Moonflower Murders

Once again Anthony Horowitz has written a story within a story (see also my posts for Magpie Murders and The Word is Murder). In this book, we are back to Susan Ryeland, who is now the former editor of now deceased detective/mystery novelist Alan Conway. Susan is now running a hotel in Crete with her significant other, Andreas. She feels exhausted from the endless problems associated with the business and so, when an elderly couple comes to her claiming that their daughter has disappeared as a result of reading Conway's 3rd book, she accepts their offer to come to England and try to find the daughter. Besides, they offer her a hefty financial inducement, which could pay off many of the hotel's debts. So the book is the story of Susan trying to figure out where the daughter is or who might want to harm her AND it is a complete version of the 3rd book by Conway, Atticus Pünd Takes the Case. The book is loosely inspired by an actual murder that took place at the hotel owned by the elderly couple, the Trehernes. The victim was an acquaintance of Conway's and he spent several days at the hotel interviewing owners and staff; the novel he wrote changes the location, the names of the characters, but does not depict any of them in a favorable light. A staff person was convicted of the murder and has spent the last 8 years in jail, but the Treherne's missing daughter, Cecily, called her parents after reading the book, convinced that the wrong man is in jail. She disappeared the next day. 

The New York Times said this book can "literally be described as a mystery wrapped in an enigma."And the reviewer goes on to say that it's unlikely that reading the book within the book will help you solve the current mystery. "The reader’s feeble flashes of understanding are no match for Horowitz’s brand of three-dimensional chess, and the answers will be uncovered only through Susan’s expert textual analysis." The Washington Post says, "you’ll get two books for the price of one. Quite literally." They also admire Horowitz's storytelling inventiveness and craft, noting that the book "showcases a cleverness and finesse that even Dame Agatha might envy. 'Moonflower Murders' resembles a super Mobius strip, interlacing multiple degrees and levels of fictiveness." Kirkus calls it, somewhat ambiguously, "The most over-the-top of Horowitz’s frantically overplotted whodunits to date—and that’s no mean feat."

Because Conway's fictional protagonist, Pünd, is so clearly a take-off from Christie's Hercule Poirot, fans of that character will be drawn to the story within the story. Long but an entertaining read.