The Sentence is Death, the second novel to feature ex-policeman and Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne, has an old-school, authentic atmosphere to it much like the crime classics of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Horowitz focusses on mystery, suspense, intrigue and keeping it clean, rather than gratuitous violence or profanity, so if you like your reads clean, then this is a fantastic choice!

Here, the author pairs up with Hawthorne to investigate the suspicious death of divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, and with many interesting characteristics, Anthony and Daniel race against time and against the police to solve the crime. As always, there are plenty of suspenseful moments, red herrings and discreet clues to whet your appetite but stop short of revealing too much. Hawthorne is a superb character, irritating and more than a little odd, but he is a proficient investigator and that's all that really matters in his line of work. His views are certainly outdated and likely to rub people up the wrong way. He sometimes comes across as having accidentally stepped out of the 70s or 80s into the modern day! Horowitz's use of the novel as a device for getting out some of his annoyances regarding the publishing world is a work of genius and an excellent and non-confrontational method in which to do so - biography masked as fiction!

With a masterfully executed plot, exceptional characterisation and lots of unexpected surprises, I hope the following additions to the series are just as engaging! The author using himself as a character is most refreshing and certainly a unique selling point!

Many thanks to Century for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This is the second in the series of Daniel Hawthorne detective novels where author Anthony Horowitz appears as himself playing Watson to Hawthorne's Holmes. This seems very appropriate as the first Sherlock Holmes novel, 'A Study in Scarlet' plays a role in this story.

The story is set just prior to the publication of Hawthorne and Horowitz's first collaboration, 'The Word is Murder'.' Anthony is on the set of Foyle's War watching a difficult outdoor scene being staged when Hawthorne appears in a taxi and Anthony reluctantly takes up the role of sidekick once more. You can almost hear him crying the modern day equivalent of 'The Game's Afoot'!

Our heroes head off to a murder scene in Hampstead where a prominent divorce lawyer has been bludgeoned and stabbed to death with an expensive bottle of wine and once more they are on the trail of a killer. The suspects mount up and once more a possibly significant incident in the past may hold some clues. This time we are also treated to a trip out of of London and very much out of Hawthorne's comfort zone which shows us a different side to him. To say more would risk spoilers which would be a shame as part of the fun of Mr Horowitz's books is to go with the flow without all the twists and turns being foreshadowed; and there are plenty of these to be enjoyed here.

The investigating police officer this time is a much less likeable character than DI Meadows from the first book. This time DI Grunshaw doesn't just dislike Hawthorne, she is jealous of him and openly despises Anthony despite having to allow them into the investigation. The official investigators this time are portrayed much less sympathetically and deservedly so. It is to be hoped that British Police Officers do not act in the way these two do. Having said that the British Transport Police, rarely mentioned in novels, are given a very good press here and rightly so.

We learn a little more about Hawthorne's personal life, Anthony's character in the books makes it his business to find out as much as he can about Daniel who is keen to appear as a two dimensional investigator. There is a long way to go in Hawthorne's story though and I hope that it will be revealed in future books. After all, as Anthony is keen to remind us, he has a three book contract!

In common with th first book there are plenty of name checks to real people which gives the story a sense of realism. It is very hard to see the line between the fact and the fiction. As always I hope to get the answer before the denouement and as always with Mr Horowitz's books I failed. Maybe in book three I'll finally be one step ahead - but probably not.

This is a really entertaining modern murder mystery which plays totally fair and will almost certainly leave the reader beaten - again, but then that's why we love our detectives. Highly recommended.

Very clever. The author becomes Watson to ex Policeman Daniel Hawthorne, recording his investigation into the murder of Lawyer Richard Pryce. We get an insight into the difficulties of writing a successful series "Foyle's War". We get humour - the author taking a Lift and trying to get into Hawthorne's apartment is very funny. We get the local police in the guise of Detective Inspector Cara Grunshaw who objects to Hawthorne getting involved and takes it out on the author. Well worked out plot, this is the second book featuring Hawthorne, a third is threatened!
Plenty of suspects and clues and miss directions. Very enjoyable. Highly recommended. See my full review on the Euro-Crime website.

I adored, “The Word is Murder,” the first in the Daniel Hawthorne series, and was delighted to receive the second, “The Silence is Death,” for review. As before, Anthony Horowitz, or ‘Tony,’ as Hawthorne calls him, is very much telling the story as himself. Horowitz is working on a television series when the book begins, and Hawthorne’s reappearance is cleverly introduced – his arrival causing unintentional mayhem and annoyance.

As before, Hawthorne is wonderfully irritating and yet has a bizarre fascination for Horowitz. A sort of Seventies throwback, with definitely non-politically correct views and language; Horowitz finds him exasperating and is yet admiring of his ability to solve the most bizarre of crimes. Indeed, when Hawthorne states they have another murder to investigate, you know it will be something special.

A divorce lawyer, Richard Pryce, has been murdered with an extremely expensive bottle of wine. This bizarre murder sees the pair becoming immersed in the investigation, with Horowitz gleefully having a lot of fun with the world of publishing. Pryce had been involved in a celebrity divorce, involving the author, Akira Anno, a writer of literary fiction, who visibly sneers at Horowitz.

However, the divorce is only one possible strand of the investigation. This is a brilliantly executed plot, full of twists and turns. One motive involves the case that the lawyer was working on, then there is an incident in the past which may be involved and, then again, there are the usual issues with personal relationships and money. Along the way, Horowitz also tries to find out more about Hawthorne’s past and longs to solve the mystery before anyone else, while falling foul of the aggressive D.I. Cara Grunshaw and trying to juggle all of his writing commitments.

I really feel that this is growing into an excellent series. In the novel, Horowitz claims to have a three book deal, writing about Hawthorne. You can only hope that he will continue the series beyond that point. It is a joy and I love the way that the author manages to insert so much of his own experiences, albeit in a fictional way, to create such an enjoyable read. I loved every part of the novel set around the world of publishing in particular, but every page was wonderfully enjoyable. I do feel that Daniel Hawthorne has a lot more to offer. Highly recommended. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Although I enjoyed this book a
advance reader from netgallery., it was interesting I just found it a strange combination of a ex policeman and a writer to team up to solve a murder, it was very interesting ye I am still undecided I find myself sitting on a fence at the moment. It’s the first book I have read by Anthony Horowitz. Yes all books should give descriptions of backgrounds, history. Etc, however I found this particular novel gave far too much background and history that it seemed to deflect from the actual story line. Overall I personally found it was over written to the point at time I could have found it a little boring.. in some ways with it being over written it felt I was reading a Agatha Christie book, without the who did it. Obviously a totally different spin on the storyline from a Christi book it was really he style of the writing. Do I recommend this book, well yes I do if you can persevere with the writing style, can’t really fault the storyline of the murder at all, just on the whole with the actual writing style it was a bit heavy going. I would have only given a 3 star to be honest mainly because of how it’s written I gave a 4 for the murder and storyline really. Would definitely read another of his books with the hope the writing itself isn’t too heavy

This is the second novel I've read with Horowitz and his family in his own novel. And still, I sit on the fence. Some interesting insights into the life of an author but I do find it veers me away from the storyline. The plot was okay, twists and turns, hither and thither. But it was fairly obvious whodunnit from early on. Sorry, for me it needed more substance.

Author Anthony Horowitz (yes, really!) is struggling with Foyle's War. Script issues. Filming problems. So he really doesn't have time to get sidetracked by another murder.

Divorce lawyer Richard Pryce is dead. He won't be the only one. Too many bodies, and even more suspects. Can Anthony and ex-police turned private investigator Daniel Hawthorne get to the bottom of it all before the police (and before Foyle's War completely derails)??

I am a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz and this novel is absolutely amazing.

Again, we follow our hero Anthony Horowitz solving a crime with Daniel Hawthorne, our grumpy old ex police officer.
Hawthorne is a fantastic character. He is quite unlikable, but you cannot deny his brilliance.

The story itself was nail bitingly tense and had some good twists going. I would recommend this to everyone!

Love these books. Love (surprisingly) the device of masking fiction as biography and putting the author at the centre of it. Great characterisation and narrative voice makes up for the slightly ludicrous plot, but all such fun and enticingly written no criticism really matters. Such a fun read

I remember the feeling I had when I read the first of the novels where Anthony H appears as a character in his own novel. Wow I thought, did that just happen? Well it did and this is a second one just as good as the first with a twisty tale of intrigue.

It's a fascinating angle for a book as Horowitz writes of his issues of waiting around on film sets, how writers might be on a film set . As the book opens he is - on the set of Foyle's war no less when Michael Kitchen walks by. This is surreal on many levels as he writes himself as a character in the book. It messes with your head but I love it!

This is a very twisty tale and full of good old fashioned detective work - a series of strange numbers daubed on a wall, an expensive bottle of wine, a murder and some dark goings on in and around Hampstead Heath. The Old vic gets to play a challenging role if you excuse the theatrical pun.

Surreal and insightful in equal measure. And a darn good twisty plot.