MAGPIE

"Beautifully written, with a chilling mystery at its core, Magpie is a suspenseful and twisty pleasure of a read"
Howard Linskey, author of the David Blake series.

"Chilling and heart-rending. A creepy, atmospheric story with a beautifully-drawn, bleak setting and memorably flawed characters."
Roz Watkins, author of the DI Meg Dalton series.

'Sophie Draper is a wonderful writer, adept at weaving stories within stories. This eerie Derbyshire tale lingered with me for days after I'd read the final page. And, try as I might, I didn't see the final twist coming!'
Nicola Raynor, author of The Girl Before You.

NetGalley Reader Reviews:

"A stunning read, incredibly well executed, dark and brooding! All things I love in a novel. Flawed characters, a bleak setting and just about the right level of tension makes this book a belter!"

"A compelling, heart-rending story."

"Magpie had me on the hook from the beginning with it's eerie premise! Addictive... unforeseen twists and turns... I know I'm reading a well written mystery/thriller when the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!"

"I loved the atmosphere... a great mystery novel. I felt that it had something different that made it special."

"Just when I thought I had a handle on the story, a plot twist I didn't see coming threw me for a loop, and just when the dust settled, another one came and wow! I thoroughly enjoyed Magpie!"

"Draper has a way with words, able to draw you in and hold you there, breathless, while the story unfolds."

"A tense chilling read... so well written, so dark, so gloomy, perfect atmosphere. Characters that come alive. An author I will be following. Highly recommended."

OUT NOW

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a secret...

Claire lives with her family in a beautiful glass house overlooking the water. But it feels as if she's married to a stranger - one who is leading a double life. As soon as she can get their son Joe away from him, she's determined to leave Duncan.

Discovering the truth about Duncan, however, has led to consequences Claire never planned for. Now Joe is missing, and she's struggling to piece together the events of the night that tore them all apart.

Alone in an isolated cottage, hiding from Duncan, Claire tries to unravel the lies they've told each other, and themselves. Something happened to her family... But can she face the truth?

A dark psychological thriller with a twist - perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and C. J. Tudor.

Magpie is currently available in Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda and all good bookshops or online. See also Amazon. 

A note from Sophie:

"There are so many brilliant psychological thrillers out there, that I felt I couldn't really compete with. Instead, with Magpie I have tried to do something different. The result has been a blurring of domestic suspense, mystery and contemporary gothic.

"I wanted the twist to be there right from the start, hidden in each scene, like one of those picture puzzles with a "spot the..." challenge.

"Add to that a web of forgotten folklore and a setting rooted in the landscape of my home in rural Derbyshire, has, I hope, given the reader a layered story, and one perhaps where you get to the end and reassess all that has gone before.

"I hope you enjoy."

Magpie launched on 28th Nov 2019 and went straight to the No 1 spot in the Bookseller's Heatseekers Fiction chart. It went on to reach No 10 in the Bookseller's Mass Market Fiction chart and No 11 in the Sunday Times Paperback Fiction chart.