Magpie Lane

“The book is set in Oxford, at the lodgings of the new Master of one of the colleges. The Master’s Scandinavian wife is busy renovating the house, including whitewashing the floorboards (which I loved, because the dark wood panelling always got me down when I was a student in Oxford). Again, I’m not going to reveal anything, but this book is probably in the domestic noir genre of crime fiction, though at the glamorous end. These are books where I slightly see my own life mirrored—grappling with parenthood and a household, loving work but being over-busy as a result and scared of losing track of what’s important while being over-obsessive about other things.” Read more...

Best Crime Fiction of 2020

Sophie Roell, Journalist

“That’s what I love about suspense when it’s done well: it’s really powered by oddness and creepiness and things that are just a bit off and unsettling,” author Lucy Atkins told us in her interview on the best classic thrillers. That’s exactly what she achieves in Magpie Lane, a psychological thriller set in Oxford, England.

Many thanks to novelist Adele Geras for bringing Magpie Lane to our attention.

Best Mystery Books of 2020