Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a psychological thriller which tells the story of children’s illustrator Marisa who meets Jake online. It doesn’t take long for them to start living together and expecting a baby. However, Marisa has experienced trauma in her past and becomes deeply unsettled by unexpected visits from Jake’s mother Annabelle and the behaviour of their lodger Kate who doesn’t appear to understand appropriate boundaries while she is living with them. The novel has a big twist in the middle which is equivalent to those half way through Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and ‘Fingersmith’ by Sarah Waters in that it forces the reader to re-evaluate everything they have just read through completely new eyes. While it is difficult to discuss this in detail without spoilers, it will certainly strike a nerve one way or another, and I think it is cleverly done overall. Day has experienced miscarriages and IVF treatment in real life, and the issues related to fertility and mental health in this creepy domestic noir are explored in a thoughtful and affecting way.