The Word Is Murder (A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery)

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The main problem here is the device, where the writer is asked to accompany a detective to write a true crime book about a crime he is in the middle of trying to solve. It is a particularly ridiculous device, and I've mostly seen it on television where it works better because we never actually have to see what the writer will write. Because this is not how writing works! No writer would do this! And having to read the product of it is not particularly fun. With 10 million words under his belt, Horowitz has long toyed with penning a guide that details everything from how to plot a novel to how to deal with TV executives. “I even started to write it. But it was dull and slightly arrogant and, at the end of the day, it just didn’t interest me.” He laughs, unfazed by failure, which he regards as a healthy corrective.

HOROWITZ: Well, that's one of the sort of fun aspects of writing it, which is the hero's a character that I suppose I've created. And yet, at the same time, I just don't get on with him. He has some views which I find very distasteful. He's not the easiest of men. He doesn’t just plop himself down in the middle of it, but rather establishes himself and even a certain past he already had with Hawthorne. This goes a real long way in helping us forget who Horowitz is in reality and to simply accept him as the Watson of this duo. Cleverly plotted, evenly paced, and reminiscent of classic detective stories with an ending that is almost impossible to predict, The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz is an absorbing read. I was a bit wary of the fact that the author writes himself as one of the main characters in the plot, but I must say he does so quite effectively and the dynamic between Horowitz and Hawthorne makes for some truly entertaining moments. The mystery was well-crafted and held my interest as the plot progressed. The final reveal truly surprised me, which is always a good thing. I did feel, however, that the segments leading up to the collaboration between the duo, could have been a tad shorter, but this in no way detracted from my overall reading experience. I paired my reading with the incredible audio narration by Rory Kinnear. Immersion reading at its best!If you haven’t read Horowitz before, know you are in for a treat with his unique writing style. Last year I read and LOVED Magpie Murders and while I would say that Magpie remains my most favourite, this novel is a very close second! In the end the crime is solved and Horowitz and Hawthorne warm up to each other a tad; in fact Hawthorne pays the writer a small compliment, to Horowitz's immense pleasure.

SIMON: I don't get a chance to ask this question of many people. How many people do you think you've killed? Nolan, Tom. “Mysteries: A Postmodern Procedural.” Review of The Word Is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz, The Good Son, by You-Jeon Jeong, and Still Lives, by Maria Hummel. The Wall Street Journal, 15 June 2018, www.wsj.com/articles/mysteries-a-postmodern-procedural-1529093835. Accessed 5 Oct. 2018. Anthony, the narrator (a fictionalized version of the author), is approached by ex-Detective Inspector Hawthorne, with whom he worked on a television series. Hawthorne, who is in need of money, proposes that Anthony write a book about him and one of the cases he is working on in exchange for a 50/50 split of the advance and royalties. The case involves a woman who, six hours after planning her own funeral, is found murdered. Initially reluctant, Anthony agrees and proceeds to document Hawthorne’s solution of the case. On its face, this blend of details about Horowitz’s life, work, and personality, with the creation of the fictional detective and murder is at risk of being unbearably self-centred. It’s a pleasant surprise that it is not. Horowitz does mention points of his career and projects that he has worked on as a means of entry to some parts of the story (and occasionally anecdotally), but it comes in the form of interesting tidbits, rather than bragging. There’s even a scene including a few famous directors that is quite hilarious. During the 1980’s Anthony Horowitz started creating work for film as well as television, as he begun to expand upon his output. Writing for children’s shows such as ‘Dramarama’ and ‘Robin of Sherwood’ he started to create a name for himself within the field. It was then later on that he wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film ‘Stormbreaker’, whilst he’s also set to write the new Tintin film coming out too. Winning a number of awards throughout the years, Horowitz is not without his fair share of critical acclaim either. Expanding upon the mediums and formats he writes within, such as comic-books as well, this looks set to continue in the years to come. Creating more work all the time, his appeal is growing both critically as well as commercially, as he gains more success.

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But nonetheless, I had wealthy parents who sent me to a particularly horrible boarding school in North London. Talk to many men in this country - my country - of this sort of experience - their education between the age of 8 and 13, and you'll find the same stories of abuse - physical, mental, sexual - all these things. Though a lot of those, fortunately, never came my way. The twists, despite being numerous, are still spaced out well enough to give you some time to reflect and absorb what you’ve been reading. It might not be the most original or groundbreaking mystery I’ve ever read, but I would certainly classify highly among its kind. There is an additional mystery which, if I understand correctly, will be eventually developed upon over the course of the series: the darkness within Hawthorne himself. One thing you can say about horowitz, he certainly likes to base his mysteries around a Catchy Idea. In this book, he's written himself into the story, biographical details and all, but because I'm not a horowitz Fan, versed in his history and genre, I found it more distracting than intriguing. It left me wondering how much was fact, how much fiction, how much autobiography and how much artistic license. Perhaps this is part of his intention; an odd genre mash-up of mystery, memoir, fiction, and craft advice.

Anthony Horowitz, a.k.a. Tony, the narrator, a ghostwriter for Hawthorne based on the author himself Having greatly enjoyed, “Magpie Murders,” I was thrilled to receive, “The Word is Murder,” to review. Author Anthony Horowitz has shown that he is adept at writing many different genres of books, but it is clear that he was certainly meant to be writing anything but this particular novel. For, you see, Mr Horowitz himself is very much the narrator of this novel and he tells the story as it happens; which is a clever literary device and throws the reader immediately into the action. His new play 'Mindgame' is about to open at London's Vaudeville theatre, and on opening night, Sunday Times critic Harriet Throsby gives the play a savage review. Robin Of Sherwood: Sanctuary (By: Michael Praed,Paul Birch,Richard Carpenter,Barnaby Eaton-Jones,Andy Secombe,Nikolas Grace)

Enter: Diana Cowper, a sixtyish Londoner, who begins our story with an unusual event that should really be termed as an ending. Diana enters into a neighboring funeral home to plan her own funeral. Before her signature is barely dry on the funeral forms, Diana enters once more into her London home. And the word is murder spelled out brutally for Diana.