Jamie and his girlfriend Kirsty just bought their first apartment together, and are so excited to settle into what seems like the perfect place for them. Shortly after moving in, they introduce themselves to their neighbors. The have the author of children’s horror novels and the middle aged herbalist living above them, and another couple, the Newtons, living below them. Initially, everything seems great.
Soon after moving in, odd things seem to be happening to Jamie and Kirsty. It starts with packages being delivered to them that they didn’t order, the fire department showing up claiming they made a call, and dead rats left on their front porch. Things quickly escalate and the “pranks” escalate. It’s not long before they are in the middle of a war with their neighbors. Jamie is determined to fight back and not let his neighbors scare him off from his perfect apartment, however Jamie doesn’t know just how dangerous his neighbors might be.
Mark Edwards has always written books I’ve loved, and this one was no exception. I have feeling that this review might be shorter than my usual reviews, because I don’t want to give too much away!
What I will say is that this book was unique in the sense that it was a super creepy thriller that relied on no twists and turns in the book. Everything is very straight forward and predictable, however the book still manages to keep the reader in suspense and on the edge of their seat. I really enjoyed that aspect, especially after reading a few books lately that all had lots of twists and turns. It was nice to not be constantly guessing.
Overall, I loved the book and rated it 4/5 stars. I do feel like there were a few minor things that had some loose ends, however in the edition of the book I read, Mark Edwards wrote an Afterword and answered some of the common questions he gets about this book, which happened to be the same questions I had about the loose ends, so that worked for me and I didn’t have any issues with that. The major plot points were wrapped up nicely. I’d definitely recommend The Magpies for fans of Mark Edwards as well as for fans of the thriller genre who are looking for something without any shocking twists that still manages to keep you gripped until the very end!
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