem nice and the neighborhood couldn't be more perfect. That is until strange things start happening to the couple. Before they realize it, their peaceful abode is anything put the haven of peace it should be. Someone is harassing and stalking them. But who?! Surely not their new neighbors? That'd be crazy, right?! I couldn't help but think of films like The Tenant or Rosemary's Baby. This book is definitely a psychological thriller, and even though the characters make dumb decisions and are slow to piece things together, I liked how it all came together in the end. I can't decide if it's a 3 or 4 star read; maybe it's somewhere in the middle? Either way it was very entertaining!
The enjoyment of a young couple in love and then questioning what was happening to them. Was it them or someone else? Good mystery!
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
? Mark 12:31
Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
?Romans 15:2
Devise not evil against your neighbor, seeing he dwells securely by you.
? Proverbs 3:29
Won't you please, won't you please,
Please won't you be my neighbor?
? Fred Rogers
Thou shalt not kill, but the reader of The Magpies will no doubt wish that he or she could do just that ... What kill.
The Magpies is a brutally gut-wrenching, and I mean brutally gut-wrenching psychological masterpiece. A heartfelt tale of utter evil ... Petrifying suspense ... And rage-inducing anguish. Surely, as you're reading The Magpies, you will have to take quite a few breaks from reading (which will be hard to do, as this page-turning thriller is difficult to put down) in order to catch your breath ... To just take a few deep breaths. It is a novel just that phenomenal ... And not merely one for the faint of heart.
An overwhelming rush of varying emotions will grip the reader?dragging, pulling, tugging, and twisting?with all of their strength: Fear, anger, hatred, malice, revenge, murderous rage, and a vicious blow of sadness. The Magpies is a very emotional read, indeed. And its readers will wish that they can absorb into the novel's setting (London) to embrace and protect its protagonists, Jamie and Kirsty. You will just feel for the smitten young couple as they both fall victim to their psychopathic, evil, conniving, and murderous neighbors ... Neighbors from Hell.
Mark Edwards' The Magpies is one of the greatest novels of the psychological thriller genre that I've ever read ... Ever. It is an effort extraordinarily-written, in a spirit of sheer ingenuity. Brace yourselves ... For The Magpies is guaranteed to have a drastic, bone-chilling, and boggling affect on your psyche.
Fast-paced, short-chaptered, and five-star worthy.
? Mark 12:31
Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
?Romans 15:2
Devise not evil against your neighbor, seeing he dwells securely by you.
? Proverbs 3:29
Won't you please, won't you please,
Please won't you be my neighbor?
? Fred Rogers
Thou shalt not kill, but the reader of The Magpies will no doubt wish that he or she could do just that ... What kill.
The Magpies is a brutally gut-wrenching, and I mean brutally gut-wrenching psychological masterpiece. A heartfelt tale of utter evil ... Petrifying suspense ... And rage-inducing anguish. Surely, as you're reading The Magpies, you will have to take quite a few breaks from reading (which will be hard to do, as this page-turning thriller is difficult to put down) in order to catch your breath ... To just take a few deep breaths. It is a novel just that phenomenal ... And not merely one for the faint of heart.
An overwhelming rush of varying emotions will grip the reader?dragging, pulling, tugging, and twisting?with all of their strength: Fear, anger, hatred, malice, revenge, murderous rage, and a vicious blow of sadness. The Magpies is a very emotional read, indeed. And its readers will wish that they can absorb into the novel's setting (London) to embrace and protect its protagonists, Jamie and Kirsty. You will just feel for the smitten young couple as they both fall victim to their psychopathic, evil, conniving, and murderous neighbors ... Neighbors from Hell.
Mark Edwards' The Magpies is one of the greatest novels of the psychological thriller genre that I've ever read ... Ever. It is an effort extraordinarily-written, in a spirit of sheer ingenuity. Brace yourselves ... For The Magpies is guaranteed to have a drastic, bone-chilling, and boggling affect on your psyche.
Fast-paced, short-chaptered, and five-star worthy.
Fear lives next door...
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: the horror writer and the middle-aged herbalist who live upstairs, and the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms.
At first, the two couples get on well. 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 Jamie and Kirsty are driven to the edge of despair, Jamie vows to fight back – but he has no idea what he is really up against…
The Magpies is a terrifying psychological thriller in which the monsters are not vampires or demons but the people we live next door to. It is a nightmare that could happen to anyone.
Show More
Fab page turning urban thriller about the neighbours from hell. Perfectly paced - the author gradually builds up the tension until all concerned (including the reader) are past the point of no return and the inevitable outcome will be nasty, dramatic and rather unnerving
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: the horror writer and the middle-aged herbalist who live upstairs, and the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms.
At first, the two couples get on well. 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 Jamie and Kirsty are driven to the edge of despair, Jamie vows to fight back – but he has no idea what he is really up against…
The Magpies is a terrifying psychological thriller in which the monsters are not vampires or demons but the people we live next door to. It is a nightmare that could happen to anyone.
Show More
Fab page turning urban thriller about the neighbours from hell. Perfectly paced - the author gradually builds up the tension until all concerned (including the reader) are past the point of no return and the inevitable outcome will be nasty, dramatic and rather unnerving
3.5*-- There were typos and grammatical errors, the gratuitous sex didn't fit with the book's genre or premise and secondary plotlines weren’t fully formed.
The Magpies by Mark Edwards is a story of a hopeful young couple who buy a flat outside London. Their happiness comes to a grinding halt when their sociopathic neighbours instigate a game of harassment that quickly escalates from a nuisance to a threat.
Edwards portrayed Jamie well by gradually developing his protagonist's personality to support his ending. He did a realistic job of showing Jamie’s psychological reaction to the events he faced by illustrating the character’s stages of grief as he struggled with his circumstances.
The fact that Kirsten had the same dream as a cameo character she’d never met was a miss. It shifted the genre from psychological thriller to supernatural, which didn’t support the plot. There were episodes of redundancy that dragged the pace, and the secondary characters’ roles were weak. Paul was an important addition to show the level of threat and the abandonment issues Jamie faced, but Edwards’ emphasis on irrelevant points left the storyline dangling. Again, it shifted to supernatural but Edwards abruptly abandoned the direction, leaving the preceding passages disjointed. The buildings’ other tenants were a confusing addition. Removing superfluous details and focusing on their role would have tightened the suspense.
Overall, an easy to digest read.
The Magpies by Mark Edwards is a story of a hopeful young couple who buy a flat outside London. Their happiness comes to a grinding halt when their sociopathic neighbours instigate a game of harassment that quickly escalates from a nuisance to a threat.
Edwards portrayed Jamie well by gradually developing his protagonist's personality to support his ending. He did a realistic job of showing Jamie’s psychological reaction to the events he faced by illustrating the character’s stages of grief as he struggled with his circumstances.
The fact that Kirsten had the same dream as a cameo character she’d never met was a miss. It shifted the genre from psychological thriller to supernatural, which didn’t support the plot. There were episodes of redundancy that dragged the pace, and the secondary characters’ roles were weak. Paul was an important addition to show the level of threat and the abandonment issues Jamie faced, but Edwards’ emphasis on irrelevant points left the storyline dangling. Again, it shifted to supernatural but Edwards abruptly abandoned the direction, leaving the preceding passages disjointed. The buildings’ other tenants were a confusing addition. Removing superfluous details and focusing on their role would have tightened the suspense.
Overall, an easy to digest read.
The Magpies is another electrifying and spellbinding psychological thriller by Mark Edwards, giving new meaning to the phrase, “nightmare neighbors,” with a twisted, and horrifying plan to drive neighbors to leave their home, or lose their sanity first.
Jamie and Kirsty, a nice young couple, excited about buying their first flat, a home, security, a new life, and even planning for their future and a family. They immediately want to meet all their neighbors and connect with their new found friends.
The garden level flat neighbors seem to be problematic. (we all have had bad neighbors-nothing worse). However, this story is so realistic, making it even more suspenseful.
At first Lucy and Chris start off with minor things, like their complaining the music is too loud, then gets worse when it comes to their intimate and personal sex life, violating their privacy, dead rats, spiders, junk mail, CDs, computer viruses, and fear for their lives, their friends, his marriage, his job, and their future baby’s life; Jamie becomes obsessed with stopping this couple, and risking everything, as he is determined not to allow his neighbors to run him out of his own home – he cannot let them win (no matter what).
When the authorities offer no assistance, Jamie begins to search for the prior owners to see if they can shed some light on his wacky neighbors from hell, and develops a plan to get inside their garden flat in order to find evidence. However, what he finds is shocking, keeping you on the edge of your seat, fearful, with your heart pounding, as a race against time.
I am loving Edwards bewitching writing, as he keeps you terrified with the suspense high throughout the novel. You can almost feel each of the characters’ heart pounding as they wait for the next move to destroy their dreams. After reading Edwards’ latest book, Because She Loves Me (highly recommend), was intrigued with The Magpies, and could not wait to read. Was not disappointed!
I liked the relation to Magpies, (how appropriate), as they are quite mysterious creatures. If you have ever watched the old Heckle and Jeckle (two inseparable black magpies) or the old film, The Talking Magpies (Mr. and Mrs. Magpie find a new place to live and prove to be very bad neighbors. Story by John Foster. Music by Philip A. Scheib. Produced in 1946). Ironically, involves real estate as well, driving the old man and dog out of their home.
Magpies are the intelligent and mysterious birds that everyone loves to hate. Magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviors to drive off intruders and are among the most intelligent of birds, so are quick to make use of new food supplies, such as car kills. What's more, they are adept at avoiding being run over themselves, yet the humans are killed driving the cars. (too weird).
The Magpies also reminds me a little of the movies Bad Neighbors (2014), Pacific Heights (1990), and Lakeview Terrace (2008).
Would highly recommend the audiobook, as Elliot Hill’s performance was outstanding, combined with Edward’s brilliantly crafted plot–offering a chilling tale for your pre-Halloween enjoyment!
Jamie and Kirsty, a nice young couple, excited about buying their first flat, a home, security, a new life, and even planning for their future and a family. They immediately want to meet all their neighbors and connect with their new found friends.
The garden level flat neighbors seem to be problematic. (we all have had bad neighbors-nothing worse). However, this story is so realistic, making it even more suspenseful.
At first Lucy and Chris start off with minor things, like their complaining the music is too loud, then gets worse when it comes to their intimate and personal sex life, violating their privacy, dead rats, spiders, junk mail, CDs, computer viruses, and fear for their lives, their friends, his marriage, his job, and their future baby’s life; Jamie becomes obsessed with stopping this couple, and risking everything, as he is determined not to allow his neighbors to run him out of his own home – he cannot let them win (no matter what).
When the authorities offer no assistance, Jamie begins to search for the prior owners to see if they can shed some light on his wacky neighbors from hell, and develops a plan to get inside their garden flat in order to find evidence. However, what he finds is shocking, keeping you on the edge of your seat, fearful, with your heart pounding, as a race against time.
I am loving Edwards bewitching writing, as he keeps you terrified with the suspense high throughout the novel. You can almost feel each of the characters’ heart pounding as they wait for the next move to destroy their dreams. After reading Edwards’ latest book, Because She Loves Me (highly recommend), was intrigued with The Magpies, and could not wait to read. Was not disappointed!
I liked the relation to Magpies, (how appropriate), as they are quite mysterious creatures. If you have ever watched the old Heckle and Jeckle (two inseparable black magpies) or the old film, The Talking Magpies (Mr. and Mrs. Magpie find a new place to live and prove to be very bad neighbors. Story by John Foster. Music by Philip A. Scheib. Produced in 1946). Ironically, involves real estate as well, driving the old man and dog out of their home.
Magpies are the intelligent and mysterious birds that everyone loves to hate. Magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviors to drive off intruders and are among the most intelligent of birds, so are quick to make use of new food supplies, such as car kills. What's more, they are adept at avoiding being run over themselves, yet the humans are killed driving the cars. (too weird).
The Magpies also reminds me a little of the movies Bad Neighbors (2014), Pacific Heights (1990), and Lakeview Terrace (2008).
Would highly recommend the audiobook, as Elliot Hill’s performance was outstanding, combined with Edward’s brilliantly crafted plot–offering a chilling tale for your pre-Halloween enjoyment!