May is slipping away quicker than quick sand and I’m plowing through my May tbr list. With only a hand full of days left before we officially enter June, I had the pleasure of reading some outstanding nonfictions and just as many fiction novels in May. If you are looking for a scandalous murder mystery ala Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but modern and with brilliant characters, look no further than ‘The Sentence Is Death‘ by Anthony Horowitz.

This is the second book in the best-selling series. I didn’t have the chance to read the first book; The Word is Murder, before; I picked up ‘The Sentence is Death’. I was worried that I might get lost in the plot, but those feelings rapidly evaporated as I started to read.

Richard Pryce is a successful divorce lawyer to the uber rich and famous. His body is found bludgeoned to death with a pricey vintage bottle of wine. The numbers ‘182’ scribbled on a wall at the crime scene. And a partial voice recording of Pryce speaking to someone right before he gets killed. These are the fragmented clues the police has to work with to catch the culprit.

Pressured by time to make an arrest, the police brings in PI Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick. I wasn’t surprised by the fact our PI has a sidekick. Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson, after all. Anthony Horowitz, the author, himself, is Hawthorne’s sidekick, and it’s genius. The relationship between Hawthorne and Horowitz is never harmonious, but often humours. I can’t remember if I have encountered another book where the writer writes himself in as a character. I admit, I like it.

It’s been a while since I read a murder mystery that gave me the same level of thrill and reminded me of my childhood days when I stay pass my bedtime to read Sherlock Holmes. ‘The Sentence is Death’ is a breath of fresh air for the mystery book lovers.

The plot of the book is carefully crafted with thoughtful consideration given to the details. The murderer will inevitably surprise you! The clues are there but Horowitz manipulates them with cleverness to throw the readers of their track. In the end, it’s worth it.

Loved this book! This is the second in the series, and honestly, it is so well written that it's difficult to know for sure if it is fiction or nonfiction.

This is the second in Horowitz' Hawthorne series and I think it will be the last I read. The mysteries at the heart of this series are pretty good, but the delivery is a bit too corny and this second one felt like a formulaic duplication of the first book.

I just finished The Sentence is Death. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is the 2nd Hawthorne mystery. The way the author inserts himself as more of less the Watson to Hawthorne’s Holmes is quite original & clever. It always leaves me wondering what’s true & what’s fiction. But the best part is still the mystery. They remind me of the Agatha Christie mysteries I read & loved years ago and got me hooked on mysteries for life. Though the Hawthorne books are current. I feel like Anthony does as the narrator which may be the point. I have yet to figure out the ending of his books which makes them even more gratifying to read. I still try to work out whodunit but so far I haven’t gotten there. Most of the time when I read a mystery or thriller I have the ending puzzled out or at least who committed the crime. Hawthorne keeps everything close to his chest as he’s investigating but the clues are very much all there if I could just “feel the shape of it” as he says. Richard Pryce, a rich divorce lawyer, is found dead. The clues all seem to lead to a woman who was one of his client’s now ex wives. Of course, it’s never that’s simple. This is crime fiction at its best.

Why did he ever consent to write three books about Daniel Hawthorne? He can’t remember and now, there is another murder and he has to play the detective’s assistant and document to case to turn into a crime novel. Reluctantly, the narrator comes to the crime scene, but he is soon fascinated by the case. Richard Pryce, a well-known and respected lawyer, is found murdered in his house, killed by a bottle of 1982 Chateau Lafite worth thousands. On the wall, three greenish digits have been painted: 182. The number of suspects is remarkable, from the victim’s partner to his former clients – many might have wanted to see him dead. But who actually committed the crime?

After “The Word Is Murder”, this is the second instalment of this very unique crime series starring the author as narrator and the very peculiar former police detective Daniel Hawthorne who has his very own way of proceeding. Not to forget: again there are some very obvious hints to the number one crime writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It is not just Horowitz and Hawthorne as a comic version of Watson and Holmes, also the case bears close resemblance to some well-known cases of the private London detective.

The case was without any doubt cleverly constructed and is based on a very human vice. Signs everywhere lead to the murderer, yet, they have to be detected and read in the right way. The narrator is getting better in analysing crime scenes, yet this does not prevent him from coming to coherent, but unfortunately false conclusions. The character of Hawthorne has lost nothing of his peculiarity which made me enjoy reading about him and hating him at the same time. He strongly seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum with his massive lack of social competence. Most of all, however, I really relished Horowitz’s humour which accounts for most of the fun of the read.

A wonderful series with certainly a highly unique style of narration.

This is a fun read in which the author becomes an integral character to the story. Horowitz’s writing carries the book through what is a rather light mystery. The clues are rather obvious, but he diverts attention from them nicely. The Sentence is Death is a lovely diversion on a stormy day.

This is the second mystery Horowitz has written where he is the narrator acting as himself (working on Foyle's War) writing a book about Hawthorne as he solves a murder. It is very cleverly done.

The murder being investigated by Hawthorne and Horowitz is that of Pryce, who is killed by a very expensive wine bottle. Pryce has just represented Adrian Lockwood in his divorce from Akira Anno, a famous author who actually threatened Pryce with a wine bottle. Adrian is also suspect as having hidden some of his assets during the divorce. As Hawthorne and Horowitz begin to investigate, they soon find the story involves three men who become friends at Oxford and continued to go caving together every year, until one year when one of the three, Charles, drowned in a cave. Charles' wife, Davina, is helped out by Charles' caving friend, Richard Pryce, a very wealthy lawyer who becomes a substitute father for Davina's son Colin. To complicate matters, Davina and Lockwood are sleeping together. Then the papers announced that Greg Taylor, the third caving friend, has been killed in a Tube accident (or is it murder). We thus have several suspects including Richard's spouse, Stephen, Akira, Lockwood, Greg and his wife, an unknown man who had broken into Lockwood's office, and Davina.

The book is very exciting Hawthorne and Horowitz continue to turn clues and interview suspects, meanwhile, keeping Inspector Cara Grunshaw out of the loop while she antagonizes Horowitz possibly the cause of location problems with Foyle's War.

The end is especially exciting as Horowitz for a second time mistakenly thinks he has figured everything out, and almost gets himself killed by the real murderer.

This book was delightful. I loved it. When I read the first book in the series I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Horowitz being a character in his own book but I really warmed up to him in this one. Just brilliant, keeps you guessing right up until the end. I was incredibly fortunate to have received an advance copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

Anthony Horowitz is back, as a character in his own book, to help prickly private investigator (and ex-cop) Daniel Hawthorne solve another murder. This time, Horowitz not only has to keep up with Hawthorne’s observations, he has to tangle with antagonistic inspectors from the actual police force. During their investigation of the murder of a prominent divorce attorney, it appears that it may be related to another death, which may or may not have been accidental.

I love the author-as-character element to this series. Horowitz pulls the reader in to share his all-around frustration. Learning a little bit more about the enigmatic Hawthorne makes me that much more eager for the next installment. I am grateful to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this book.

The setting of the novel is a little bit unusual with the author being one of the main characters, I have never seen that done before. . In the novel Horowitz is invited to write about the retired detective Daniel Hawthorne who still helps the police solve the unsolvable cases. Anthony tags along Hawthorne in much the same way that Watson followed Holmes, aiding and abetting along the way. The plot in this novel surrounds a divorce lawyer who has been murdered using an expensive bottle of wine and Hawthorne is invited in to assist. Interesting and engaging characters, a suspect who threatened the victim with a wine bottle in the weeks before his death, two seemingly accidental deaths, past secrets, corrupt detectives, and a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into shooting Foyles’s War made this a compelling, addictive read, and a wonderful addition to an amazing series. There was a brief moment of uncertainty when I wondered if the mystery was going to be too predictable, but I should’ve known better, because not only did the plot go in a completely different, unexpected direction, but there was also a surprising revelation unveiled at the last second.

“The Sentence is Death” by Anthony Horowitz is the 2nd book in the Detective Daniel Hawthorne Series. The first book in the series is “The Word Is Murder.” What makes this series so unique is how “meta” it is. Horowitz places himself in the story as a writer who is following and working with a disgraced detective turned police consultant, Daniel Hawthorne. They don’t particularly get along. Horowitz spends a great deal of time trying to solve the mystery himself, while also trying to find out what Hawthorne is trying so hard to hide about his private life. These characters play off of one another perfectly.

The mystery in The Sentence is Death is well crafted. Hawthorn and Horowitz are investigating two deaths—one is that of a divorce lawyer. This leaves plenty of possible suspects and motives. Several times I thought I had figured it out. In fact, at one point, I was confident I’d solved the case. How wrong I was! This was an incredibly satisfying mystery. I especially enjoyed all of the “real-life” details that Horowitz included in, “The Sentence is Death.” Such as issues with the script he was writing for “Foyle’s War” and conversations with his wife, Jill. They had me wondering where the line which separated truth and fiction blurred.

“The Sentence is Death” is the first book in the series that I have read. I had no problems reading the series out of order, as it is a stand-alone book. I do intend on reading the first book and any future books in the series as well. This one was gripping and enjoyable, and thanks to being a “Foyle’s War” Fan, I know that Horowitz is a superb writer.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was how unique the dialogue of each character was. And we were introduced to several interesting members of this cast. Perhaps my favorite was Lenny Pinkerman. Some of the characters cursed, which Horowitz ironically disdained. There was no sex and what little violence there was, wasn’t’ described graphically.

If you enjoy a good mystery, this one is for you! It is currently available for pre-order and will be released on May 28th, 2019. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was just an ordinary mystery, in my opinion. While I did enjoy reading this book it's highly unlikely that I will read anything else by this author.

BRILLIANT! I love these books - Horowitz has done an absolutely marvelous job blurring the lines between fact and fiction by inserting himself wholeheartedly into his narratives, and the result is genius. I love the interplay between him and Hawthorne - and that I never entirely know what is fiction and what fact, since many of the details that are so carefully interwoven into the story (especially the small ones) have such a ring of truth and recognition about them... It makes for a thoroughly engaging romp of a tale, particularly when worked into, over, through, and around the quasi-Holmes/Watson relationship between the two men. The writing is a delight, the plots are ingenious (even - if not especially - when elements of them fall just this side of oddball), and the red herrings and misunderstandings mean that you are engaged right up until the last pages. And if that wasn't enough, Horowitz's wry and self-deprecating voice ties the whole thing together with a big red bow. It's a truly fantastic series!

It’s another great mashup where author Horowitz walks into his own story as a character—he’s writing a biography of the inscrutable Det. Hawthorne. To gather information for his story Horowitz shadows Hawthorne in the style of Watson and Holmes, observing and often inserting himself into witness questionings despite warnings that he must be an observer only.

In this case a well-to-do divorce attorney is discovered dead, in his own home, from an all too close encounter with an expensive bottle of wine. Strange occurrence because said lawyer is a teetotaler. Once again the reader is treated to a variety of twists and turns that both obfuscate and entertain.

Great fun this series! Bring on the 3rd and let’s hope it won’t end there. Thank you to @harpercollinsus for this #advancereaderscopy.

Jolly good fun!

The more books I read by this author, the more of them I want to read. No matter who's involved - Sherlock Holmes, James Bond or, in this instance, the author himself - they're clever, witty and thoroughly engrossing. Throw in a little murder, and it just doesn't get better than that.

This one is the second in what I presume will be an ongoing series featuring rather obnoxious private detective Daniel Hawthorne. Horowitz, known as "Tony" to Hawthorne, is the writer of a popular TV series titled "Foyle's War" (one of his real-life accomplishments, by the way) and somewhat reluctantly teams up with the fictional Hawthorne when the latter is called in by the police to help solve a crime. He's also writing a three-book series about Hawthorne, for which he's got a contract even though the first one has yet to be published. Now, Anthony is working on the second - so he's taking copious notes about what happens here - starting with the murder of well-known London divorce attorney Richard Pryce.

It isn't a pretty murder; Pryce was smacked in the head numerous times with an unopened bottle of very expensive wine (and then stabbed with the broken bottle). The only clue is the number 182 that's been left on the wall with green paint from an ongoing refurbishing project. But wait, there's more: Pryce recently represented the now ex-husband of a famous writer, who wasn't happy with the outcome and threatened to hit him with a bottle of wine the last time she saw him in a local restaurant.

For all intents and purposes, that would put her at the top of the suspect list. Hawthorne, though, isn't convinced. He's eager to start investigating, with Anthony's help, of course - but the local police, led by irascible Detective Investigator Cara Grunshaw, are determined to get the credit for solving the crime and insist that the "outsiders" keep them informed and stay out of their way.

Shortly thereafter, another man dies as a result of falling in front of an oncoming train - possibly an accident, possibly a suicide and possibly a murder. After a bit of sleuthing, a connection between him and the wine bottle victim turns up - together with the death of a third man some years earlier. But does that connection have any real meaning, or is it just happenstance? At that point I had no idea, but fittingly, one of my favorite quotes from one of the late Ian Fleming's "Goldfinger" came to mind: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times it's enemy action."

Now that I do know, of course, I'm not saying anything except that I really, really enjoyed this book. Hearty thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Horowitz does it again! A fantastic mystery and a great addition to the Hawthorne series. Very witty and clever and incredibly well-written! I highly recommend.

In The sentence is Death, second in the series which began with The Word is Murder, the author inserts himself as a character in his fiction. Tony, aka Anthony Horowitz, is Watson to Daniel Hawthorne's Sherlock. Like Watson, he theorizes but is not as clever as his mentor. In the novel, the conceit is that Mr. Horowitz is writing a series of books about Inspector Hawthorne's cases.

In this entry, a divorce attorney is murdered. There are numerous suspects including clients involved in an acrimonious divorce. But...the murder may also be related to a past friendship and a tragedy that occurred while caving. Characters stories are developed sufficiently to give the reader a good sense of them. Suffice it to say that several plot lines are followed, there are a number of viable suspects and eventually the case is solved.

As a fan of some of the author's TV work, I enjoyed the references to Foyle's War. There is also information about publishing which lends authenticity. I enjoyed this book and will most likely go back to read the first in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e=galley. All opinions are my own.

Good! Definitely didn't guess the ending. Entertained the entire read.
It also helps to have read the first book to familiarize yourself with the characters and Hawthorne's deductive style.

Another mystery where the author tells the tale of an investigation with the mysterious Hawthorne. A divorce lawyer is killed and a number of people have motives for the crime. ARC from Net Galley.

I didn't love this one as much as I loved The Word is Murder, but it was still fun to revisit Anthony (Tony) and Daniel. I loved the way that Anthony tries so hard to figure out Daniel and is foiled at seemingly every turn. I definitely did not figure out the murderer before it was revealed to me. What a great way to spend a weekend!