Just WOW! I really didn’t expect that twist!
Magpie starts off Marisa and Jake moving in together, although they haven’t been together long. Then they decide to take in a lodger who is Kate. This is when things start becoming a little weird between Marisa and Kate, especially with a baby on the way.
Huge credit goes to Elizabeth Day, she managed to write this in such a way that when the twist happened BOOM! My mind exploded. It was clever and well thought out and so unexpected, it was surreal.
I’d definitely recommend it.

Magpie is so gripping I could not put it down
You think you know the story as it starts to unfold it
You think you know what's going to happen, but do you really
Definitely not
Great writing and unexpected twist

Thank you netgalley, Elizabeth Day and forth estate

I flew through this book and really enjoyed it up until the twist (which I enjoyed and didn’t see coming). However, though it was a quick and easy read, the second half of the book wasn’t as gripping or believable. I liked Kate, found Marisa interesting and did not like Annabelle. The topic of infertility seemed well researched. It’s a quick one and worth a read if you like this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.

3.75 stars
Magpie is the latest standalone psychological thriller from author Elizabeth Day. Its my first read by this author but it won't be my last.

The author pulls off one of the most well done twists I've read in a long time. Marissa and her new boyfriend Jake are trying for a baby after a short whirlwind romance. They take in lodger, Kate who immediately seems at home and a little over friend to Jake. As Marissa's jealous grows so does the feeling that something is a little off with this scenario.

The plot twist comes early in the book (about 35%) and things keep building from there. Feelings towards each character and loyalties to who you were cheering for changed so rapidly I felt I had whiplash. This excellent thought provoking style where we get differening perspectives and back stories really drive this compelling drama.

The book addresses serious issues well and I felt the portrayal of infertility was well done. Trigger warning for infertility, miscarriage and sexual assault.

Overall this was a fun, satisfying and twisty domestic drama cross psychological thriller. I'd recommend this book and will most definitely read more by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Marisa. Kate. Jake. A pregnancy. A mental illness. A manipulative mother-in-law. Who is ill and what is really happening? All will be ultimately revealed in delightfully twisty-turny fashion in Elizabeth Day's Magpie.

I've recently worried that screen addiction is slowly eroding my ability to read. I've struggled through the novels I've read recently, unable to concentrate for long. Now I realise they were just the wrong books!
This is such an exciting thriller from Elizabeth Day and I could not put it down. There is one major plot twist but even afterwards, perspectives and sympathies continue to shift, hooking the reader in until the bitter end. It's difficult to say too much without spoilers but it really is an extremely well-written, exciting, intriguing and intelligent novel. I loved it.

Marisa may have only known Jake for a few months, but she has never felt more certain about anyone. When he asks her to move in with him and they start trying for a baby, she knows she has finally found the steadfast love and support she has been looking for all her life. But their relationship is tested when they take in a lodger, Kate, who has little regard for personal boundaries and seems to take an uncomfortable interest in Jake - as well as the baby they are hoping to have.

Marisa has only known Jake for a few months but she's already moved in with him and trying for his baby. But things are strained when they take in lodger Kate. Marisa thinks Kate's behaviour is a bit weird. The big twist comes around the middle and the story takes on a new edge. This is a well written and gripping read. I was hooked from the first page. An original, clever and twist filled plotline.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #4thEstate and the author #ElizabethDay for my ARC of #Magpie in exchange for an honest review.

As I read the opening page I knew that this was a going to be an amazing story…
Magpie is the story of Marissa, a young woman who is searching for a house with her partner Jake. They met on a dating app and want to have children. Living in London is expensive so they take in a lodger, Kate. Marissa discovers she is pregnant, it is what they wanted, but she thinks Jake also wants Kate. But is this really the story…
Wow what a read! If you have read The Push by Ashely Audrain you will love this too. It shares the same unique exploration of motherhood, this time covering surrogacy, infertility and mental health. Both novels share beautiful crisp writing, long sentences which build layer upon layer of gorgeous detail so you can see, hear, understand..Both stories play around with perception and perspective…taking the reader in one direction and then spinning them 180 degrees and suggesting another one. I really had no idea where this one would go, how far it might go. Categorised as a psychological thriller, at points it felt dangerous, out of control; I felt that my frame of reference had disappeared and I had no idea what the truth was any longer or what might happen next. And I had no idea who was telling the truth…Absolutely delicious!

With grateful thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate for this brilliant novel.

Magpie is a book that is best read coming in blind, believe me.
Marissa is excited she is viewing a house for her and her boyfriend, Jake, to live in. Whilst being shown round a magpie flies in through the open doors, maybe this house isn’t going to bring joy but sorrow? The first part is narrated by Marissa as we follow her journey of becoming pregnant and the jealousy that envelops her as she watches Jake get close to the lodger, Kate, they have had to take in for financial reasons. In the first part I had no idea where this was going and then a third in and BAM what a twist!!!!
I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to find out how it all ended. A great thriller.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Fouth Estate for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A deeply intense psychological book. I loved the fact that the first two parts are from two different points of view, so similar but yet so so different. It was an easy read and the characters were well described. Apart from Jake’s mother I liked them all for different reasons.
An unexpected ending adding to the great read.

This story has a number of themes but centres around a couple who are trying to conceive.
I found it difficult to read in bits, the well written narrative from different characters gave for a tense and dark read.
I found the book creepy and twisty and I would recommend looking up the book to see the trigger warnings for this one.
An honesty comes through the writing and if you like psychological thrillers then this one is for you.

Marisa and Jake are trying to conceive but they’ve had to face the need for a surrogate to carry their child.
Enter Kate. She’s the perfect surrogate and she moves in with them but things quickly unravel.
This thriller is chock full of twists and turns and it’s a quick but very satisfying page-turner.
The plot does get a little far-fetched but it is gripping and the characters are not just cardboard cut-outs. Your emotions are pulled in different directions.
Recommended for those looking for an absorbing thriller to race through on a winter’s night!

I went into reading Elizabeth Day’s Magpie not knowing anything about it. I’d recently finished her Failosphy and enjoy listening to her podcast.

So when this story started out being about a couple trying to conceive, I was not at all surprised (the author is very open about her quest and her so-called failure to conceive).

However, what followed really took me by surprise. What I didn’t expect, and yet what I got, was a tense, dark psychological thriller that took me places I never expected to go.

I won’t say much more about this as I wouldn’t want to give away the unexpected twist, but this is a dark, compelling and slightly twisted examination of motherhood, jealousy and family ties, with plenty of social commentary thrown into it as well. One that I enjoyed reading much more than I ever expected to…

Marisa, a children’s book illustrator, has met Jake, the man of her dreams at a singles event, and just 3 short months later is moving in to his Battersea house. Her friend, Jas, worries she’s moving too fast but to begin with, everything is blissful, and Marisa and Jake are thrilled when they find out they’re expecting a baby. But all is not perfect: their lodger, Kate, seems to have an intimacy with both Jake and the house that leaves Marisa uncomfortable, and her sense of slow-burning dread is transferred to the reader.



Magpie was immediately engaging – well written, brilliantly characterised – and then the twist comes at the halfway point and performs an audacious bait and switch on the reader. Very highly recommended, especially for how it deals with big issues in a very sympathetic way. Does come with CNs for sexual violence, infertility and miscarriage.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a read! Fully absorbing and compelling. My emotions were all over the place, switching allegiances with each new chapter. Also, a very thought-provoking and sensitive handling of some difficult subjects - I won't say what to avoid spoilers. I read this solely because I love listening to Elizabeth Day hosting Open Book so managed to be fully surprised. .While the blub doesn't give anything away, reading it cold makes it better. I actually might not have chosen to read this had I read it, so if it doesn't sound like it's for you, give it a chance, you won't regret it.

What a little corker of a read this is, but so hard to review too. Marisa has reached a point in her life where she wants a baby, and after meeting Jake, she knows he will make the perfect dad. The only problem is that the house where they live isn’t cheap to run, especially when she becomes pregnant, so the only solution is to take in a lodger.

Kate soon moves in and wants to know everything about the pregnancy. Then it’s not long until she is getting a little too close to Jake for Marisa’s liking. It seems like the only person she can talk to is Jake’s mum.

I was already deeply involved with reading about these characters when something just nagged in my mind and made me feel so uneasy. I went from uneasy to sat at the edge of my seat, reading like my book would disappear if I didn’t speed up. There was no sleep that night until it was finished. It is now one of my favourite books this year. Loved it!

I wish to thank the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

This is what I call a well thought through domestic crime read, at times I thought I knew what was coming to be totally spun around and left shocked. Brilliantly written with true narcissistic characters. At time I felt the story line was a little slow but it soon changed and packed a punch.

This is a well written story about motherhood. It's a compelling read, more a domestic drama than a psychological thriller with a great plot twist half way through.

Highly recommended!

I thought I knew where the plot of #Magpie was going, and then there was a huge twist! I would say it is a thriller, until it is a lesson in narcissistic mothers- definitely terrifying in their own right though not what I was expecting.

I enjoyed this book, it’s such a page turner. I thought the character of Marisa needed more exploration though, after a shocking episode that was quite scary and tense, the rest of the book felt quite calm (though compelling).

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for my free advance copy in return for an unbiased review.

Marisa and Jake haven't known each other long, but they seem perfect together. But as this happy couple look forward to life with a new baby, they are forced to take in a lodger and their world looks set to be torn apart.

But why does Kate prove such a threat to Marisa, and why does Jake seem unconcerned? Nothing seems to be quite as it appears.

This is a clever idea translated into a gripping page-turner which also explores the themes of motherhood and jealousy, control and possession.

was genuinely apprehensive about reading this when I realised that it was vaguely about infertility - without too much of a spoiler I was just so sick of infertile women being these awful desperate baby stealing monsters in domestic thrillers or books about harrowing Ivf stories with magical endings (that people don’t always get). This book isn’t that .
I warmed to the characters and ended up reading in one sitting. The story went in a completely different direction from that I was expecting but in a good way. Would recommend
Read through netgalley.