For fans of A Good Girl's Guide To Murder series and Truly Devious series, The Magpie Society: One For Sorrow meshes together the mystique of a secret society, the intrigue of a mysterious death and the light-hearted release of a teenage school drama.
New girl Audrey hailing from Georgia, USA is escaping her tragic past only to fall headfirst into more trauma and drama. Illumen Hall is a long-standing boarding school for the elite that is very much wrapped up in itself. During the previous term, however, resident popular girl (Lola) was found dead at the end of term party.
Audrey, now rooming with fellow student Ivy, finds herself in the centre of the drama – since she now sleeps in the dead girls' old room. Ivy, who was rather close with Lola, is still struggling to deal with her traumatic death and wants nothing to do with the girly-girl American.
But, with secrets unravelling every day via an anonymous podcast that is claiming Lola’s death was anything but ‘by misadventure’. What really happened to Lola? And what exactly is ‘The Magpie Society’?
First, I just have to commend the writing of this book. The idea of using a split POV with each chapter either following Ivy or Audrey and one author tackling one character each is ingenious. I don’t know if this is the first book to use this strategy, but it works so well and separates the internal voice of each character and gives them an extra dimension. I also loved the brief chapters, but that’s a personal preference. At first the book read a little young, especially Audrey’s POV, but that may have been intentional as her voice seemed to mature the further the book progressed.
There are so many levels to this book, and all is definitely not revealed by the end. I feel like the authors revealed the perfect amount to elevate the plot but not to give away. Building from that, it is clear to see that both of our leads have many skeletons of their own that are yet to be unearthed. Rather than over-saturating the story with informing the reader on every aspect of their personalities – the book serves as an introduction to both characters. Although, I will say that other characters received very short (in some aspects it was rather listed) introductions to the point that it makes them rather forgettable.
The relationship between Audrey and Ivy was well developed and paced. Instead of having them being best friends from the start, their relationship and trust built well over time using mini-moments and scenarios that create a logical and believable foundation. They are two very different characters with very contrasting characteristics and traits which will definitely bring some moments of contention later in the series.
As a minor note, I get serious Wild Child vibes from the entire book. Illumen Hall is very similar in ways to Abbey Mount, and the characterisation of Audrey is very similar to Poppy Moore. Plot moments like a dance, not wanting to be at the school, and the pre-set hierarchy of the school make both pieces very similar. I am a lover of Wild Child though, so I adore that.
Overall, this is a very solid ‘first-book-of-a-series’. The setting and characters are well introduced without bogging down the plot. And the historical aspects and secret society parts add whimsical and fantastical elements to the book. They reveal enough secrets to make One For Sorrow a solid book on its own, but also introduce’s many plot points that will pave the way for the rest of the series. And. That. Cliff. Hanger.
Have you read The Magpie Society: One For Sorrow? What did you think of it?
Thanks for reading, Rhi x.
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