The Word Is Murder: The bestselling mystery from the author of Magpie Murders – you've never read a crime novel quite like this (Detective Daniel Hawthorne, #1)

by Anthony Horowitz

SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER MURDER?

Buried secrets, murder and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz’s page-turning new detective series. If you enjoyed BBC’s Sherlock, you’ll LOVE The Word is Murder!

Chosen as one of Crime Time's books of the year

'Raises the game-playing to Olympic level.' Guardian Books of the Year

'A real page-turner. I loved it!' ALED JONES (ITV, Weekend)

'The beguiling whodunit plot is dispatched with characteristic elan as Horowitz blurs the line between fact and fiction' (Financial Times)

'Splendidly entertaining, absorbing and difficult to put down. Hawthorne is an intriguing character' (Daily Express)

'Sharp-witted readers who think they've solved the puzzle early on can rest assured that they've opened only one of many dazzling Christmas packages Horowitz has left beautifully wrapped under the tree.' (Kirkus Reviews)

'Deduction and wit are well-balanced, and fans of Peter Lovesey and other modern channelers of the spirit of the golden age of detection will clamor for more' (Publishers Weekly)

Unexpected death, an unsolved mystery and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz's page-turning new thriller.

• ISBN10: 1780896840
• ISBN13: 9781780896847
• Publish Date: 24 August 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Cornerstone
• Imprint: Century
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

Weirdly meta. Listening took a while to get myself settled into it but I ultimately enjoyed it.

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

Murder, and suspects, and mayhem- oh my! Have you every started a book or movie and thought, “This is so great, I love it,” only to have the ending dim everything? That’s what happened to me.

It started so well. Author Anthony Horowitz wrote himself into this mystery, and it was brilliant. It made for some funny scenes, and allowed the author to explain things without condescending to the reader. Anthony was almost a Watson character. I found it highly enjoyable.

The mystery itself was an interesting one. I thought I’d called whodunnit, but I was wrong. Unfortunately, I was wrong because the culprit came out of left field. I like mysteries where- if you go back through the book after everything has been revealed- you can see the clues cleverly hidden in the writing. This didn’t happen, and it was very disappointing.

Another issue I had was the whole “why I did it” monologue. Because the culprit made so little sense, there was almost half a chapter of exposition. Blah. See why the ending fell flat for me?

If you’re the sort of reader who can ignore a rather lousy ending if the rest of the book is enjoyable, then you might like this one. The characters are interesting, the narrative very well done. The meta aspect added an extra level of enjoyment. However, it wasn’t enough to make up for the ending in my mind. Bummer, man.
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2020/02/08/the-word-is-murder-by-anthony-horowitz/

[bookperson]

DNF