Moonflower Murders

I give Horowitz credit for leading me to the twists in a way that I almost figure it out myself and don't feel cheated, more flabbergasted by the bits I didn't catch. That being said, perhaps it's naive of me to wish he didn't have to make his villains quite as nasty. It plays as a good foil for the heroes - they shine a little brighter as a result, even if they have their own flaws, but it does mean that the triumph of the reveal is somewhat spoiled by realizing exactly how much of a monster not just the killer but some of the other people involved were. 
The book within a book was a bit gentler, and the ending of it less bitter than in the first, probably because it takes place earlier in the ‘series'. 

 I was more invested in both sets of characters than I was in the first Susan Ryeland book, the setup allows more time with her and I appreciated that we didn't dive into the other story right away, or keep the reader on tenter hooks for both sets of reveals until the end.

I do feel the need to flag the weird disconnect of the heroine rightly calling out those who profiled a Romanian character as automatically being caught up in criminal/gang activity, while also over-emphasizing the ‘Greek-ness' (?) of her love interest at every turn.
Perhaps just a reflection of the contemporary attitudes given the book within the book takes place in the 50s, but it featured a fair amount of emphasis on who is a foreigner in that portion. 
 
Of particular note for me was the almost afterthought parallel of the Pünd novel taking on capital punishment (1950s), while the Susan Ryeland portion takes on the miserable realities of prisons (modern day). 

I'm glad for where Ryeland is at in her life when this novel ends, but it kind of makes me not want another book in this series, because it wrapped up so well, and because her getting tangled in a mystery, while providing the grounds for a great puzzle, just leaves me anxious the whole time! 

If you think you can handle the warnings as outlined, it is an absorbing whodunit. 

⚠️SA, workplace harrassment, racism/xenophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia, animal cruelty(dog is OK), takes a dim view of sex work, and alludes to BDSM practices that were not safe, sane and consensual.