History Literature / MagpieMurders

* AuthorAppeal: InUniverse. Conway fills his books with little Easter Eggs for himself, like certain character naming conventions, and writes portrays characters based on people he knows in ways that amuse him, such as having his boyfriend James Fraser be Pünd's [[TheWatson dim-witted assistant]].

But as Susan nears the end of the book, she finds that the final chapter is missing and Conway himself as died under mysterious circumstances. However, she has reason to believe that he himself [[NeverSuicide may have been murdered]] and sets out to discover {{Whodunnit}}. Along the way, she begins to realize that the characters in Conway's novel are heavily based on people he knew in real life, especially those who may have wanted him dead...

* TheSummation: In true [[Literature/HerculePoirot Poirot]] style, Atticus Pünd gives one of these at the end of ''Magpie Murders'' where he explains who the killer is and how/why they did it. Also, Susan gives one to [[spoiler:Charles]] at the end of her plotline where she explains to them how she figured out they murdered Conway.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Charles Clover is such a well-respected businessman within the publishing industry that even after he gets arrested for murdering Alan Conway, his peers are more angry at ''Susan'' for ending his career since none of them liked Alan to begin with and Charles "only killed one writer".]]

* The Summation: In true [[Literature/HerculePoirot Poirot]] style, Atticus Pünd gives one of these at the end of ''Magpie Murders'' where he explains who the killer is and how/why they did it. Also, Susan gives one to [[spoiler:Charles]] at the end of her plotline where she explains to them how she figured out they murdered Conway.

* ThisIsRealLife: Detective Locke goes on a rant about this to Susan while complaining that mystery novels and TV shows never portray murder accurately. He says that most murders in real life are done on impulse by incompetent criminals without overly elaborate schemes to conceal their identities. [[spoiler:Of course, the end of the book reveals that Conway was murdered by his publisher, Charles Clover, who then elaborately covered up his death by making it look like a suicide.]]

''Magpie Murders'' is a 2016 mystery novel by Anthony Horowitz. A work of MetaFiction, it is actually two [[FairPlayWhodunnit Fair-Play Whodunnits]] in one. The plot concerns a London-based editor named Susan Ryeland who is given the manuscript of best-selling mystery writer Alan Conway's latest novel, ''[[TitleDrop Magpie Murders]]''. Like Conway's other books, it is a pastiche of [[Creator/AgathaChristie Agatha Christie's]] Poirot novels, featuring quirky detective Atticus Pünd as he solves a murder in a sleepy English countryside village where nothing is as it seems.

* AssholeVictim: Both the murder victim in Conway's novel, [[spoiler:Sir Magnus Pye]] and Conway himself. Fitting, given that [[spoiler:Conway based Pye on himself]].

* WhoKilledTheAsshole: Both mysteries in the novel revolve around the murder of someone who was widely hated by those who knew him.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Charles Clover is such a well-respected businessman within the publishing industry that even after he gets arrested for murdering Alan Conway, his peers are more angry at ''Susan'' for ending his career since none of them liked Alan to begin with and Charles "only killed one writer".]]

* RedHerring: Hoo boy. A boatload in both the InUniverse novel and Susan's plotline.

* BeneathSuspicion: [[spoiler:The murderers in both plotlines fall into this category. Sir Magnus had treated Robert Blakiston very well over the years and had even arranged for him to get a job, but ultimately Robert killed him because it was the only way to prevent the truth about him murdering his younger brother as a child from coming out. Finally, Charles Clover didn't appear to have any motive for killing his best-selling author Alan Conway, but Conway was going to die anyway of cancer and was about to reveal to the world that "Atticus Pünd" was actually an anagram for "a stupid cunt", which would have created an enormous scandal for the company.]]

* OffWithHisHead: How the murder victim bites it in the Conway novel, with a medieval sword no less.

But as Susan nears the end of the book, she finds that the final chapter is missing and Conway himself as died under mysterious circumstances. However, she has reason to believe that he himself [[NeverSuicide may have become a murder victim]] and sets out to discover {{Whodunnit}}. Along the way, she begins to realize that the characters in Conway's novel are heavily based on people he knew in real life, especially those who may have wanted him dead...

''Magpie Murders'' is a 2016 mystery novel by Anthony Horowitz. A work of MetaFiction, it is actually two [[FairPlayWhodunnit]]s in one. The plot concerns a London-based editor named Susan Ryeland who is given the manuscript of best-selling mystery writer Alan Conway's latest novel, ''[[TitleDrop Magpie Murders]]''. Like Conway's other books, it is a pastiche of [[Creator/AgathaChristie Agatha Christie's]] Poirot novels, featuring quirky detective Atticus Pünd as he solves a murder in a sleepy English countryside village where nothing is as it seems.

* NeverSuicide: At first it appears that Conway's death is an accident, then a suicide letter arrives in the mail. However, Susan begins to suspect this trope and investigates whether or not someone killed the author and forged the letter. [[spoiler:It turns out the killer took part of the letter from the final portion of ''Magpie Murders'', which is why he had to hide the last chapter from Susan.]]

* Asshole Victim: Both the murder victim in Conway's novel, [[spoiler:Sir Magnus Pye]] and Conway himself. Fitting, given that [[spoiler:Conway based Pye on himself]].

* Expy: Atticus Pünd is a clear stand in for Literature/HerculePoirot, although he's German instead of Belgian and given a backstory of escaping the Holocaust. James Fraser is a stand in for [[TheWatson Captain Hastings]].

But as Susan nears the end of the book, she finds that the final chapter is missing and Conway himself as died under mysterious circumstances. However, she has reason to believe that he himself [[NeverSuicide may have become a murder victim]] and sets out to discover {{Whodunnit}}.

* FairPlayWhodunnit: Both the novel-within-a-novel ''Magpie Murders'' by Alan Conway and the present-day frame story fit this trope.

As a hybrid of classic detective fiction and modern-day murder mysteries, it is especially {{Troperiffic}}, and plays with or subverts innumerable tropes found in each type of mystery.

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But as Susan nears the end of the book, she finds that the final chapter is missing and Conway himself as died under mysterious circumstances. However, she has reason to believe that he himself [[NeverSuicide may have become a murder victim]] and sets out to discover {{Whodunnit}}.

''Magpie Murders'' is a 2016 mystery novel by Anthony Horowitz. A work of MetaFiction, it is actually two [[FairPlayWhodunnit]]s in one. The plot concerns a London-based editor named Susan Ryeland who is given the manuscript of best-selling mystery writer Alan Conway's latest novel, [[TitleDrop ''Magpie Murders'']]. Like Conway's other books, it is a pastiche of [[Creator/AgathaChristie Agatha Christie's]] Poirot novels, featuring quirky detective Atticus Pünd as he solves a murder in a sleepy English countryside village where nothing is as it seems.

''Magpie Murders" is a 2016 mystery novel by Anthony Horowitz. A work of MetaFiction, it is actually two [[FairPlayWhodunnit]]s in one. The plot concerns a London-based editor named Susan Ryeland who is given the manuscript of best-selling mystery writer Alan Conway's latest novel, [[TitleDrop ''Magpie Murders'']]. Like Conway's other books, it is a pastiche of [[Creator/AgathaChristie Agatha Christie's]] Poirot novels, featuring quirky detective Atticus Pünd as he solves a murder in a sleepy English countryside village where nothing is as it seems.