Magpie

Magpie by Sophie Draper

Published by Avon Books

December 2019

She’s married to him. But does she know him at all?

Claire lives with her family in a beautiful house overlooking the water. But she feels as if she’s married to a stranger – one who is leading a double life. As soon as she can get their son Joe away from him, she’s determined to leave Duncan.

But finding out the truth about Duncan’s secret life leads to consequences Claire never planned for. Now Joe is missing, and she’s struggling to piece together the events of the night that tore them all apart.

Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they’ve told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family … But can she face the truth?

This is the second book by author Sophie Draper following on from her debut thriller Cuckoo.  Claire lives with her husband Duncan, their son Joe and dog Arthur in a beautiful home in Derbyshire.  However looks can be deceiving and Claire's relationship with her husband is not what it appears to be.  Duncan is having an affair (and not the first one by all accounts) and Claire is determined to leave him this time.  But leaving a marriage is never easy as Claire is about to find out, with devastating consequences; if only she can remember what they are.

Magpie is told from the perspectives of both Duncan and Claire in a before-and-after format.  This always works well as you get both sides of a story which always makes a novel feel more well-rounded in my opinion.  On the surface Claire has everything she could wish for, except that in reality, she doesn't.  Son Joe has become obsessed with metal detecting and trying to find ancient hidden treasure on the hills of Derbyshire, a risky business for a teenager when so many professionals are on the scene too, as Joe is about to discover. Despite their differences Duncan and Claire share a secret, one that they are determined to hide, but when a body is found on their land, it seems that as always the truth will out in the end.

Sophie Draper's book is full of twists and turns and examines the destruction of not only a relationship but that of a family too.  Look out for the twist at the end - I certainly didn't see it coming! If you have a kindle, at the time of going to press, Magpie is currently only 99p.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x