Mythili Devarakonda
Last month, Zoella teamed with author and editor Amy McCulloh, to release her first venture into crime fiction, The Magpie Society. This is a new genre for Zoe Sugg to be exploring, preceded by her YA book series, Girl Online.
The first installment of the series called One For Sorrow is said to take place at the fictional Illumen Hall, an elite boarding school. The book opens as tragedy strikes when the body of a student is discovered at their exclusive summer party – on her back is an elaborate tattoo of a magpie.
The plot follows new girl Audrey who arrives the following term, running from her own secrets back home in America, she is drawn into solving the case. ‘Despite her best efforts to avoid any drama, her new roommate Ivy was close to the murdered girl, and the two of them can’t help but get pulled in.’
“The Magpie Society” is a modern gothic take on classic murder mysteries. This adventure of Audrey and Ivy is said to be a “tantalizing combination of clique rivalry and secret-society intrigue”, told from two alternating points of view. Sounds very exciting to read!
How it came about?
The British YouTuber gave fans a look at the creative process in a video on her channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOYpXjHhnm8&feature=youtu.be
Zoella explained: “Amy and I have been planning this for a very long time. We started talking about this since 2015. ‘We were obsessed with PLL (Pretty Little Liars) at the time, always talking about true crime, murders…”
Amy, who previously worked as an editor for Zoella on Girl Online, shared “We just discovered we had this shared passion for really dark, gritty crime through the novels we enjoyed.”
Jennifer Niven, #1 bestselling author of YA must-read All the Bright Places, reviewed the book as “a nail-biting page-turner written with cinematic sparkle, depth, and a heap of charm. Audrey and Ivy feel like living, breathing people, and my heart raced from the first line till the last.”
We can’t wait to get our hands on copies of The Magpie Society: One For Sorrow. It seems like the perfect read for one of these cozy winter evenings with a candle burning in the background. The book is available at all popular bookstores in paperback with a hardcover retailing at £10.99. The e-book versions are available on amazon for £6.49.
Are you planning to read the book? Let us know via tweeting us @Fuzzable.
