I was so excited to get a copy of this - I loved the first two books in this series, and this doesn’t disappoint.

Susan Ryeland is back in London, still with her beloved MG, and is editing a new Atticus Pund novel: a continuation of the series by author Eliot Crace. Still haunted by the events of the first two books (spoilers for which abound), the last thing she wants is to be drawn into another mystery involving secrets from the past, characters with a real life counterpart, and anagrams.

But of course that happens, and her loss is our gain! Eliot has some scores to settle, and as Susan as gets further involved in the mystery the tension increases until I found myself really worried for her. This is another book within a book mystery; layered, twisty, full of intriguing clues. Both the real time plot and the Pund mystery, set in the glorious South of France, were satisfying reads and I didn’t guess the eventual conclusion. It seems like it will be the last book in the series, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Susan and Pund.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Susan Ryeland is back from Crete and has a new Atticus Pund book to edit. This time it's written by Elliot Crace, the grandson of literary legend Miriam Crace. Susan can't wait to get started but as she delves into the first thousand words, something is not quite right with the story, and with Elliot.

Marble Hall Murders follows on from the hugely successful Magpie Murders, and this book contains multiple spoilers for Magpie Murders so be warned if you've not already read it. It has the book within a book format that readers have come to expect, and it gives a great unique twist to the narrative. The characters, including Susan herself, are an interesting bunch and I certainly found myself shouting at the book at times!

Marble Hall Murders is a great addition to the Atticus Pund series. It's a long read but I found the time racing by as we flitted between 1955 and the present day. Thoroughly enjoyable!

The 3rd book of the Atticus Pund/Susan Ryeland series sees Susan back in London and working on what should be Pund’s last case. The set up of a book within a book is incredibly cleverly plotted, with the fictional detective’s case holding clues that will explain a murder in the ‘real’ world. Anthony Horowitz remains a reliably brilliant writer, managing to create two excellent mysteries and balance a huge cast of characters. Superb.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

The third marvelously originally structured novel from Anthony Horowitz in the "Magpie Murders" series of stories.
Once again, perhaps as a nod to Doyle, (if so - a delight), he uses the "story within a story" format - and if anything I think this is the strongest plot of the three. I was sorry to see Susan and Andreas part ways (not too much of a plot spoiler, since it is revealed in the first few pages) but in truth, Susan always belonged in London - and Andreas did not. And speaking of plot spoilers - the solution to Magpie Murders is revealed and explored throughout this story - about which the author is completely open. So if you are thinking of reading them, make sure you do so in sequence - which I would always recommend in any case.
The plots are fairly twisty, and I noticed that at one point, he used the opportunity of having the characters talk through their ideas relating the sets of characters. Although I was well able to follow the complexities in the previous books - and in general I'm not fond of lengthy or unnecessary plot expositions in print or on screen, I thought this was a good technique as it reveals the really rich details hidden in the text.
We are led to believe that this will be the final outing for Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pund - the author has, after all, completed the "3 book series"; the storyline has been neatly rounded off, maybe all the characters are getting a bit long in the tooth, and it would be hard to see how Anthony could yet again come up with another really inventive way of devising a plot based around this format.
However... we can live in hope... they are such splendidly clever and enjoyable books!

I really enjoyed Marble Hall Murders a Susan Ryeland series book 3 a murder myster by Anthony Horowitz.

Susan Ryeland a publisher is working on the third novel about Atticus Pund and she will have to have her wits about her as her life is in danger of becoming extinct.

Matriarch of the family Miriam Crace has been poisoned and it is down to Atticus Pund who just like Hercule Poirot always said "Lets get those little grey cells working , shall we?"

There are lots of red herrings scattered about and just when you think you have worked it out boom there are more questions than answers in this exciting murder mystery.

Book3 in the Atticus Pund series. Susan Ryland has recovered from nearly being killed and is in Crete when she is invited to edit a collaboration book about Atticus Pund written by an author who she didn't rate very well, who is the grandson of a well known children's author. As she begi s to read, she is drawn into the story and quickly sès parallels between the author's grandmother's death and the mysterious death that Atticus is trying to solve.
Really pacy and a clever ending

Another absolute cracker of a story. I am so sad to see this series end, I feel like I know the characters personally and will miss them greatly.

Horowitz knocks it out of the park, again.

Highly recommend

I was in a bit of a reading slump, but this definitely got me back on track!
Loved it! It's a proper page turner and was unputdownable. I missed this series, which I especially love for the "book within the book".
These days I often read books and unwillingly pick up on flaws etc, however I enjoyed this story and how it's written so much, I was all consumed by it. In all honesty, I didn't want it to end.
I am still, somehow, hopeful that we will meet Atticus Pund again :)

I do enjoy these books. I think they are well written, perhaps a tad on the verbose side and over long but generally very enjoyable. I really like Susan as a character and can picture myself in her shoes. Because they are a bit over long I'm going to say (heretical I know) that I much more enjoy the TV serialisations than the books. The books are very good but the TV series are even better. . The author has written a lot for TV and maybe it's because he feels he has to give more description because books are not a visual medium as such.. I'm not sure if you can ( or even should) do more books in the series. It feels like it has come to a natural conclusion. Very good though and pleased to have read the ARC

This is the third book to feature Susan Ryland book publisher/editor. She was the very unpleasant Alan Conway's editor when he was murdered. Susan also was nearly murdered. She left London and moved to Crete to run a Hotel with her lover Andreas.
The Crete attractions have waned, so remaining friends with Andreas, she has moved back to London. She initially caught up with her sister Katie who lives in Suffolk. Susan had been working freelance for Causton Books. However she would like the financial rewards that a permanent position would bring. To this end when she meets up with Causton Book publisher Michael Flynn, although releuctant, she agrees to edit Eliot Crace. he is starting to write a book based on Alan Conway's creation Atticus Pund.
Susan knows that Eliot is a young confused and angry man, who is the grandson of the very successful Miriam Crace. Now deceased her children books are famous throughout the world. Susan soon realises that she should have refused and her reluctance was a right response. The Crace family are unpleasant, besides Eliot there are three brothers ( one adopted ) and a sister who has moved away, and they blame Susan for allowing Eliot to vent his anger in print. Her world is turned upside down, accused of murder by the police, and her life may be in danger again.
Cleverly and well written. I've enjoyed the Susan Ryland character. Can there be a fourth outing? Anyone who hasn't read "Magpie Murders" book yet should be aware that Alan Conway's murderer is revealed in this book. Very highly recommended.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy and was so pleased to see the last one was about to be published. It’s just as good as the first two.
Susan Ryleand is back from Greece having decided she missed living in London and working in publishing.
She finds a small flat to buy and is offered a job as a freelance editor for a new Atticus Pund book written by a different author as Alan Conway has died.
Susan has edited a book by Elliott Crace before but unfortunately it wasn’t a success. Elliott is the grandson of Miriam Crace a famous children’s author who died a few years ago, of natural causes. Elliott is convinced she was murdered and uses her story in the new Atticus Pund book he’s started writing, set in the south of France.
Susan is dubious about Elliott’s ability to write in the style of Alan Conway but agrees to review the partial manuscript. She’s impressed with how he’s captured the style of Alan’s writing and agrees to meet Elliott and be his editor and mentor.
It’s a very enjoyable, clever murder within a book again. Such a pity it’s the last in the series. I look forward to watching it when it’s released as a tv adaptation.

This felt very similar to the other stories in this series - and very much gives Midsummer Murders vibes - which is great for a Sunday afternoon read with a cup of tea and a blanket, but I did feel like I figured out the whodunnit aspect faster than in the other 2 books which took away from my enjoyment somewhat.

Initially I wasn’t sure this was going to work- I just couldn’t work out how Horowitz would be able to make third novel based on a novelist who had died in the first book! But as always, he did it again. A similar (excellent) premise, but full of new characters and new twists.

Susan Ryeland has returned from Greece and is back in the London publishing scene, tasked with editing an Atticus Pund continuation novel by Elliot Crace, who, like Conway before him, leaves clues in his novel regarding the death of his famous author grandmother at Marble Hall some ten years earlier.

The ‘book within the book’ (B) plot was just as compelling as the frame (A) plot. And Susan was as witty and as compelled to just barge in on murderers as ever! Will that woman ever learn to at least bring back up! 4.5*

A very enjoyable read Susan Ryeland returns with the final case for Atticus Pund. I did enjoy the whole book within a book thing .The story is gripping and there are plenty of red herrings thrown in .Punds last case is set in 1955 in the South of France ,there are a variety of interesting characters and murder and mystery .A really good read .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

Thanks to Cornerstone Books and Netgalley for the ARC this book.
Another amazing book from Anthony Horowitz to bring Atticus Pund to a final end. Having watched the previous stories on TV as well as reading the books you can actually see the story opening out as you read it. Delighted that it also bought a happy ending for Susan after all she has been through.
Although I am saddened by the association between Susan and Atticus has come to an end I am sure that Anthony Horowitz will come up with a delightful alternative for his next book.

Loved it! The book has 2 murder mysteries running in parallel and I enjoyed reading both as both plots were really interesting. The twists and turns and the mystery kept me hooked right from the first page with the ending being absolutely unputdownable! I’ve read the previous books in the series and honestly, I enjoyed this more than the pervious ones. This book is an absolute page-turner and I’m really glad I got a chance to read it. Highly recommended.
Thank you to the publishers Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advanced copy of this ebook and giving me a chance to review this book!

'Marble Hall Murders' is Anthony Horowitz's third Susan Ryland murder mystery novel. Now back from Crete, and working as a freelance editor, Susan is asked to edit another Atticus Pund novel, written not by Alan Conway (obviously) but by Eliot Crace the grandson of a very famous children's author, and the writer of two previous novels that did very badly. Like Conway, Eliot's novel is not a standard mystery and instead there are strong parallels between the characters in his novel and his own family, as well as anagrams hidden amongst the text. Further, Charles Clover, Susan's previous business partner and attempted murderer, knew Eliot since he was a boy. As a result, Susan is forced to confront past trauma's, whilst also trying to make sense of both fictional and real murders.

Horowitz is an engaging writer with an extensive pedigree. Susan Ryland is a very established character, aided by Lesley Manville's performance of her on TV. The oscillation between Atticus Pund's detection (the fiction within the fiction) and Susan's investigations/experiences, is clever and the end of the novel was satisfying. My only criticism is that as a book, the order of events doesn't quite work. From early on, Susan seems to become over involved in investigating Eliot Crace's family secrets when she really doesn't have a good motive for doing so. On television, I think this would look less odd, but in a book where it is possible for people to have deeper motivations it doesn't quite seem to work. When I got to the acknowledgements though, all made sense, as Horowitz talks about how this novel came about because of Lesley Manville's request for one more series of the television programme! If I'd had the choice I might have waited for the television version.

Susan Ryland is back from Greece, and looking for work when she is offered the job of editing a new Atticus Pund mystery, by an author know to her, Elliott Crace who is the grandson of a famous children’s author, Marian Crace.
The book concerns the death of a much-loved matriarch in a villa in a chateau in the south of France whose name is an anagram of Marble Hall, the home of the Crace family.
Elliot, while being an excellent author, is also a troubled soul, who needs to investigate and solve mysteries from his childhood.
Susan is drawn into the Crace world, finds herself in danger, investigated by the police, and finds solace from a very unlikely candidate.
The book is intricately plotted with plenty of clues, which are obvious afterwards, along the way.
A very enjoyable read. Although this is the third, and seemingly last, Atticus Pund book, one can always hope….

(Two further points
There is an assumption that Magpie Murders has been read, and lots of spoilers to that book.
I had just read The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (which I also highly recommend), and was worried this book would cover similar ground, but they are very different.)

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to read this book.

Anthony Horowitz – Marble Hall Murders *****
Susan Ryeland (played by the wonderful Lesley Manville in the TV series), the editor of several Atticus Pund novels, has been asked to edit another, even though the original creepy author died in a previous book. A new author, drunken Eliot Crace, of the world-famous family including Miriam who is the world’s best-selling writer of children stories, has been hired to carry on the series.
This is clever. You have Susan’s story, and her interactions with the formidable Crace family, many of whom are absolute rotters, and also you read the who-dun-it that Crace is busy writing. In effect you have two fabulous novels in one. Characters in the Crace novel are “based “on members of his real-life family, and whoever killed the matriarch of the Pund story presumably killed Miriam in ‘real life”. Though the family swear she died of old age and wasn’t poisoned.
It's not only well written but highly enjoyable with twists and turns and links between ‘real life’ and the newly created characters. It’s Horowitz at his dazzling best. And more great news; the reason he wrote another Atticus Pund is because Lesley Manville agreed before he wrote a word to play Susan Ryeland for a final time.

I've not read the previous two in the Magpie Murders series but I have seen the first tv adaptation which was excellent. Therefore, plot-wise, I knew what to expect but not necessarily the format. How inventive. I love that you can read Susan Ryeland's story as she tries to edit, educate and navigate the new Atticus Pund book and then you get to read most the new "book" too. Brilliant, so clever.