Book Description
Stephen Marling thought he knew his aunt Flora. But when he inherits her house in a quiet south London square a series of discoveries among her papers brings to light another person entirely. Who, for example, is ‘Mr Magenta’ and what part did he play in her life?
In the process of uncovering the secrets of one life, Stephen is forced to re-evaluate his own and decide what he really wants. Was he right to turn his back on Nancy Steiner, the young actress he met in New York, when he came home to take up his inheritance?
Interweaving past and present, the story takes him from a Brooklyn bookshop to a theatre in Marseille to a cottage on the east coast of England where the truth about Mr Magenta is finally revealed.
Delicately crafted noir fiction at its best.
“A very original writer.”
Charles Harris, best-selling author of Room 15
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Mr Magenta' by Christopher Bowden
Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Amolibros and Christopher Bowden.
Publication date 6th October 2022.
This is the first book I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Amolibros . I have yet to read a book published by Amolibros that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a 25 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in London, England 🏴 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonist being Stephen Marling. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
This book is a slow paced but intriguing mystery. The writing is very descriptive and Christopher really put me in the storyline along with Stephen. Christopher has done a fantastic job of weaving the past and present together, sprinkling them with elements of mystery, family and romance creating a fantastic storyline. I enjoyed going on a journey with Stephen from New York to London to New York and back again. My heart went out to him going from a home he knew with a girlfriend he loved to losing his Aunt, moving into her home surrounded by people he recognised but didn't know and mourning not only the loss of his Aunt but Nancy (his girlfriend) too. I enjoyed the mystery element of this book and loved it when Stephen found new clues about Mr Magenta. His Aunt Flora sounded like a fascinating woman and I really enjoyed discovering her story. I absolutely loved all the book references that were scattered throughout the storyline especially Christopher Morley's 'The Haunted Bookshop'. The title has me intrigued already so I will be looking for a copy myself. The characters were very well developed and realistic and I became completely invested in both Stephen and Flora's stories. They were both very likeable characters along with the residents of Paxton Square. It sounds like a lovely, friendly community which I would love to read more about.
Overall an intriguing mystery that will take you on a journey from New York to London and suck you in until the end.
Genres covered in this book include Fiction, Literary Fiction and Crime amongst others.
175 pages.
This book is just £3.47 to purchase on kindle and £7.15 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@Bookworm86 @bookworm1986 @ZooLoosBT @ChristopherBowden @Amolibros
Author Bio
CHRISTOPHER BOWDEN is the author of seven highly-praised books: The Blue Book, The Yellow Room, The Red House, The Green Door, The Purple Shadow, The Amber Maze and Mr Magenta. A retired civil servant, he read history at Oxford and has lived in south London for over 40 years.
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