Review: The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow by Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch

Author: Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch
Edition: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (October 29, 2020)
Genre: YA, Mystery

Synopsis

My review of The Magpie Society

The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow is a fun but clumsily executed mystery with an atmospheric setting and plenty of secrets.

A Clumsily Plotted Mystery

The Magpie Society is best described as clumsy but fun. The plot is heavy-handed and multiple big reveals happen suddenly and are disappointing, killing any sense of suspense. Additionally, the story ends in a confusing whirlwind of action that fails to answer any questions and instead raises more. Ultimately, the strength of this book definitely doesn’t lie in the writing. If you’re expecting a literary masterpiece you won’t find it here.

However, I did greatly enjoy the setting of Illumen Hall! What can I say, I’m a sucker for mysterious boarding schools. The authors introduce places and traditions surprisingly well and I am curious to see where those crumbs lead us in the next book. I’m not going to lie, I still would’ve liked to learn more about the school but I’m crossing my fingers the sequel can deliver on that front!

An Intriguing Dual POV

Your mileage may vary, but personally, I loved the two main characters! There is Audrey, the new American student leaving her past behind, and Ivy, the cold and ambitious top student hiding plenty of secrets. They are as different as they could be and can’t stand each other as roommates. But when the podcast starts, they’re roped into investigation Lola’s death together. The two girls felt more multidimensional than I expected and I Ioved watching their dynamic develop! However, this comes at the cost of some of the secondary characters feeling underdeveloped, something I hope the authors improve in the sequel.

My biggest issue with Ivy and Audrey is that they’re just too naive! At one point in the story, they accept a timestamp on a photo shown to them on someone’s phone as an alibi. A timestamp as evidence? In this day and age? That really made me chuckle because it seemed like such a convenient way to rule out a suspect.

As mentioned, the book is told through alternating POV chapters, something I’ve always enjoyed in stories. To me, the characters’ voices felt distinct enough to keep the chapters interesting and made the double POV a choice that paid off. There was plenty of opportunity to relay different experiences and information to the reader and I felt the authors made good use of the POVs.

Overall…

…this book feels like the set-up to a series which makes it fall a little short in most aspects. It’s a fun read and I can see younger readers who are new to mysteries enjoy this a lot, even though it didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally.

This book is for you if…

…you like mysteries set at boarding schools
…you are looking for a book that’s easy to read and sets up a larger series.

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