motherhood can make you crazy

Marisa is an artist who creates bespoke children’s books with original artwork. She spends her days thinking about children, how they think, what they would like, how to make them the star of her storybooks. So when she meets Jake and they hit it off and he says that he wants to try for a child right away, Marisa is excited about that.

Jake finds a house for them, and Marisa moves in. There is a good room with lots of light for her to paint in, so she can keep working on her books while they try for a baby. Things moved quickly with Jake, but Marisa feels ready to be with Jake and to start a family. Everything seems pretty perfect. Until Kate.

Jake told Marisa that they were struggling financially. Marisa did okay living on the proceeds of her children’s books when it was just her, living in an apartment. But now they have a house, and she’s trying to have a child. Money is tight. So Jake finds a lodger who will pay them rent, to help out. And just like that, Kate moves in.

When Jake first talked about a lodger, Marisa assumed it would be someone quiet, who would spend time in their own space, but Kate doesn’t see things the same way. She leaves her running shoes by the front door. She plays her music too loud. And she makes macaroni and cheese from scratch, even though it’s Jake’s favorite dish and Marisa’s favorite thing to make for him. Kate even follows Marisa to a yoga class.

Marisa is off-balance by Kate’s actions, and then she starts to notice how Kate is around Jake. Kate is so confident. It makes Marisa feel insecure, staying home all day, wearing clothes she can paint in. Marisa wants to find a way to take her power back, but will she be strong enough to do it?

And when Kate finally gets to tell things from her perspective, how will the narrative change for them all?

Magpie is a domestic thriller from Elizabeth Day that keeps the reader guessing until the end. While the process of trying to have a baby can make a woman a little crazy, Day takes that to the extreme with the story of Marisa, Kate, and Jake.

I listened to this one on audio, and I thought that narrator Tonya Reynolds did an amazing job with a difficult story. She brought these women to life and told both their stories with compassion and intelligence, and she did well with the slower parts of the story, which is part of why I did struggle some listening to this book.

I wanted to love this book, but it was difficult. It’s told first through Marissa’s eyes and then through Kate’s, which is interesting. But Marissa’s story goes on for so long that it gets a little tedious, right before the rug is pulled out from under you and the whole story changes. A similar thing happens with Kate, so it takes a while to really understand what is going on in the story and who is telling the truth.

Eventually it does all come together, and the beauty of motherhood helps erase a lot of the pain they went through to get there. And I do think it’s worth it to stick with this novel until the end. But it’s not the easiest journey to make. If you love a domestic thriller with big twists, you might be okay with the sometimes slow pacing. The audio book helped me a lot with that. But once you start hitting those big reveals, the slower pacing is forgivable and the book starts for real.

Egalleys for Magpie were provided by Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio book myself through Audible.