Series
Publication
Arrow (2018), 400 p.
Original publication date
2017-08-24
Collections
Genres
Awards
Irish Book Award (Nominee — 2017)
Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award (Longlist — 2018)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Mystery/Thriller — 2018)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
This Mystery is Amazing! (#1 — 2020)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2018)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2018)
Description
Anthony Horowitz has yet again reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes. One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper -- the wealthy mother of a famous actor -- enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service. Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home. Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who's as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz. Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own. A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member auntmarge64
Just awful. I so liked "The Magpie Murders" and looked forward to this, but it's largely an ad for all of Horowitz's activities (movies, adult books, children's books) with name dropping and imaginary conversations with people like Steven Spielberg. The mystery might have been interesting but it's
Here Horowitz places himself in the position of being offered a job writing about a difficult but admired ex-detective working as a consultant to the police on the murder of a woman who had pre-purchased her own funeral only hours earlier. Over and over the plot is disrupted by descriptions of Horowitz' own plans, projects, personal concerns. Just way too distracting, and even if the character was based on a fictional author it would have been a poor choice. I guess I just didn't get the joke.
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hard to tell, it's so buried in author's own details. I rarely finish a book I find so bad, but other reviews talked about how great the end was so I kept going, but - the ending was just silly.Here Horowitz places himself in the position of being offered a job writing about a difficult but admired ex-detective working as a consultant to the police on the murder of a woman who had pre-purchased her own funeral only hours earlier. Over and over the plot is disrupted by descriptions of Horowitz' own plans, projects, personal concerns. Just way too distracting, and even if the character was based on a fictional author it would have been a poor choice. I guess I just didn't get the joke.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Anthony Horowitz has been celebrated for the diversity as well as the quality of his output. In addition to television series such as Foyle’s War and Misdsomer Murders, he has written a highly successful sequence of novels aimed at teenagers featuring adolescent hero Alex Rider. He has branched
The first of his novels that I encountered was The House of Silk which he was commissioned to write by the Estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, and which recounted a ‘lost’ Sherlock Holmes adventure which, for reasons which become evident as the story progresses, Dr Watson had undertaken to defer from publication until all the protagonists were dead. Horowitz captured the feel of Conan Doyle’s original stories admirably, and the book represented a valuable addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon.
Following that success, he was commissioned by the Estate of Ian Fleming to write a new James Bond book, which came to fruition as ‘Trigger Mortis. Once again, he captured the feel and style of the original books – far more capably than Sebastian Faulks, and to my mind almost on a par with William Boyd’s excellent Solo. Indeed, I suspect that writers as accomplished as Boyd and Horowitz probably found it painful to have to lacerate their own laudable style to match the mediocrity of Ian Fleming’s prose.
He followed this with another venture into Holmes’s territory with his excellent Moriarty, which recounted the exploits of that arch criminal and featured a major twist that I certainly didn’t see coming, and then addressed the traditional whodunit with a homage to Agatha Christie in The Magpie Murders, one of the finest example of meta-fiction that I have read recently.
In his latest novel, Horowitz has returned to meta-fiction but with a different twist. He himself is one of the leading characters, which allows him to offer an insight into the modus operandi of a busy professional writer. The novel opens with a description of an apparently healthy middle-aged woman visiting an undertaker to make the arrangements for her own funeral. Six hours later she is murdered in her own flat.
We are then taken across London to encounter Horowitz himself, and from that point on the novel is narrated in the first person by him. Horowitz is approached by Hawthorne, a former Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police, who had previously assisted some of the television programmes on which Horowitz had worked, offering advice about procedural issues. Hawthorne describes the woman’s death and explains that he has been retained by the police in the capacity as a consultant to assist the investigation. In the meantime, he wishes to strike a deal with Horowitz. Basically, he wants Horowitz to write a book about his investigation, and demands fifty per cent of the takings.
The relationship between Horowitz and Hawthorne is prickly to begin with, and generally deteriorates from there. They do, however, start to make progress, though Hawthorne is definitely taking the lead. There is always a danger when novelists start to play with the format, mixing fact and fiction and incorporating themselves as character, that the intricacies of the format might predominate, leaving the development of the story to stumble along behind the gimmickry. Horowitz fights clear of that, and delivers a perfectly balanced novel. He states at one point that he is an admirer of Agatha Christie, and he seems keen to copy her spirit of experimentation. It has certainly worked here.
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out more recently into fiction for adults (rather a clumsy way of putting it, I know, though I am conscious that the phrase ‘adult fiction’ might have conjured the wrong image), and continues to demonstrate an innovative approach. The first of his novels that I encountered was The House of Silk which he was commissioned to write by the Estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, and which recounted a ‘lost’ Sherlock Holmes adventure which, for reasons which become evident as the story progresses, Dr Watson had undertaken to defer from publication until all the protagonists were dead. Horowitz captured the feel of Conan Doyle’s original stories admirably, and the book represented a valuable addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon.
Following that success, he was commissioned by the Estate of Ian Fleming to write a new James Bond book, which came to fruition as ‘Trigger Mortis. Once again, he captured the feel and style of the original books – far more capably than Sebastian Faulks, and to my mind almost on a par with William Boyd’s excellent Solo. Indeed, I suspect that writers as accomplished as Boyd and Horowitz probably found it painful to have to lacerate their own laudable style to match the mediocrity of Ian Fleming’s prose.
He followed this with another venture into Holmes’s territory with his excellent Moriarty, which recounted the exploits of that arch criminal and featured a major twist that I certainly didn’t see coming, and then addressed the traditional whodunit with a homage to Agatha Christie in The Magpie Murders, one of the finest example of meta-fiction that I have read recently.
In his latest novel, Horowitz has returned to meta-fiction but with a different twist. He himself is one of the leading characters, which allows him to offer an insight into the modus operandi of a busy professional writer. The novel opens with a description of an apparently healthy middle-aged woman visiting an undertaker to make the arrangements for her own funeral. Six hours later she is murdered in her own flat.
We are then taken across London to encounter Horowitz himself, and from that point on the novel is narrated in the first person by him. Horowitz is approached by Hawthorne, a former Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police, who had previously assisted some of the television programmes on which Horowitz had worked, offering advice about procedural issues. Hawthorne describes the woman’s death and explains that he has been retained by the police in the capacity as a consultant to assist the investigation. In the meantime, he wishes to strike a deal with Horowitz. Basically, he wants Horowitz to write a book about his investigation, and demands fifty per cent of the takings.
The relationship between Horowitz and Hawthorne is prickly to begin with, and generally deteriorates from there. They do, however, start to make progress, though Hawthorne is definitely taking the lead. There is always a danger when novelists start to play with the format, mixing fact and fiction and incorporating themselves as character, that the intricacies of the format might predominate, leaving the development of the story to stumble along behind the gimmickry. Horowitz fights clear of that, and delivers a perfectly balanced novel. He states at one point that he is an admirer of Agatha Christie, and he seems keen to copy her spirit of experimentation. It has certainly worked here.
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LibraryThing member bell7
A woman walks into a funeral parlor and arranges her funeral. A few hours later she's murdered. The police call in a consultant, Hawthorne, who is secretive and unlikable but brilliant at picking apart impossible cases. Hawthorne asks Anthony Horowitz to come along for the ride and write about the
Horowitz cleverly entertains in this send up of classic detective novels while writing a modern-day mystery of his own. This is an incredibly compelling and quick read - I read it in two work days. Some readers may find it a little too clever by half, but I enjoyed that aspect of it and laughed out loud at a couple of scenes. It was all I could do not to look up articles on what Horowitz took from real life (for example, he mentions his own books and screenwriting) and which were entirely fictitious, but I wanted to avoid spoilers. While the endingwas a little eye-roll-inducing with its Agatha Christie addition of a new bit of information at the very end that the reader had no hope of putting together to the end it was still a fun ride and I may have to seek out Horowitz's other adult books now.
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case.Horowitz cleverly entertains in this send up of classic detective novels while writing a modern-day mystery of his own. This is an incredibly compelling and quick read - I read it in two work days. Some readers may find it a little too clever by half, but I enjoyed that aspect of it and laughed out loud at a couple of scenes. It was all I could do not to look up articles on what Horowitz took from real life (for example, he mentions his own books and screenwriting) and which were entirely fictitious, but I wanted to avoid spoilers. While the ending
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LibraryThing member runner56
For fans of Ruth Rendell and Agatha Christie "The Word is Murder" is a very clever detective story which places the author as one of the central characters. Hawthorne is a retired detective and wishes to use his sharp analytical mind to help solve the death of wealthy woman Diana Cowper who is
The novel proceeds and the usual suspects are introduced and portrayed before the reader, the hope always being that the murderer can be identified from the clues presented. To me the real pleasure of reading this story was the comical and descriptive writing on display by an established and respected author;....."Again, I found myself wondering what it must be like to work there, sitting in a room with those miniature urns, a constant reminder that everything you were and everything you'd achieved would one day fit inside."......."For him, politeness was a surgical mask, something he slipped on before he took out his scalpel."...."There was a sense of something in the air that might have been damp but was actually just misery."...."wearing a suit that could have come out of a charity shop- or should have been on the way to one."...."You never realize how fragile everything is until it breaks."..."It was as if she had been locked up in a lunatic asylum for so long that she had forgotten she was actually mad."....
So with a cunning and clever plot, mysterious and intricate characters all presented in an entertaining dialect "The Word is Murder" is a highly enjoyable and recommended read.
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murdered six hours after she arranges her own funeral. He enlists the help of a reluctant author and it is hoped that both will not only solve the crime but also create a bestselling novel. What gives this story an almost comic edge is the relationship between "Tony" the author and the irascible detective Daniel Hawthorne.The novel proceeds and the usual suspects are introduced and portrayed before the reader, the hope always being that the murderer can be identified from the clues presented. To me the real pleasure of reading this story was the comical and descriptive writing on display by an established and respected author;....."Again, I found myself wondering what it must be like to work there, sitting in a room with those miniature urns, a constant reminder that everything you were and everything you'd achieved would one day fit inside."......."For him, politeness was a surgical mask, something he slipped on before he took out his scalpel."...."There was a sense of something in the air that might have been damp but was actually just misery."...."wearing a suit that could have come out of a charity shop- or should have been on the way to one."...."You never realize how fragile everything is until it breaks."..."It was as if she had been locked up in a lunatic asylum for so long that she had forgotten she was actually mad."....
So with a cunning and clever plot, mysterious and intricate characters all presented in an entertaining dialect "The Word is Murder" is a highly enjoyable and recommended read.
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LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
I loved the author’s last book The Magpie Murders which featured the twist of a book within the book. This time he puts forth a new twist and places himself inside the story playing a version of Watson to a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. As a fan it was a lot of fun having him throw in real events
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from his life and also trying to guess just where the fictionalized story picked up. As usual plenty of twists and turns left me picking the wrong killer again and again. He also put in just enough humor to lighten the mood. The Tin Tin scene was a particular favorite mine. All in all, another winner for me and a must read for mystery lovers. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
Somehow I just wasn't prepared for the author himself to be acting as the narrator. And I never could decide how much was fiction. My best guess is that the author is trying to show how differently he works as an author, when compared to a top-notch detective. The author sets up a murder in a plot,
It is probably a novel that would benefit from more study and from robust discussion in a book group.
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describes the scene for us, and then lays clues about the murderer whose identity he already knows. The detective observes the scene after the fact and then interprets what he sees, and follows the clues. In THE WORD IS MURDER both detective and author are central characters and interact with each other. So even the dialogue between author and detective becomes interesting. Hawthorne, the detective, tries to put the author in his place, demanding that he be see but not heard. The author, Horowitz, refuses to be kept in his box, and often demands to ask his own questions.It is probably a novel that would benefit from more study and from robust discussion in a book group.
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
A woman walks into a funeral parlour to plan her funeral; six hours later she is dead. This is the opening of The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz. He then throws a bit of a literary curve by inserting himself into the story both as narrator and sidekick making himself the bumbling Watson to
The Word is Murder is a well-written, well-plotted and exceedingly clever book containing all the elements that make up a good mystery novel: a premise that grabs the reader right from the first page; interesting characters with convincing motives; lots of red herrings sprinkled throughout that make you think at the end, wait, how did I miss that; plenty of twists and turns and sly sleight-of-hand to distract the reader from the real culprit; and, as added bonus, a nice touch of humour. He also provides some very fascinating insights in the life of a writer by bringing many of his own experiences into the novel and, like in the rest of the story, one is left wondering how much fact is mixed in with the fiction. In past novels, Horowitz has paid homage to Sherlock Holmes, here he pays homage to Christie and, in doing so, he has produced one compelling and, overall, just plain fun story.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Harper Publishing for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review
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modern-day and, of course, fictional (I think) consulting detective Hawthorne’s Holmes. Or perhaps, it should be his Captain Hastings to Hawthorne’s Poirot since this has all the markings of a good Agatha Christie with a surprising conclusion that seems to come out of nowhere – that is, until you realize a trail of clues has been left throughout the novel if you’d only been quick enough to spot them. By inserting himself into the story, he also gives a fascinating contrast between what an author does in writing a murder mystery and what a detective does in solving one. The Word is Murder is a well-written, well-plotted and exceedingly clever book containing all the elements that make up a good mystery novel: a premise that grabs the reader right from the first page; interesting characters with convincing motives; lots of red herrings sprinkled throughout that make you think at the end, wait, how did I miss that; plenty of twists and turns and sly sleight-of-hand to distract the reader from the real culprit; and, as added bonus, a nice touch of humour. He also provides some very fascinating insights in the life of a writer by bringing many of his own experiences into the novel and, like in the rest of the story, one is left wondering how much fact is mixed in with the fiction. In past novels, Horowitz has paid homage to Sherlock Holmes, here he pays homage to Christie and, in doing so, he has produced one compelling and, overall, just plain fun story.
Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Harper Publishing for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review
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LibraryThing member ouroborosangel
Fans of clever, smart and fabulous mysteries rejoice! This book is fantastic. #anthonyhorowitz uses himself as the narrator of the story, turning what would otherwise be a #classicmystery into enjoyable, twisty entertainment. A woman plans her funeral and is found dead 6 hours later.
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#suicideormurder? Read it, read it, read it when it comes out (6/5) Show Less
LibraryThing member cathyskye
At first, I was hesitant to pick up The Word Is Murder, for fear that "author-as-character" was simply a gimmick. I can now attest that, even if it is a gimmick, it works brilliantly. I loved this book!
As the Watson in this partnership, Horowitz deftly blends fact and fiction in letting us glimpse
Like Sherlock Holmes, Hawthorne can be extremely annoying; in fact, I think he has Holmes beat. My jaw dropped when Hawthorne broke into Horowitz's important meeting, and it was around this time that his behavior reminded me of stepping in something. No matter how much you twist and drag your foot, that something refuses to dislodge itself. That's Hawthorne when he wants something. (When Horowitz needs something, it's a completely different story.)
But when you put two wonderful characters together and then add a plot that resembles Russian nesting dolls on a massive dose of steroids, magic happens. I figured parts of the mystery out but came nowhere close to knowing the whole thing. Small details of appearance, of speech, of family history, of job history-- and more-- play their parts in the mystery. One small event can have implications for all those that follow, and there are always consequences. It's just a marvelous piece of storytelling.
I read that The Word Is Murder is the first in a series, and I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see what Horowitz has up his sleeve next!
As the Watson in this partnership, Horowitz deftly blends fact and fiction in letting us glimpse
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into his life and the worlds of publishing, acting, screenwriting, and television. Horowitz is much more accessible than Hawthorne, who's so uncommunicative that he puts his ghostwriter directly into the path of danger. (Perhaps he didn't expect Horowitz to become so involved in the investigation.) Like Sherlock Holmes, Hawthorne can be extremely annoying; in fact, I think he has Holmes beat. My jaw dropped when Hawthorne broke into Horowitz's important meeting, and it was around this time that his behavior reminded me of stepping in something. No matter how much you twist and drag your foot, that something refuses to dislodge itself. That's Hawthorne when he wants something. (When Horowitz needs something, it's a completely different story.)
But when you put two wonderful characters together and then add a plot that resembles Russian nesting dolls on a massive dose of steroids, magic happens. I figured parts of the mystery out but came nowhere close to knowing the whole thing. Small details of appearance, of speech, of family history, of job history-- and more-- play their parts in the mystery. One small event can have implications for all those that follow, and there are always consequences. It's just a marvelous piece of storytelling.
I read that The Word Is Murder is the first in a series, and I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see what Horowitz has up his sleeve next!
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LibraryThing member librarian1204
I really liked Magpie Murders. I liked it so much that I could not wait to get my hands on this book. But I did not like this one nearly as much as Magpie Murders.
The plot is interesting. A former police officer, Hawthorne, who still consults for the police, is asked to investigate the murder of a
But I did not like either Hawthorne or Tony very much. The book sagged in part because of the prickly relationship between these two men. I kept waiting for more and that comes very slowly.
The plot is interesting. A former police officer, Hawthorne, who still consults for the police, is asked to investigate the murder of a
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woman who died on the day she arranged her own funeral. The policeman hires the book’s narrator, Tony , a published author, to tell his story. There are twists and turns and red herrings leading to a dramatic conclusion.But I did not like either Hawthorne or Tony very much. The book sagged in part because of the prickly relationship between these two men. I kept waiting for more and that comes very slowly.
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LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
This book begins with a unique spin. A woman goes into a funeral parlor to arrange for her funeral and then a few hours later she is murdered. The action proceeds from there. We meet with the consulting detective who is working on the case after he joins up with an author who he persuades to write
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about him and the case. Fact and fiction become blurred as we see that Horowitz is the person who the writer in the story is based. There are some great twists, more bodies and red herrings before we finally find out who is responsible and why. It was a great summer read! Show Less
LibraryThing member PatsyMurray
I am giving this one star less than the Stephanie Plum novel I just read because it doesn't succeed at its goal nearly as well. Inserting himself into the book is a clever idea, but he doesn't come off as a realistic character. I found the mystery rather ordinary and the ending, with the disclosure
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about Hawthorne, anticlimactic. Happy it read quickly so I didn't have to take too long with it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Horowitz has this gift for writing novels where everything is perfectly internally consistent (and in fact slightly brilliant) but it's also extremely annoying until the payoff, and in this case the payoff is literally the last line, so it's kind of a miracle that I finished this at all but by the
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end I was very impressed. I don't particularly like it, but I'm impressed. Show Less
LibraryThing member breic
I enjoyed the premise of this novel: a novelist, the author Anthony Horowitz himself, follows a real-world detective around as he solves a murder case. The meta-narrative, of the author's conflicts with the detective and about the writing process, is very fun. However, the story, the mystery, the
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characters are all a bit dull. It is easy to put down. Yet I appreciate that Horowitz gives all the information needed to solve the mystery yourself. Show Less
LibraryThing member jmoncton
Anthony Horowitz's latest mystery features a new character ... himself! He is Anthony Horowitz, the author we all love, who is approached by a police consultant, who wants Horowitz to write a police procedural featuring the detective and a real case. The idea is that Horowitz gets material for a
The audiobook is narrated by Rory Kinnear and his performance is excellent and would make a very fun title for a family road trip.
Thanks to the good folks at Libro.fm for offering booksellers a free copy of this audiobook.
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mystery and ex DI Hawthorne gets a cut from the sales of the book. And so, Horowitz plays Watson to Hawthorne's Sherlock Holmes. And just like the classic Holmes mysteries, DI Hawthorne is astute, clever and super-obnoxious. The mystery was excellent, but I loved the personality clash and reluctant friendship that develops between Horowitz and Hawthorne.The audiobook is narrated by Rory Kinnear and his performance is excellent and would make a very fun title for a family road trip.
Thanks to the good folks at Libro.fm for offering booksellers a free copy of this audiobook.
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
A double murder--mother and son--the mother surprised in her home the same day she has made funeral arrangements, the son killed in his home the day of her funeral after it. An author is called upon to ghostwrite a "true crime" book by a disgraced ex-detective who does consulting work for the
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police department. They have a very uneasy partnership in finding the killer or killers. I figured it out early on and enjoyed reading motivations and gradual elimination of characters from the suspect list. The story did keep my interest all through but I did think the denouement a bit fantastic and a bit deus ex machina. A bit of a let-down after his one previous, [Magpie murders]. Show Less
LibraryThing member Swibells
I had high hopes for this book. I was so excited when my review request got approved on Edelweiss! And then I read the book.
It wasn't bad, story wise. The storyline was pretty good, but I couldn't get into it. Unlike the Sherlock Holmes books by Anthony—that I absolutely loved, by the way—this
The lead character, Hawthorne, is kinda like Sherlock, but worse in all the bad qualities Sherlock had. I did not like Hawthorne one bit, and maybe that also affected my take on the book.
I loved the way the author included himself in the story as a sidekick, and how he mixed facts with fiction. He's really good at that, to be honest.
But overall, the book had just too much description and not enough action for my taste. I really wish I'd had liked it better, but I guess I'll have to wait for the author to write another Sherlock Holmes novel.
It wasn't bad, story wise. The storyline was pretty good, but I couldn't get into it. Unlike the Sherlock Holmes books by Anthony—that I absolutely loved, by the way—this
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one didn't have much thrill at all. It was very tedious. The lead character, Hawthorne, is kinda like Sherlock, but worse in all the bad qualities Sherlock had. I did not like Hawthorne one bit, and maybe that also affected my take on the book.
I loved the way the author included himself in the story as a sidekick, and how he mixed facts with fiction. He's really good at that, to be honest.
But overall, the book had just too much description and not enough action for my taste. I really wish I'd had liked it better, but I guess I'll have to wait for the author to write another Sherlock Holmes novel.
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LibraryThing member Twink
I've enjoyed Anthony Horowitz's previous adult mysteries and happily picked up his latest, The Word is Murder.
Oh my gosh, it is so very, very clever! I absolutely adored it!
The murder? A woman walks into a funeral home, plans her funeral and is found murdered six hours later. Ex police detective
Hawthorne is such a great character - a brilliant detective, but somewhat lacking in personal interactive skills. I quite liked him. He reminded me a bit of Cormoran Strike. The publisher describes Horowitz as a Watson to Hawthorne's Holmes and its a spot on description. I had so much fun reading Horowitz's description of himself, his thoughts and reactions. Can you imagine the writing process? The interactions between the two are wonderfully depicted.
And just as well done is the actual mystery. Hawthorne picks up on the smallest clues and discrepancies. Horowitz also tries to investigate, but doesn't have the skill set of Hawthorne. It's not clear who is the culprit and I was kept guessing alongside of our protagonists.
Clever, clever, clever. The Word of Murder is excellent reading. And....there is a sequel coming called Another Word for Murder. Can't wait!
Oh my gosh, it is so very, very clever! I absolutely adored it!
The murder? A woman walks into a funeral home, plans her funeral and is found murdered six hours later. Ex police detective
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Daniel Hawthorne is called in to help with the investigation. Hawthorne is also looking for someone to ghost write his memoirs and approaches Anthony Horowitz. Yes, you read that right - Horowitz himself is a character in the book! I must admit to being unsure if this was a fiction book in the first few chapters. (it is) And if this concept would work.(it really does) Horowitz is soon drawn into the case as he follows Hawthorne around on his investigation.Hawthorne is such a great character - a brilliant detective, but somewhat lacking in personal interactive skills. I quite liked him. He reminded me a bit of Cormoran Strike. The publisher describes Horowitz as a Watson to Hawthorne's Holmes and its a spot on description. I had so much fun reading Horowitz's description of himself, his thoughts and reactions. Can you imagine the writing process? The interactions between the two are wonderfully depicted.
And just as well done is the actual mystery. Hawthorne picks up on the smallest clues and discrepancies. Horowitz also tries to investigate, but doesn't have the skill set of Hawthorne. It's not clear who is the culprit and I was kept guessing alongside of our protagonists.
Clever, clever, clever. The Word of Murder is excellent reading. And....there is a sequel coming called Another Word for Murder. Can't wait!
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LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
I loved Anthony Horowitz's book, The Magpie Murders and frankly couldn't see how he could top that one! But, he certainly did...by...not telling, that was the thing I loved best about this book! A woman walks into a funeral home and plans her funeral and then is found murdered six hours later.
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Ex-police detective, Daniel Hawthorne is called in to help with the investigation. Hawthorne is a great character, brilliant but kind of lacking in personal interactive skills. An excellent murder mystery with a quirky narrative style. Definitely recommended! Show Less
LibraryThing member brangwinn
Horowitz always writes a good mystery, and placing himself front and center in this book makes it even more interesting, His sidekick, a dour former British police detective adds to the story.
LibraryThing member miss.mesmerized
Diana Cowper, an elegant elderly woman goes to an undertaker to sort out her funeral. This is not absolutely strange, but nevertheless rare. The same evening, she is murdered in her London house. Daniel Hawthorne, a former detective with the London Metropolitan police supports the investigation. He
Even after having finished reading the novel and the acknowledgements, I am not sure if this is all based on a true story or if Anthony Horowitz is just a great inventor. However, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is first of all, did I enjoy reading the novel? Yes, absolutely, it is so much fun and I hardly could put it away. And second, how was the murder case? Cleverly constructed, surprising, simply fantastic. I could stop here since it is clear that “The Word is Murder” is a must read of 2017.
The novel starts a bit surprisingly. You get Mrs Cowper walking into the undertaker’s and so on. Then, quite abruptly, there is a break and the author is starting to talk to you and you learn that you just read a chapter of a book which is to be written. So, he takes you out of the novel you were just reading into another novel about the writing of that specific book about the woman you have just encountered. This is quite a unique start, but it fits in quite well and I like surprises like this.
As summarised before, the murder case has everything you could ask for: several suspects, all with dubious behaviours and clear motives. Quite outstanding characters which give you much to puzzle over. Nevertheless, it all fits together perfectly in the end and the here again, the motivation comes quite as a surprise but is absolutely reasonable and coherent with the whole plot.
Concerning the characters, I liked the author who is not the perfect detective who knows it all, who has doubts about what he is doing, sometimes a guilt conscience and a conversational tone which makes it easy to indulge in the story. Hawthorne on the other hand is only presented through the eyes of the narrator, thus never objectively presented and definitely a bit bizarre – but I liked him nevertheless.
All in all, a humorous crime novel which additionally benefits from Horowitz’s masterly writing skills.
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asks the writer Anthony Horowitz to accompany his inquiry and to write a book about it. This is how the famous writer gets to see a murder investigation from the inside. Yet, the case does not really seem to lead anywhere. Is it all just a coincidence and did Mrs Cowper fall prey to a burglar who also broke into other houses of the area? When her son Damian Cowper is found stabbed in his apartment, it is obvious that his mother’s death was no bad luck. All signs lead to a car accident 10 years before in which Mrs Cowper killed an 8-year-old boy. But somehow the pieces do not really fall into place. The peculiar team of the strange ex-detective and the author will have to investigate further – until they get in mortal danger themselves.Even after having finished reading the novel and the acknowledgements, I am not sure if this is all based on a true story or if Anthony Horowitz is just a great inventor. However, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is first of all, did I enjoy reading the novel? Yes, absolutely, it is so much fun and I hardly could put it away. And second, how was the murder case? Cleverly constructed, surprising, simply fantastic. I could stop here since it is clear that “The Word is Murder” is a must read of 2017.
The novel starts a bit surprisingly. You get Mrs Cowper walking into the undertaker’s and so on. Then, quite abruptly, there is a break and the author is starting to talk to you and you learn that you just read a chapter of a book which is to be written. So, he takes you out of the novel you were just reading into another novel about the writing of that specific book about the woman you have just encountered. This is quite a unique start, but it fits in quite well and I like surprises like this.
As summarised before, the murder case has everything you could ask for: several suspects, all with dubious behaviours and clear motives. Quite outstanding characters which give you much to puzzle over. Nevertheless, it all fits together perfectly in the end and the here again, the motivation comes quite as a surprise but is absolutely reasonable and coherent with the whole plot.
Concerning the characters, I liked the author who is not the perfect detective who knows it all, who has doubts about what he is doing, sometimes a guilt conscience and a conversational tone which makes it easy to indulge in the story. Hawthorne on the other hand is only presented through the eyes of the narrator, thus never objectively presented and definitely a bit bizarre – but I liked him nevertheless.
All in all, a humorous crime novel which additionally benefits from Horowitz’s masterly writing skills.
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LibraryThing member arielfl
I love an Anthony Horowitz novel and this one is no exception. In this novel he inserts himself into the story. Diana Cowper is a woman unknown to Hororwitz who is found murdered. The catch is that she planned her own funeral hours before she died. Ex cop Hawthorne contacts Horowitz because he
I am an Agatha Christie fan and clearly Horowitz is too. I love how he takes the classic mystery formula and turns it on it's head. Clues unravel as we closer and closer to the truth of what happened. If there is one misstep in the book it is how Horowitz deals with homosexuality. It is revealed that Hawthorne is homophobic and Horowitz is repulsed by this but no explanation is ever given for why Hawthorne feels that way and it is never really resolved or addressed. Aside from that I did enjoy the mystery and am still a fan.
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wants him to write a book about how he is going to solve the case. I am an Agatha Christie fan and clearly Horowitz is too. I love how he takes the classic mystery formula and turns it on it's head. Clues unravel as we closer and closer to the truth of what happened. If there is one misstep in the book it is how Horowitz deals with homosexuality. It is revealed that Hawthorne is homophobic and Horowitz is repulsed by this but no explanation is ever given for why Hawthorne feels that way and it is never really resolved or addressed. Aside from that I did enjoy the mystery and am still a fan.
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LibraryThing member pamkaye
The death of an elderly lady is the start of this great adventurous whodunit. Did Diana Cowper know she was about to get murdered or was it coincidence?
When Ex-Detective Daniel Hawthorne asks writer Anthony Horowitz to follow him on an investigation and write about it, little did either of them
The characters are all written with full clarity of who they are, what they look like, and fthe kind of people they are.
The scenes are describe in detail, so you can see them clearly in your head. The dialog ring true. It's sdhard to tell that this is fiction. The ending is not what I expected and I love when an author can surprise me like that.
I truly enjoyed this book. I plan on reading more Horowitz in the near future, or watching some of his tv series. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because sometimes the details were a little to much or too repetative. Although some details were important to the conclusion and needed to be repeated and ground into the brain, so the reader wasn't confused by the outcome.
When Ex-Detective Daniel Hawthorne asks writer Anthony Horowitz to follow him on an investigation and write about it, little did either of them
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know where it was gonna take them. The characters are all written with full clarity of who they are, what they look like, and fthe kind of people they are.
The scenes are describe in detail, so you can see them clearly in your head. The dialog ring true. It's sdhard to tell that this is fiction. The ending is not what I expected and I love when an author can surprise me like that.
I truly enjoyed this book. I plan on reading more Horowitz in the near future, or watching some of his tv series. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because sometimes the details were a little to much or too repetative. Although some details were important to the conclusion and needed to be repeated and ground into the brain, so the reader wasn't confused by the outcome.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
Listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed it a lot. A different take on a murder mystery.
LibraryThing member featherbear
Horowitz was a writer for Midsomer Murders TV series and a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. When not doing posthumous Doyle or Ian Fleming. To pep up his brand as a novelist, he has started to write “meta” mysteries. Magpie Murders was a (temporarily) unfinished mystery novel within a murder mystery
Thanks New Haven Public Library!
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involving the publisher of the novel. The Word is Murder has a Holmes-Watson relationship with Horowitz as the Watson and Daniel Hawthorne, an ex-homicide detective taking the Holmes role. The mystery itself is less Holmesian than a story with something of the eccentric flavor of Midsomer Murders (including an echo of the frequent theater-world excursions of Midsomer) by way of Agatha Christie. I like the TV series but the story has too much of a contrived 50 minute TV plot which makes the TV series soothing but isn’t quite as satisfying in novel form. But soothing nonetheless. One side bit has Horowitz trying to make Hawthorne more of a character than a mystery-solving cipher, but Hawthorne’s homophobia doesn’t seem to go anywhere, and his model-making hobby seems to be tacked on at the end in desperation.Thanks New Haven Public Library!
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9781784757243