The arrogance of this book annoyed me. I thought I would enjoy it as the premise (real author inserting himself into a crime thriller) was good, but I found Horowitz just comes off looking like a dick when he brags about meetings with Spielburg, goes on and on about how many things he's written for TV and badmouths a fictional (perhaps) character - did he create an asshole character because that's what it takes to make himself look good, or because he wanted an excuse to be an ass in a novel?
Anyway, the story revolves around the strange death of a rich widow, and the crime (and the investigation) is quite well rendered, but unfortunately takes a backseat to Horowitz' posturing. I wouldn't bother.

So this took me a bit of time to find enough time to sit down and really get into it. It's really quite meta, a detective novel with its real life author as the narrator and central character, with real life stuff peppered throughout.

Once I'd given it enough time to work out what was going on, I raced through it and really enjoyed it. It's a modern-day Sherlock mystery, complete with enigmatic but grump detective. Really fun.

Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz is a clever riff on the the Watson and Holmes meme. Horowitz, who has previously written House of Silk an authorised new Sherlock Holmes novel, puts himself in the Watson role alongside Hawthorne, an ex Scotland Yard homicide detective with a mysterious past.

Diana Cowper walks into an undertaker's shop and makes plans for her own funeral, a few hours later she is found murdered. Horowitz finds himself becoming Hawthorne's chronicler and publicist as Hawthorne sets out to solve the murder before Scotland Yard. His reluctant and tetchy relationship with Hawthorne provides a neat subplot. The path of their investigations is reminiscent of the Holmes stories until Horowitz strikes out on his own.

This is a good read, the plot device of Horowitz playing himself and peppering the story with some personal details works well. The ending is very Holmesian and leaves room for a follow on novel with the same characters.

About 60% of the way through Horowitz announces he knows who the murderer is and ahy. But I’d already thought about that solution - and dismissed it. Certainly I agreed with his reason, but not the identity. And guess what - the solution was not what he thought.
Now this may seem a strange way of starting a review - isn’t Horowitz the author? So how can he be working out the who the killer is? He must know surely.
Well this story is told autobiographically where Horowitz the author plays Horowitz the story participant. Which was a very interesting concept of telling a pseudo PI/Sherlock Holms story. For me it was refreshing and original.

Diana Cowper, mother of a famous actor, visits a funeral parlour to arrange her own funeral, on the same day that she’s murdered. Coincidence? Detective Hawthorne doesn’t think so. Lured into the investigation by the prospect of writing an adult, true-crime novel, author Anthony Horrowitz finds himself deeply involved in the case.

This was a really interesting book to read because Anthony Horrowitz is not only the author and narrator, he is also the point-of-view character in the novel. Although it’s a work of fiction, it is full of popular culture references and realistic details, making it read like a true and completely believable story.

I’ve always enjoyed Anthony’s writing style (ever since the Alex Rider series). His books are very easy to read, and following the case along with the characters was really straightforward. Character-wise, I liked Hawthorne. It was interesting to have a character who knew what was going on, possibly from the very start, but refused to share all the information early on because he was being paid by the day. Anthony’s character I actually liked slightly less, despite being more amenable. He was too easily manipulated and naïve.

A long way from his children’s novels, The Word is Murder is the perfect book for fans of crime, mystery and murder, looking for something just a little bit different.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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 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.

Hi Karen,
My next review is:-
"The Word Is Murder", written by Anthony Horowitz and published in hardcover by Century on 24 Aug. 2017. 400 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1780896847

A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she’s arranged her own funeral.
A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own.
A reluctant author drawn into a story he can’t control.
What do they have in common?

I read this book for review purposes but now that I've finished it it is very difficult to describe it as it is unlike anything that I've read ever before. The author, Anthony Horowitz is famous for writing the "Alex Rider" books and also for the marvellous scripts and executive production of the highly recommended"Foyle's War" TV series but writing a one off murder mystery, that masquerades as a non fiction true story is a very different kettle of fish.

The plot is extremely unusual, an extremely wealthy woman arranges her own funeral and then some hours later, she is murdered! Did she know she was destined to die? Who killed her and why? An unemployed former detective decides to investigate her death and as he is short of money he decides to write a book about the investigation and asks the author Anthony Horowitz to do the actual writing as he has successfully written books before. The former detective who is named Hawthorne and Horowitz frequently argue over the investigation, but when they aren't talking about the enquiry into the woman's death and the possible perpetrators, Horowitz talks about his own writing career and his success with the Foyle's War and Alex Rider books. As this book is told in the first person from the point of view of Anthony Horowitz I found this extensive discussion of the writing experience very interesting.

The actual details of the murder mystery were a bit light but what we got instead was the Anthony Horowitz writing experience which I found very ientertaining but this was not what other readers may want and I appreciate this. Perhaps a more usual plot structure would be preferred with more details of the crime and investigation and then a satisfactory conclusion would be preferred rather than these perhaps irrelevant descriptions of the authors previous books.

On the whole I was very impressed with the book because it was so unusual with this mixture of the fiction of the plot and Anthony Horowitz's real writing career. I enjoy writers talking about themselves and the problems they have as well as reading good crime fiction and I therefore recommend this book.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

I reviewed The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz last year. I very much enjoyed the novel but was a little disoriented initially... as it was (kinda) a novel within a novel.

His new release, The Word is Murder is similar. And though - in many ways - this book by Horowitz is clever, I found myself a bit distracted (from his excellent writing) by the fact vs fictional elements on offer.

I mentioned, in my review of The Magpie Murders, that Horowitz's writing was very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's. And I was struck by the same thing as this book opens and we're offered very detailed descriptions of the early events.

And - as a lover of words and the way they're (sometimes) strung together - I was bewitched by his prose...

"She found herself in a small reception areas with two sofas, a low table, and a few shelves with books that had that peculiar sense of sadness that comes with being unread." p 2

And this....

".. a man who so exactly suited the image of the funeral director that he could have been playing the part. There was, of course, the obligatory dark suit and sombre tie. But the very way he stood seemed to suggest that he was apologising for having to be there. His hands were clasped together in a gesture of profound regret." p 3

It was a bit jolting then when we're lifted out of this quite magical world and mesmerising tone into REAL LIFE. And not just a novel within a novel, as was the case with The Magpie Murders... but we move into non-fiction. Sort of.

Indeed, my notes from this part of the novel wonder if I'm now reading a Foreword as we hear directly from the author.

We discover that Horowitz himself has been approached by a former (disgraced) Metropolitan Police detective now police consultant and occasional television / movie advisor re police procedure. The pair met previously during a TV show and Horowitz was less-than enamoured with the arrogant and prickly ex-cop Hawthorne (one-name-only).

It's Hawthorne who's investigating the case of a woman murdered on the same day she plans her funeral and - for reasons I can only presume to be arrogance and a lust for money - approaches Horowitz to document the investigation and publish a book... sharing the proceeds with Hawthorne. Horowitz already has a lot on his plate and though he hates the idea of working with the unlikeable man, finds himself intrigued by the story and signs on.

So we switch into first person now as Horowitz narrates the rest of the book. He pens the first chapter or two (which we read before knowing what's happening) and shares them with Hawthorne who - predictably hates them because of the poetic licence Horowitz has taken. (And yet, they were my favourite parts of this book!)

Hawthorne is very (VERY) Sherlock Holmes-esque. He deduces all sorts of things from people's appearances noticing dog hair, crumpled suits and the like and every time Horowitz feels he has the jump on his investigative partner he's gazzumped by the former detective.

I note I mention in my review of The Magpie Murders that Horowitz dives into the world of television, literature and so forth which is something he knows well. In that case through his characters, but here through himself and the plot directly. In fact, it's probably the thing I found most distracting. He refers to real TV shows and people... indeed our murdered woman's son (Damian Cowper) is about to star in a TV show called Homeland. Huh? (Damien Lewis starred in the first season or two of that TV show for those not in the know.)

Hence my distraction; confused as to whether I was reading non-fiction or fiction. I know it shouldn't matter but the fact it did was a sign I wasn't as engaged as I could have been.

Interestingly Horowitz writes about being approached by Arthur Conan Doyle's estate to write a Sherlock Holmes sequel (and he's also written Trigger Mortis featuring James Bond as well as the TV show, Poirot). He says...

"It struck me from the very start that my job was to be invisible. I tried to hide myself in Doyle's shadow, to imitate his literary tropes and mannerisms, but never, as it were, to intrude." p 12

And it's only on writing this review that I realise that perhaps THAT is both Horowitz's strength and weakness. He's a good storyteller and (better) writer. He can emulate the greats: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and so forth... but I wonder if my struggle (particularly here) is knowing or getting a sense of HIS voice when he moves away from imitating others.

When I looked back at my review of The Magpie Murders I comment on Horowitz's writing and again, it's a standout. I understand he is the author of a (Alex Rider) teen spy series which I gather is well-received. I know I'm hardly an aficionado or expert in all-things-literary but I can't help but wonder if he's yet to find his own voice when it comes to adult fiction (involving his own creations).

Of course I don't want to downplay the intriguing (and quite clever) nature of this book but guess I'm looking forward to where Horowitz goes next.

‘The Word is captivating’ could as easily have been the title as Anthony Horowitz draws me into the world of death, death, suicide, accidents and murder.

Having read many of his books including most of the Alex Rider books and the Magpie Murders I was not surprised at the quality of the storytelling but was captivated by the story being told in the first person and seemingly written as we turn the pages.

I did at one point early in the book Google one of the events and discovered it was true and then realised that I needed to get back to the book and leave Google till later if at all. I note from many other reviews that readers have got caught up in what was real and what was fiction and how accurate where the real life events.

Having grown up on the South coast of England in a village called Sompting near Brighton and lived in London for many years as well. I loved all of the detailed descriptions, particularly of the seaside town Deal and his thoughts about each place depending on your perspective and attitude.

The characters where more fictional that fictional characters and yet… We are led by Hawthorne the detective who is not a detective, Mrs Cowper who plans her own funeral and then dies the same day, the author constantly talking about all of the characters, going over his notes, his doubts and berating himself for being dragged into this affair with a grump old school not detective.

The whole book is filled with mystery, smiles and death.

Many thanks to the author, to Publisher Random House Cornerstone and to Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

commentary: These are the opening lines of the book, and a great setup is being put in place (this is not a spoiler). Diana Cowper sets out her plans for her own funeral – and the same day she is murdered. What can possibly be going on here? The explanation for this strange turn of events is very satisfying when it finally comes, though some of the plotlines in between really don’t hack it.

Anthony Horowitz is a very successful and prolific author: his children’s books (particularly the Alex Ryder series) and the TV programme Foyle’s War might be the most famous of his works, but the list is daunting and impressive, and includes followon books for both Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, quite the portfolio. I did NOT enjoy AH’s previous murder story, Magpie Murders, and The Word is Murder was a big improvement, even though I still had some criticisms…

It is the start of yet another series: the key character will be Hawthorne, an aging ex-policeman doing private work, miserable and with a dreary private life. Enough to make the reader tired already. Such a traditional character needs a sidekick, a Watson, and in this book he gets one: Anthony Horowitz. The book is narrated by ‘Tony’ who is about 90% (so far as we can tell) the author, with all of his past, his writing achievements, and his private life.

You would think there had to be a really good reason for this: it would be vital, or Horowitz was going to do something very clever and post-modern with the idea, but I can’t say that that seemed to be the case. There was some entertainment value – the meeting with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson was hilarious – but in the end it  detracted from the plot. When I thought about the book, I kept remembering my annoyance with the narrator. But the plot actually was pretty good, with intriguing moments in it – the very naïve author was an unnecessary distraction. Various plot points seemed obvious to an experienced reader, and the sleuths rather slow catching on. I also didn’t understand why someone seriously injured in a car accident (with no doubt as to who was responsible) didn’t seem to have received any kind of compensation…

I had such mixed feelings about this book that I asked a friend who has also read it – long-time blog supporter Jackie Owen – what she thought of it and she said:
I was just a bit disappointed with it. It took me a couple of chapters to place who Tony was ...a bit slow on the uptake there. I thought it was fun but like you said ...hard to pinpoint what I loved or hated about it. Mind you ...just saw that it was the start of a detective series so I may warm more to it.
I liked the plot outline though ...
Which seems a very fair summing-up.

There were some entertaining moments here – the funeral scene was spectacularly enjoyable, and anyone who reads it will be unable to hear a certain children’s song again without remembering it. The picture of a certain kind of London life, and the progression of the investigation, were both good.

I agree with my friend – we’ll have to wait and see how the series develops.

Anthony Horowitz has been on the blog before, because of his support for an Oxfam Crime anthology.

‘Diana Cowper had planned her funeral and she was going to need it. She was murdered about six hours later that same day.’

So, who murdered Diana Cowper and why? The police find this case puzzling, and call in some outside help. Meet Daniel Hawthorne, formerly a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police in London, who had previously provided advice on a television series Anthony Horowitz was involved in. Hawthorne wants Anthony Horowitz to write a book about him. A book which will involve Horowitz shadowing him while Hawthorne, who has been called in by the police to assist, gets on with the business of solving Diana Cowper’s murder.

Initially reluctant, Horowitz is drawn in to Hawthorne’s investigation. After all, he doesn’t have another book ready to write. And Anthony Horowitz’s first-person narrative makes this an interesting read. The story is a mix of mystery and suspense, weaving Horowitz’s real life as an author and scriptwriter around the challenge of working with Hawthorne. It’s a challenge for Horowitz: he usually has much more control in the work he does. But the case itself has caught his attention, and he can’t leave it alone. Even when Hawthorne gate crashes his meeting with two important Hollywood directors!

I found this an intriguing story. A good page-turning read. I’m a fan of at least two television series that Anthony Horowitz wrote scripts for, am aware of the Alex Rider series, and enjoyed ‘Magpie Murders’. ‘The Word is Murder’ is cleverly done. There are several possibilities to consider and the various twists and turns in the story kept me guessing. Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The idea behind this murder/mystery is quite novel. It’s the story of the writer who is approached by a retired detective, acting as a police consultant, to follow how he investigates a murder and subsequently to write up the tale. Of course, this book is actually the story of what happens so all in all it’s a bit weird and doesn’t quite work.

The murder in question is of an elderly woman, six hours after she goes to see a funeral director to arrange her own funeral. All the clues are there – go spot the murderer.

Anthony Horowitz is already a famous writer, particularly well known for his TV series “Foyle’s War”. In this plot, he writes as himself. One of the issues I had is that he does not let the reader forget that he is a celebrated writer and I got tired of being reminded that he was responsible for several popular TV series. A meeting with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson was also thrown in for good measure at one point and it was almost surreal in the context of the book.

Overall, the writing and the style were first class. The characters were well formed even if the dialogue at some points was difficult to follow. I lost track a few times as to who was speaking but that’s a minor issue.

Mr Horowitz admits to being a fan of Agatha Christie. I am not. This plot is very similar in its construction. Follow the clues through the herringbone graph to reach the same (correct) conclusion as the author and claim your prize. Although Horowitz does not make the same mistake as Christie by withholding vital information until the last minute he has made a crucial error which totally threw me. The date of birth of the murdered woman’s late husband is stated as 1950 on his memorial in the family garden and 1946 on his grave. The fact that the epitaphs were described in full suggested they had some significance. In fact, they could have been omitted entirely as they have no relevance.

Not one for me therefore but fans of La Christie will no doubt enjoy it.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

An interesting and different approach to telling a story with the author as a main character. It interwove some autobiographical information into the storyline. The author is employed by a discredited policeman, Hawthorne, now acting as ‘an advisor’ to the police via an ex colleague, to write the story of a murder he is solving. Horowitz is therefore drawn into the solving of the crime looking for clues as well as recording the process. He cannot take a total back seat to Hawthorne and So involved does he become that he almost becomes a victim. What was the motive behind the murder of the lady who walked into the undertakers to make arrangements for her funeral and is later found dead. This is the case they must solve and it takes a route full of intriguing twists and turns that keep you intrigued . This was an innovative approach and introduced a ‘character ‘ in Hawthorne. Is this to be the start of a series?

The House Of Silk was my introduction to Anthony Horowitz as an author, I vaguely knew him as a YA author, although I’ve not read any of the Alex Rider books, I was also aware of his work as a screenwriter, having watched Foyle’s War with my parents. When I discovered Anthony has been chosen to officially continue the stories of on of my favourite literary characters, Sherlock Holmes, I just had to pick up the book and I wasn’t disappointed. I also loved Moriarty, and then last year I read the first completely original story I’d picked up by Anthony, Magpie Murder. I really enjoyed it, and for me it was something different, a book within a book, and for me it worked incredibly well. With The Word Is Murder Anthony Horowitz has done it again, written something novel, slightly bizarre but for me it worked amazingly!

The Word Is Murder is written in the first person from the point of view of Anthony himself – Yep that’s right, the author is one of the main characters in his own book! I know for some people first person narration is a big no no but I would urge them to give The Word Is Murder a go regardless!

The Word Is Murder sees Anthony approached by Hawthorne, someone who had been employed by the production team as an adviser on one of Anthony’s TV shows, who also works as a consultant for the Met Police, Hawthorne has found an interesting case and he thinks Anthony should write a book about it, just one slight issue, he’s only just started working the case, currently the book has no ending! Drawn in by the case, a woman who arranges her own funeral before being murdered just hours later, and put out by a woman at the Hay Festival who tells him his books are irrelevant he decides he will write the book after all. The Word Is Murder covers the period of time as Anthony follows Hawthorne around London and the South East. I’ll say no more on the plot.

So what did I like? I actually kind of liked Hawthorne, despite the frequent mentions by Anthony that he doesn’t particularly like him. Hawthorne isn’t necessarily the most likeable character, we view him through Anthony’s eyes and he doesn’t know that much about him personally, even if he does try fishing for more information. He’s certainly not perfect, he’s homophobic, but still manages to come across as a realistic character, you definitely get hints of Sherlock Holmes coming through in his character, his observational skills, and the deductions he makes, also he’s a consulting detective for the Met!

I also really loved the overall premise, for the second time Anthony has mixed up the traditional detective story and for me it’s another hit! It’s fiction but I kept wondering throughout the novel aside from the main plot line how many of the additional anecdotes were true, did Anthony really work on a script for a potential Tintin sequel? Was there really a woman at the Hay Literary Festival who told him as his books didn’t involve real people they were irrelevant?

The only thing that disappointed me slightly is I don’t see how this could be continued which is a shame as I could easily have read more Hawthorne investigates!

Would I Recommend?

I’d definitely recommend this book to any crime fiction fan, it won’t work for everyone, some won’t like the first person, some might struggle to get past the fact the author is a main character within his own book, but if they don’t bother you I think you’ll love it!

I always look forward to a new release by Anthony Horowitz; I grew up reading his Alex Rider books and hugely enjoy his 'adult' novels (for want of a better term) including the entertaining Magpie Murders.

The Word is Murder is, to me, an even better read! It's a really interesting and unique novel as it's narrated by Horowitz himself, describing a job he takes on where he's writing about an ex-detective called Hawthorne as he tries to solve a murder - all of which takes an even stranger turn...

I really liked this different way of telling the story, and think it adds something a little different to this novel. There's humorous parts which make me laugh to myself and, though the novel has some dark themes (of course, it is about murder!) it's never too heavy, always retaining a slight sense of light-heartedness which Anthony Horowitz does so well in many of his books.

The characters are sometimes rather unlikable - such as Hawthorne himself, who is a bit of an enigma and doesn't hold the best views and preconceptions about people - but they're very fun to read about, and the plot reveals plenty of red herrings and twists which kept me guessing throughout. An 'old-fashioned-but-still-modern' detective novel. Loved it!

An intriguing blend of fact and fiction that makes a really enjoyable whodunit. I loved the way Horowitz kept himself as the narrator and made no secret of his irritation and dislike of Hawthorne (for most of the time anyway). Hawthorne is very much a Sherlock Holmes type detective, noticing the little details and keeping back his conclusions until the end, and it all makes for a great read with action, suspense and interaction between Hawthorne and his "sidekick" Horowitz. I shall look forward to their next foray.

A novel that isn't as clever as it thinks it is, with a nasty undercurrent of homophobia only feebly protested by the character 'Anthony Horowitz' in the novel. I finished it - Horowitz can write; but I doubt I'll bother with any more in the series to come.

Disappointing. While I enjoyed the mystery, despite solving it before the end, I felt the autobiographical element got in the way and was self indulgent to the point of being boring at times.

Using an unreliable narrator to steer his plot, this is a very satisfying whodunnit in the vein of Sherlock Holmes with its old school feel about it. This is an amalgamation of parts that totally pays off with its own unique style and fortitude.

The characters are so well written and plot devises carry the reader forth in this page turner that never really disappoints. It feels old school but is very modern in its approach and have to say that this is a definite fun read that kept me totally engrossed.

This is the first novel that I have read by Horowitz and from reading this, it will definitely not be my last. The sentence structuring is superb and so well written that at times I had to read a few passages twice and engulf myself in the beauty of them. There is also an ingenious plot device where the author becomes the Watson to the police detective Sherlock like approach. This also has a knowing nod to anyone that is a fan of Horowitz’s work as he has placed himself into the novel and breaking the forth wall.

None of this should work but it works surprisingly well and it is a real treat from beginning to end. Working across a trilogy of genres, this murder mystery, modern, suspense, thriller fiction is a treat and one that is highly recommend. This is a class act novel that will not disappoint.

Thanks Random House UK, Cornerstone and netgalley for this ARC.

Crazy, cool, and totally enthralling. It's like nothing you've read before- prepare to be amazed and read all night.