Moonflower Murders
by Anthony Horowitz
Just finished the audio version of Moonflower Murders. I was given the hardcover as a birthday gift when I was about halfway through the audiobook, and now that I’m done listening I’m looking forward to reading it or at least part of it to spend more time with the story.
I really love anything that Horowitz writes. I didn’t know it at the time I watched them but he created two of my favorite tv shows: “Midsomer Murders” and “Foyle’s War”. He has written some Sherlock books, and some homages to Sherlock books, and I read those with glee.
Then there was Magpie Murders which introduced protagonist Susan Ryeland. It was like a masterclass in detective fiction. Moonflower Murders is the follow up.
These two books employ a technique that woos me every single damn time – the book within the book. Magpie had sections of a novel; Moonflower has the whole thing. AN ENTIRE DETECTIVE NOVEL WITHIN A DETECTIVE NOVEL. What?!?! I got giddy – GIDDY – when I realized that was the case. And then the interior detective novel features a case history which is like a short story within the book. Swoon.
The layers and the hidden clues and the references to detective fiction are layered like phyllo. The whole thing feels like a game. It makes gentle fun of all the conventions of detective fiction and of writers while at the same time forming a long, twisty love letter to the form.
It’s just so much clever fun. Ryeland is a retired editor who needs to read one of her late author’s books to look for clues to solve a current mystery. The book she reads is in itself an homage to the golden age of detective fiction, in particular to Christie. Ryeland is smart and funny and stubborn, hapless while being aware of her haplessness. Falling into the conventions of detective books while pointing that out while noting how it actually works pretty well that way. It’s so self-referential while using those references to distract the reader and lull them into complacency. The embedded novel is full of word games and references to other detective writers.
Read this if you like a solid mystery that is fast-paced, intricate and well-written. Especially read if you love other mysteries. It is a celebration of mystery books that is at once winky and sincere. It reminds me all the reasons why I love them.