Mr Magenta by Christopher Bowden Blogtour

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.

Author Bio

Christopher Bowden Biography

Christopher Bowden lives in south London. He is the author of six novels, each with a colour theme. The Amber Maze, published in September 2018, is the latest. His previous books have been praised variously by Andrew Marr, Julian Fellowes, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Shena Mackay. Of his third novel, The Red House, Sir Derek said, “Very entertaining, cleverly constructed and expertly paced. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Website:
http://www.christopherbowden.com

My Thoughts

Mr. Magenta is an interesting take and has a style of writing that is very good.  It has a lot of flourish to it which is refreshing for me as most of the books I read tend to be more gritty.

This has the feel of a family style drama and learning about the ins and outs of a family.  Families aren’t easy and this has a feel of the good natured feel good part were a young man moved into his aunt’s home after she left it to him in her will.

What do I like about this book is that while it isn’t gritty it has a lot of character and the mystery of what the main character is trying to find out makes it so good.  It isn’t all about a crime but about family and finding out about your past.

Not normally what I would read but I really enjoyed the softer nature of the book.  It felt like a book about finding yourself as well as getting to know your family from a different perspective.  

Family is different especially when you are the younger one and first meet the family.  You are the kid and have a perspective that will change as you age and this book shows a lot of that.  

The depiction of Flora is what I liked the most as it was his aunt whom he loved from childhood but he got to learn about her seeing her through an adult’s eyes and that was priceless.