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Welcome to ‘Single White Female’ With a Maternal Twist

In Elizabeth Day’s psychological thriller, “Magpie,” an obsessive, boundary-pushing lodger upends the lives of a picture-perfect couple trying to have a baby.

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By Megan Abbott

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MAGPIE , by Elizabeth Day

“What is she going to do?” wonders Marisa, the nervous, eager-to-conceive woman in “Magpie,” Elizabeth Day’s fourth novel. “In a cheap film — the kind that she watches on cable channels in the afternoons lying on the sofa when she should be working — the wronged woman would pack her bags and leave the house in a fit of righteous indignation.”

But, of course, Marisa does no such thing. What fun would that be?

From the very beginning, we worry for Marisa, the kind of doomed heroine who doth-insist-too-much that she’s found the perfect man and the perfect house to begin what she believes will be the perfect life. As the novel begins, she’s just moved in with Jake, a handsome consultant, after a whirlwind romance and the only possible obstacle appears to be the sudden intrusion of Kate, a lodger who moves in to help the couple economize as they plan for the future — foremost, having a child. “But nothing stayed perfect forever, did it?” Marisa thinks to herself. And, in fact, things go awry with remarkable velocity.

Early in “Magpie,” a twist comes that made me gasp out loud. And it’s the kind of twist that makes you re-evaluate everything you’ve read before. And the twist marks the novel — at least for its first two-thirds — as one of the Grand Guignol school of thrillers of which Gillian Flynn remains the current master and, as much as countless book jackets in recent years have asserted otherwise, few have approached her virtuoso, go-big-or-go-home approach. These novels — much like their cinematic equivalent, Brian De Palma ’s giddy, baroque and self-referential thrillers — place their characters in increasingly extreme situations, requiring them to make hairpin turns or Jekyll-Hyde transformations that risk straining credibility. We watch Marisa, Jake and Kate make choices that strain credibility or at least consistency of character. But realism isn’t the point. It’s not about how things are but how they feel — and the deeper truths that can be mined within that feeling.

The spiraling energy at the center of the novel captures the way fertility struggles can serve as a tripwire, upturning everything else in one’s life, laying bare all one’s vulnerabilities.

As we’ve seen with novels like Jessica Knoll’s “Luckiest Girl Alive,” this expressionistic style can be a wildly effective means of excavating the pains and terrors of toxic relationships, partner violence, trauma, mental illness. In the case of “Magpie,” the near-constant fever pitch of the narrative matches how it feels to be suffering through pregnancy anxiety, fears of romantic betrayal, in-law strife, body horror. And the spiraling energy at the center of the novel captures the way fertility struggles can serve as a tripwire, upturning everything else in one’s life, laying bare all one’s vulnerabilities.

And we’re in it with Day, along for the ride as each baroque plot turn mimics the many shocks of womanhood. The whiplash is part of the fun. But it’s the smaller stuff that really sings, such as the way Kate and Marisa look at each other’s bodies with both envy and repulsion. Their gazes are shot through the punishing lens of childbearing potential and male desire. One is the “Thomas Hardy milkmaid” and the other, a Breton-shirted gamin — each, at different points, a more desirable, or grotesque, vision of womanhood.

The dilemma with such novels, however, is that once you’ve raised the pitch that high, once all bets are off and narrators have shown their inevitable unreliability, how do you bring it home in a satisfying way? Few have been able to approach the audacity of, say, Ira Levin’s “Rosemary’s Baby,” in their relentless, go-for-broke commitment to a tone that requires the novelist keep escalating until a final operatic close that is, against all odds, bigger (and darker) than anything that’s come before.

Instead, Day opts for a third act that is more grounded, even conciliatory. Loose ends are tied and problematic characters exiled. At first, it feels like a deflation: a grand opera culminating in a needle scratch. But we can’t forget what’s come before and Day lets it hang over the novel’s final moments like a creeping shadow. “Because happiness was transient,” as one character tells us. And once you know that, happiness itself becomes the cruelest twist of all.

Megan Abbott’s latest book is “The Turnout.”

MAGPIE, by Elizabeth Day | 336 pp. | Simon & Schuster | $26.99

An earlier version of this review misquoted a sentence in the book. It is “But nothing stayed perfect forever, did it?” It is not “But nothing stayed perfect together, did it?”

When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at [email protected] . Learn more

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Magpie by Elizabeth Day, review: a compulsive motherhood thriller with an electric twist

In her pacy and assured fourth novel, day writes with hair-raising accuracy about the madnesses of fertility, pregnancy, infertility, miscarriage, and love.

Marisa and Jake have not long been a couple when they move in together and decide to start trying for a baby. Sometimes, as Marisa tells us, “When you know, you just know.” Then a lodger moves in, too: Kate, with her dungarees, her PR job and her increasingly proprietorial manner towards the house, its contents… and Jake.

The opening of Magpie is decidedly creepy, as Marisa settles into the couple’s not-quite-right house, trying to make sense of both her past and a future filled with unknowns. As her hormones pitch and surge, she sees Kate everywhere, not just at home, but skulking at the back of her yoga class, and in Jake’s arms.

Elizabeth Day is the author of four novels, including The Party , and her handling of narrative is pacy and assured. Indeed, so compulsive is this book that there were times when, however quickly I read, it wasn’t fast enough. There is much talk on the book’s jacket about the twist, which is indeed electric, so much so that I had to go back and re-read the central section once my desire for plot had been sated.

The final third, by comparison, is less taut, although no less fascinating. Indeed, it could almost have been a book in itself: Jake’s domineering mother, Annabelle, comes to the fore as the reader is invited to consider what makes a woman a mother.

Magpie’s descriptions are often disturbingly memorable. A woman’s pregnancy bump appears to an infertile character as “a mountainous beacon of her indisputable womanhood”, while a rape is likened to having been pierced with shrapnel, “her entire self had to grow around it over the years that followed”.

Day writes with hair-raising accuracy on the madnesses of fertility and pregnancy, infertility and miscarriage, love and longing. When Kate tells us that she is not worthy of being a mother, that she is damaged, faulty in some way that she cannot define, her words resonate with a disconcertingly familiar despair.

Thank goodness that Magpie is funny, too. There is a yoga teacher who greets pregnant students with the words “Welcome, goddess”, a burnt-out boss who leaves PR to sell leggings with little gold ankle zips, and the unrelentingly awful Annabelle, who persists in calling her poor estranged daughter “Toad”.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, review: A strange, imperfect book for strange, imperfect times

It is perhaps a shame that Jake is left somewhat sketchy, as overshadowed by his mother in personality as he is by the mechanics of the plot. Marisa and Kate, too, exist more fully in their recollections of the past than they seem to in the present.

Still, if we don’t ever quite seem to know these two women, at least not in the way their old friends do, perhaps that is the point. Longing for a baby, losing a baby, watching others become pregnant, carrying a baby; Magpie lays bare how such experiences can turn a person into someone new, unknown to anyone – even, and especially, to one’s shifting, vulnerable self.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is out now (Fourth Estate, £14.99)

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Words Per Mile

Book Review: Magpie by Elizabeth Day

“She realized he would probably die quite soon and when she thought of it, she felt a pang of incipient loss. Not because his death would leave an absence in her life, but because his existence had.” -Elizabeth Day

A rare book I had on my TBR list before it was even released–I think a coworker mentioned it to me? With so many books to read and so little time, I try to avoid letting myself fixate on books that aren’t even out yet.

But I kept this one on my radar, and I’m so glad I did. I’m picky about thrillers, and this one blew me away. The meaning of the title is clear even if you just read the back of the book: magpies are birds that move into another bird’s home and take it over.

I went in expecting it to have a midway twist, excited to try and guess it, ready for the satisfaction of being right…and I was wrong. The twist took my completely by surprise in a delightful way, and in a way that didn’t make me feel cheated. You ever read a book where the author is clearly trying so hard to subvert expectations that what they end up writing makes no sense? Not in this case. I’ve reread the book twice now, and Day does a marvelous job laying the seeds for the twist without tripping over her own foreshadowing. I’m excited to read more of her work!

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MAGPIE, Elizabeth Day's tautly woven, emotionally resonant domestic suspense novel, is about the perfect couple, their perfect pregnancy and their not-so-perfect lodger.

Abandoned by her mother as a child, Marisa never thought that children were in the cards for her. Although she has carved out a decent living writing and illustrating personalized children’s books, she and her best friend, Jas, are equal losers in the race to romance. Disappointed with online dating and sick of weird, creepy and emotionally unavailable men, Marisa is just about to call it quits when she meets Jake. Conventionally handsome, goal-oriented and, above all, interested, Jake is almost perfect. Almost. He can be a bit standoffish, is not prone to public displays of affection, and has a weird, codependent relationship with his posh mother, Annabelle, who falls apart if he misses his regularly scheduled weekly phone calls and seems to have her hand in everything he does.

Still, there is one very important thing that Marisa and Jake have in common: they are both ready to start a family, and, given the slim odds of the dating pool, they know it is now or never. So, despite their 10-year age difference, they move in together (a convenient arrangement for Marisa, whose career is not exactly taking off) and decide to embark on the path to parenthood.

"MAGPIE is a twisty, subversive suspense story that, in addition to being a compelling mystery, employs real-world, complicated issues to ramp up the tension."

All is well in their perfect world until Jake reveals to Marisa that he has experienced some financial setbacks at work, and they will need to take in a temporary lodger. Almost immediately, Kate enters the picture. Thirty-six (closer in age to Jake), employed in the publicity department of a film production company, petite, dark-haired and slender, Kate appears to be a stable, responsible lodger. Besides, Jake has always expressed his preference for curvy blondes like Marisa, so it’s not like she has any competition to fear.

Still, the strain of attempting to become pregnant has taken a toll on Marisa’s relationship with Jake. After experiencing the abandonment of her mother at such a young age, she is particularly sensitive to the anxieties that come with wandering eyes and a woman who may have more in common with her intelligent, posh boyfriend than she does. Just when Marisa starts to catch a whiff of something stronger than a tenant-landlord relationship between Kate and Jake, the miraculous happens: she is pregnant, the two lines on the test appearing as a promise of a future free from anxiety and desertion.

As her pregnancy begins, Marisa cannot help but notice bizarre behaviors in Kate. She seems to know things about Marisa and Jake that she shouldn’t; she is strangely possessive of Jake; and she turns up more than once when Marisa is attending yoga or grabbing a cup of coffee. As Kate’s presence becomes smothering and Jake’s attention dwindles, Marisa feels certain that something is amiss, and the only way to ensure her and her baby’s happiness is to figure out what Kate really wants from their lodging arrangement. But between her insecurities, pregnancy hormones, and desperation to preserve her relationship and future, Marisa is stretched to the limit. That’s when her own carefully painted facade begins to crumble, and Kate takes center stage.

MAGPIE is a twisty, subversive suspense story that, in addition to being a compelling mystery, employs real-world, complicated issues to ramp up the tension. Day writes about the struggles of fertility, fertility treatments and the invasive questions and suggestions of others with great wisdom, clarity and compassion. Her control of Marisa's and Kate's emotions, motivations and aspirations never once lets up, even as each woman oscillates between obsession, depression, paranoia and even outright cruelty.

Day deals with seriously complex and difficult subjects, including mental illness, but she handles each element with great sensitivity while never detracting from the nail-biting suspense. Her twists and turns are shocking, unpredictable and often nerve-wracking. And her use of pregnancy --- literally the taking over of a woman’s body --- as a metaphor and a literal fact is relentlessly clever, resulting in tonal shifts from the sinister to the claustrophobic and even the euphoric.

If I have a single complaint about MAGPIE, it’s that the ending felt rushed and a bit too tidy. Day played so effortlessly with her brilliant characters, casting each of them as the villain at one point or another, that the dainty bow she wraps them in at the conclusion feels too convenient and not up to the standard she set earlier in the book. That said, this is a necessary and deeply suspenseful thriller that will make Day a quick favorite among readers of Lisa Jewell, Sarah Vaughan and Katherine Faulkner.

Reviewed by Rebecca Munro on May 6, 2022

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

• Publication Date: May 2, 2023
• Genres: Domestic Thriller , Fiction , Psychological Suspense , Psychological Thriller , Suspense , Thriller
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• ISBN-10: 1982187611
• ISBN-13: 9781982187613

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Books , Reviews · November 29, 2021

REVIEW: Magpie – Elizabeth Day

In September, Elizabeth Day released her new novel – Magpie – a powerful story that grapples with the sadness around infertility. It’s a razor sharp and taut story that is an immensely propulsive narrative. Pick up a copy here .

At the start of her propulsive new novel, a magpie flies in through the window of Marisa’s new home – one for sorrow. This sign should be noted, as Day takes the reader through a fast-paced twisting and turning journey, telling the story of Marisa – a children’s book illustrator who is set to move in with her near-perfect boyfriend Jake. Due to financial difficulties, they decide to have a lodger move in with them – Kate. When Marisa gets pregnant, she begins to take note of strange things about Kate. To describe more of the story would be to ruin it, this is a flawlessly composed and well-delivered narrative. In a literary world, where many thrillers seem to follow a formula, this novel pulls the rug out from under you. It’s a dizzying story that moves with so much pace told in Elizabeth Day’s taut, razor-sharp prose. Day is a master storyteller and this is an immensely propulsive read-in-a-day read for a cozy winter’s evening. We loved it.

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Book Review on Elizabeth Day's Magpie

Elizabeth Day’s  Magpie  begins with Marisa, the narrator for much of the story, explaining her relationship with Jake and their desire to begin a family. We see her being shown round the house they will go on to live in, despite the omen of a single magpie swooping into the living room, as the estate agent shows her round.  We learn of the early relationship between Marisa and Jake and their need to take in a lodger to increase their income. Following the entrance of film publicist, Kate, into the equation, things start to unravel for Marisa. She resents Kate’s presence and thinks that Jake spends far too much time cosied up to Kate instead of her. The tension begins to become palpable. And on it goes … the first half of  Magpie  pretty much sets the scene. We are introduced to all the main characters, including the manipulative mother-in-law figure. The reader is then presented the same events again from a different viewpoint, that of Kate. It becomes clear that things no longer add up. A crisis point is reached, but this isn’t the end of the thriller. Jake’s parents become increasingly involved in the story as secrets and deceptions lead to a make or break scenario for Jake, Marisa and Kate. As the reader progresses through the novel, they realise the power an unreliable narrator has over them. Elizabeth Day shows skill and mastery of the form and uses foreshadowing to incredible effect. Marisa is so credible, particularly because there is enough truth in what she says to leave the reader completely floundered as to what to think! Magpie  has been likened to Gillian Flynn’s  Gone Girl , but other than the obvious thriller link, I found them very different reads.  Magpie  was a quick, straightforward page-turner, and I found it less frightening than Gone Girl. When I read Gone Girl, I felt that it was more accessible than Paula Hawkin’s  The Girl on the Train.  I’d say that Magpie is easier and has less depth than either, but regardless is extremely readable. It received quite high acclaim from my book club pals.

Book Club Questions on Elizabeth Day's Magpie

At what point in  Magpie  did you realize that Marisa was not who she seemed? Did you spot, ahead of time, either of the plot twists coming?    How would you classify the genre of  Magpie ?   Why do you think Elizabeth Day called the book  Magpie ?   How believable did you find Elizabeth Day’s  Magpie ?  Discuss what was and wasn’t believable in the story.   The book starts by telling the reader how Marisa’s mother left her as a young child. What do you think is the significance of sharing this, in light of what happens later in the story?   Marisa stabbed her sister with a pin from her mother’s sewing box and then denied hurting her. Discuss why the writer chose to include this event in the story.   What is your opinion of Jake? To what extent is he to blame for how events unfold? How could he have prevented things escalating?    How would you sum up Annabelle’s character? Discuss.    How much sympathy do you have for Marisa?    It turns out that Marisa is bi-polar, but she has stopped taking her medication, as she didn’t want to hurt the baby. Does the book do a disservice to people who are bi-polar? Why or why not?    Discuss the significance of Jake’s secret visits to Annabelle and Marisa at his mother’s house? What does it suggest about both Jake and his mother?   What is your view of Jake’s father? Do you see him as a weak figure? Why or why not?    The book ends happily with Jake and Kate having the baby they wanted, but do you really think they will live happily ever after?   On the blurb of Elizabeth Day’s  Magpie , Sara Collins, says “An absorbing exploration of infertility and mental illness combined with the pace and plot of a heart-racing thriller … I literally couldn’t put this down.” Did you find the book un-put-down-able?   When Marisa’s father visits her for the last time he seemed frail and old and she realized he would soon die. “She felt loss, not because his death would bring an absence, but because his existence had.” After that visit she ignored his messages and cards and didn’t contact him again. Discuss what this reveals about Marisa and the father /daughter relationship they had.

When Kate catches Marisa following her on the tube, Marisa begs her to not tell Jake, but any sense of Marisa being contrite soon turns to anger against Kate. The narrator says, “Anger always wins.” Do you think anger is an emotion that is likely to supersede other feelings?”   When Kate visits Annabelle, she is passive aggressive and controlling. Jake can’t see that Annabelle is playing power games and being unkind. Would anyone like to share any mother-in-law stories?!   To what extent did the book add to your knowledge on surrogacy? If the group feels it appropriate to do so, discuss your personal feelings about whether surrogacy is something you might consider if you wanted children, but were unable to have them.

A story of two halves, jumping back in time, with NOW and THEN capitalised as chapter headings, indicating the time frame in which the events are set, Elizabeth Day’s Magpie is the most unusual psychological thriller I’ve read. For the whole first half I felt like I was reading realistic fiction focusing on family relationships, using surrogacy as a tool to explore the complexities of life. It didn’t feel like a thriller and I, somewhat predictably, didn’t see either of the twists coming! As a book club read this wasn’t the easiest book we’ve dissected. It felt like the author gave us the answers to the questions we were asking. There wasn’t much disagreement about characters, theme or plot. It was a good read and a great introduction to thrillers, for readers like me, who for far too long, have avoided them.