This is another hugely enjoyable metafictional murder mystery from Anthony Horowitz. This is the third book in which a fictionalised version of Horowitz appears alongside the private investigator and ex-police detective Daniel Hawthorne, following on from 'The Word is Murder' and 'The Sentence is Death'. In this book, Horowitz has finished writing 'The Word is Murder' which is due to be published later that year. He and Hawthorne receive their first invitation to attend a literary festival on the island of Alderney. Horowitz normally loves literary festivals, but this one seems rather underwhelming, and he is less than impressed with the line-up of other writers due to join them there, which includes a French-speaking performance poet, a spiritualist medium and an ITV2 chef. Add to this a few suspicious local characters and some tensions on the island surrounding plans for a power line connecting France and Britain, and the scene is set for the perfect murder mystery.

Hawthorne and Horowitz once again make an excellent double-act. Hawthorne largely fits the stereotype of the maverick investigator, and in this novel, we gain a few more insights in to the events that led to Hawthorne's expulsion from the police force. Horowitz, meanwhile, makes an effective sidekick, in the tradition of Dr Watson and Captain Hastings - perhaps a little savvier but also prepared to let the reader have a laugh at the expense of his fictional alter-ego. There is an interesting tension between Hawthorne's commitment to solving the mystery and Horowitz's desire for a good story, and Horowitz creates further humour through his bruised ego when Hawthorne attracts a greater share of the limelight than him when promoting their book.

Horowitz is perhaps the ultimate crime writer's crime writer: in both the Hawthorne series and the Magpie/Moonflower Murders books, he manages to construct whodunnits which are ingeniously plotted and include all the ingredients of a classic detective novel, whilst also reflecting on what makes us enjoy these stories so much. Once again, 'A Line to Kill' delivers plenty of clues, twists and red herrings, with an ending that is very satisfying, but the overall feel of the book is playful and entertaining rather than overly gritty or macabre.
Although this is a genre which is inevitably a little formulaic, the change of setting means that this doesn't just feel like a re-hash of the last two novels. Having all the suspects confined in one place cut off from the rest of the world is a staple of the detective genre but new to this series, and it is effective in holding our interest.

If you like detective fiction then you are almost certain to enjoy this book. This can be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading 'The Word is Murder' and 'The Sentence is Death' first as there are a few references to earlier events in the novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review.

One of my favourite authors..
Great read other than a rather puzzling abrupt ending. Perhaps another book is planned ?
Don’t know.
Kept me interested all the way through.
Good holiday read.

(Had no idea by the blurb,that this was the 3rd book in a series)
Uniquely told by the authors perspective it took me a while to get into but once did it was a good read with wit and great descriptions of Alderney

‘That’s something you can put in your book. It’s a line to kill if ever I saw one.’
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Anthony Horowitz is a GO TO for me, I love all his mystery novels and this was no exception. The third in his Hawthorne & Horowitz series, but can also be read as a stand alone
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There has never been a murder on Alderney.
It's a tiny island, just three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The perfect location for a brand-new literary festival. Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne has been invited to talk about his new book. The writer, Anthony Horowitz, travels with him.
Very soon they discover that all is not as it should be. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour.
The visiting authors - including a blind medium, a French performance poet and a celebrity chef - seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets.
When the festival's wealthy sponsor is found brutally killed, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows that he doesn't have to look too far for suspects.
There's no escape. The killer is still on the island. And there's about to be a second death...
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It’s quite a risk adding yourself as a character in your novels but the way Horowitz does it is just so clever and a risk that’s more than worth it. I love the relationship between Horowitz & Hawthorne, a constant tug of war in which Horowitz always seems to be on the short end, although the friendship shines through in the end. I also love that this instalment is set just as the first book is released and takes place on the book tour for that novel whilst he’s trying to plan for the second, a very fun and interesting plot point and an enjoyable one to read, I couldn’t have enjoyed this book more and look forward to hopefully many more adventures with Hawthorne & Horowitz!!
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Thank you to Netgalley & Penguin Random House UK for the ARC

This is the third book in a series but can be read as a standalone. The main characters are a former police detective David Hawthorne and the author Anthony Horowitz characterised as himself. I found this a little distracting and didn’t even realise this for a while as I assume I was reading a prologue and not the actual book. I didn’t much care for the idea of Horowitz having himself in a book as it kept reminded me that it was indeed just a book and distracted me from being fully immersed in the plot. It was a little like watching the recording of a radio show and being distracted by seeing actors reading scripts and assistants making noises with props.

Aside from my distraction by the characters the plot was good with the many twists you’d expect from Horowitz. The action all takes places on the Channel Island of Alderney at a Writer’s Festival. Hawthorne and Horowitz and the other five authors attend a cocktail party at the stunning home of wealthy businessman Charles le Mesurier who is heavily involved in a project to bring a power line across from Normandy to Britain via Alderney. Many of the locals are vehemently opposed to this project and there are many protests happening. Charles le Mesurier is going to benefit significantly as he has sold some of his land at a hugely inflated price to house some of the ugly equipment and he appears to have undue influence over some local to support the project.

And then there is a murder... Alderney has no police force so Hawthorne is asked to help the police who are coming from neighbouring Guernsey. There are plenty of twists and it’s the good page turner you’d expect from Anthony Horowitz.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author although I loved his 'Foyles War' which was written for tv. This is somewhat unusual in that the author is himself a character in the book.Commissioned to write a series of books based on the real life exploits of ex Scotland Yard Daniel Hawthorne who now works as a consultant for police forces struggling with particular cases.
Invited to a literary festival on the island of Alderney they arrive with an assortment of other authors to find an island divided over the proposal to allow electricity supply cables to cross the island,digging up a wartime cemetery and generally ruining some of the finest views on the island. The prime mover behind the scenes the corrupt and much loathed businessman and the literary festival sponsor Charles le Mesurier and when he found murdered in a particularly gruesome manner the list of suspects is extremely long encompassing half the island!
Constantly reminded there's never been a murder on Alderney the police from Guernsey aren't particularly experienced either and lose no time co opting ex Detective Inspector Hawthorne to assist.
Alderneys crime figures take another jolt when the victims wife is also murdered .Hawthorne thinks he has the killer but more twists lie in wait.
An interesting mystery with a captive cast of suspects trapped in effect on an island with at least one murderer on the loose..Having the author present allows him to be an immediate narrator who is also as lost as we are in trying to identify the killer which I must confess I didn't. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next in the series

This is the third book in the Horowitz and Hawthorne series, and I am sure there will be more.

Horowitz is writing the memoirs of Hawthorne, and they are both sent by their publishers to an inaugural book festival in Alderney. I have to admit I have never read a book before where the author has put himself in the book and not always in the most flattering of ways!

There is a mix of other authors also invited, but not everyone is who they appear to be and before tensions rise and there is a murder, the first one ever on Alderney.

I enjoyed this book but maybe not as much as the previous two, the relationship between Horowitz and Hawthorne is never the most cordial, and I have to admit I am finding it a little tedious the way Hawthorne always has to try and 'one-up' Horowitz, even with something as small as getting meeting times wrong.

I look forward to the next one and hope more will be revealed regarding the mysterious Hawthorne

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and Anthony Horowitz for my arc of A Line to Kill in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing: 19th August 2021

This is the third book in Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne & Horowitz’s Mysteries series which can also be read as standalones. These books are cleverly written incorporating Anthony himself as the main character, a crime fiction writer who has agreed (sometimes to his regret) to follow around and write about an ex detective inspector turned private investigator Daniel Hawthorne.

Book 3 was just as excellent as the first two. Horowitz and Hawthorne find themselves on the channel island of Alderney to attend a literary festival and Horowitz is immediately suspicious by Hawthorne’s keenness to attend. Usually intensely private even with the few people he calls friends, it’s a mystery why he would want to go on stage and talk about himself and their investigations.

But the last thing Horowitz was expecting was for the pair to be thrown right into the middle of yet another murder investigation. With the island on lockdown and the local police struggling with an investigation of this magnitude, they soon become embroiled in solving the case.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and didn’t put it together until the end it was a very clever plot with the ‘locked door mystery’ style of an Agatha Christie. Definitely recommended for any fan of a ‘cosy’ mystery.

Bumbling Watson Horowitz and Sherlockian Hawthorne do literary festival

I was excited to be offered the latest outing of this amusing pairing of author and frustrating maverick ex policeman as a digital Arc, and had to immediately plunge within.

Horowitz is a admirably clever and prolific author, one who scintillates and dazzles, sometimes showing off his cleverness – but always most enjoyably. For those who have not encountered this particular literary thriller set, you can read this as a standalone, but it will be most enjoyable if you read the previous two outings of Horowitz and Hawthorne first, to get the pleasure of this developing relationship – The Word Is Murder, followed by The Sentence Is Death.

For those who have done just that, this time, Hawthorne has been taken up by the literary festival set, and is very much the star of the show, much to Horowitz’s annoyance. The pair decamp to Alderney, for a brand new literary festival. The tiny island, and most particularly the location of the festival itself, and the hotel where the various speakers are staying, provide the delicious version of the country house murder mystery.

Murder will ensue, of course, and Hawthorne joins forces with the local police to solve it. Horowitz tries to solve things himself, and of course is slow-witted and somewhat unintelligent, though always keen to do better at detecting than Hawthorne

Tremendous fun.

If I couldn’t rave QUITE as much as I normally do, it was because I was disappointed to have sussed the perp quite early, and also sussed the outing of another potential perp, in their particular piece of wrong-doing. Maybe I’ve just got better at unravelling Horowitz’s particular methods, or the tricks of the genre itself, but part of the extreme pleasure of Horowitz’s writing for me is that I CAN’T fathom the who-dunnit and am constantly chasing the red herrings. I love being bamboozled by clever Horowitz, and being left, at the end bemoaning my stupidity. I did not enjoy my ‘cleverness’, in solving the mysteries within.

This is an excellent book and I’ve enjoyed the previous books. It’s a really interesting idea that the author is part of the story who then writes the story. It’s quite different from your usual run of the mill detective story. I own the previous books as kindle books and I also bought them as audiobooks I enjoyed them so much. I must of read and listened to them a couple of times and a little bit more of the stories unfold each time. This series is just getting better. I always love it when the scene is so well set. Loving it!

A Line to Kill is the third and latest installment in famed mystery writer Anthony Horowitz's A Hawthorne and Horowitz series. This novel chronicles the exploits of former police detective, current P.I. David Hawthorne and the man hired to Hawthorne's exploits and embellish his reputation is mystery novelist Anthony Horowitz. Yes, Anthony Horowitz is the author of books about Daniel Hawthorne as written by Anthony Horowitz. Quite a twist.
The book about the first adventure that the two had is due to be published. That book is not finished and falling behind deadlines. Hawthorne and Horowitz aren't clicking. They don't communicate well. The publisher believes that a jaunt to Alderney, a small island off the English coast to attend the islands first ever book festival, would be a good opportunity for writer and P.I. to interact and hopefully get the book completed.
Dutifully, the duo flies off to Alderney to prepare for the festival. The festival will be held the next day and features a program of 5 other presenters, a war historian expert in Alderney's WWII occupation, a former TV chef now cookbook author and his assistant, a much beloved children's author and a French performance poet. Hawthorne and Horowitz will appear last and be the "no book" book promoters.
As the festival is the next afternoon, the attendees are free to acquaint themselves with the island, the festival sights and learn the meaning of the BAN-NAB signs everywhere. BAN-NAB it seems refers to an issue splitting the populous. A French company (NAB) wants to construct a power line from France across Alderney and on to England. Promised to citizens of Alderney is inexpensive power but rumors of proposed destruction of property, and bribes have raised heated arguments and threats.
The day of the festival arrives and with it an invitation for all the presenters, many festival attendees and some invited guests to attend a cocktail party after the festival at the architecturally outstanding home of the wealthy businessman Charles Le Mesrier and his wife.
At the festival, the participants make their presentations and then answer questions from the audience. Unusual for a Book Festival, several questions are hostile, argumentative and personal. An odd question posed to Hawthorne piques Horowitz's interest but Hawthorne claims the question was meaningless.
The session ends and all retire to change for the cocktail party. Whether by shuttle bus, on foot or in the one car on the island, the guests arrive at the Le Mesrier home. The magnificent modern mansion has wonderful views of the sea and a gorgeously decorated interior. Guests and host mingle and there are a few pointed exchanges, some personal, some political. As guests begin to depart, Charles Le Mesrier is nowhere about.
Next morning. Departure day! No. There will be no departures - none. Last evenings host has been found brutally murdered in the private ocean view hidaway.
As Alderney is so peaceful that it needs no police force, Daniel Hawthorne is asked to do preliminary investigations until a police force can be brought to the island.
Now we will get to see Hawthorne's skills as he investigates the murder - oh wait - soon there will be another murder. Mrs. Le Mesrier will be murdered.
Weaving through conflicting stories, fake clues, odd events, twisted tales, and hidden agendas, Hawthorne with a bit (small bit) of help from Horowitz manages to piece together all the information and arrive at explanations for how the crimes were committed and importantly why the crimes were committed.
In all, this is an interesting read. The Anthony Horowitz writing the book - not the Anthony Horowitz in the book, knows how to construct a story that builds and leads you along sometimes turning you to the left when you should be looking to the right but all along the journey is interesting. The purpose of the Alderney trip is not met. Hawthorne and Horowitz do not become fast friends, sharing inside stories and palling around. But there is a tiny bit of of communication between them. A good sign for another book?
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #ALineToKill

I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley for a review. Loved the characters and how Anthony Horowitz put himself in the book and the love/hate relationship between the two protagonist. Well paced keeps you guessing till the end.

This is the third volume of Anthony Horowitz crime series featuring Horowitz as himself, writing reluctantly about his misadventures with ex-policeman Hawthorne. In this book, Horowitz' publishers send him and Hawthorne to Alderney to a literary festival when a murder occurs to keep them on the island. As with the other books in this series this is very enjoyable if you like the idea of the meta approach to crime writing. Horowitz lampoons himself wonderfully and is the resentful village idiot next to the savant that is Hawthorne. There are little nuggets along the way if you've read the other two books which mean that you learn more and your interest is piqued and a nice trail for the next book at the end of this one. It's kind of old fashioned in the best way and has more than a nod to his literary forebears like Christie and even his own writing in things like Midsummer Murders. It doesn't take itself too seriously and there are some nicely amusing sections but it also doesn't pull back from some of the grimmer aspects. I enjoyed it immensely.

A clever and witty detective thriller with the brilliant conceit of the author as one of the main characters in the plot. Told therefore with Horowitz, in his own voice, as the narrator, the reader is invited into the world of writing and publishing and given a sense of true complicity in the story. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I love Daniel Hawthorne- he is irascible and superior and yet lovable! I find him endlessly fascinating and he steals every scene; i wish he were more in evidence and if this were a tv series as indeed it should be we would want him on screen at all times.
This outing tells us about peaceful Alderney where no
Murders have been committed….. until now. Horowitz plays foil to the clever Sherlock of Hawthorne and once again it is a traditional whodunnit in the UK style. Read my full review on the blog .

Full disclosure - Anthony Horowitz is one of my favourite writers and I buy his books without looking at the blurb, so you could say that I am a little biased. A Line to Kill is another instalment in the brilliant Hawthorne and Horowitz series. The author’s trademark humour, excellent writing, atmospheric setting and memorable characters are all there, in this suspenseful whodunnit. I also love the clever titles of each book and can’t help wondering what Mr Horowitz has next in store..

Thanks to Random House for a review copy.

This novel is the third in the Daniel Hawthorne series (after ‘The Word is Murder’ and ‘The Sentence is Death’). Anthony Horowitz is the first person narrator of these stories acting as a sidekick-type character to former police detective Daniel Hawthorne. This is a very clever and effective way of anchoring the novels firmly into the real world and makes them very believable.

Although ‘A Line to Kill’ stands perfectly well on its own I would recommend reading the series in order as the characters of Hawthorne and Horowitz are developed through the books as is their somewhat spiky but nevertheless endearing relationship with each other. There are also references (though no outright spoilers) to events in the previous novels which would obviously only make sense to those who had read them.

As usual in these stories all the clues are there, Anthony Horowitz plays a totally fair game with the reader though, certainly as far as I am concerned, he wins every time. I was proud of myself for seeing through some of his subterfuges this time but when it came to picking out the killer, not to mention the motive, I was, as ever totally off target.

Whilst these books are excellent entertainment there is food for thought in them too. It is often said that those ‘lucky’ enough to have gone to independent schools enjoy advantages in life not available to others. To some extent that is certainly true, especially now that there is a good deal more emphasis on welfare and safeguarding, but the bullying, both physical and psychological, described by one character who was at boarding schools in the 1980s is certainly neither exaggerated nor fictitious.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was delighted by the very clear intention to continue the series which was signalled by the events at the very end. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good detective story (with the added bonus of being set on the beautiful island of Alderney). I can’t wait to see what this ill matched but hugely lovable pair get up to next.

This as a rather boring slow book. Whilst the plot was quite good it took a longtime to get slightly interesting. I wouldn’t recommend this.

Many thanks to Anthony Horowitz and Penguin Books for the chance to read this ARC, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve really enjoyed Horowitz’ crime capers in the past as he has played with the form: the Susan Ryeland series (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders) which interpose Atticus Pund’s fiction-within-a-fiction detective story within Ryeland’s own investigations; and the Hawthorne and Horowitz Mysteries (The Word is Murder and The Sentence is Death) where our author guest stars as himself tagging along with the erstwhile Detective Daniel Hawthorne. Let’s be honest, these are not series which are going to win literary prizes, but they are well crafted and fun who-dunnits which also offer a sneak into the literary and publishing world.

And A Line to Kill – the third installment of the Hawthorne and Horowitz series – is just that: all the joy and entertainment of a Sunday night cosy detective show.

On this occasion, the premise is that Horowitz and Hawthorne have been invited to attend a literary fesitval on Alderney – the baby brother island to Guernsey and Jersey, measuring barely 5km long and 2.5 km wide, home to a shade over 2000 souls, according to Wikipedia.


It is undeniably beautiful and picturesque – and for the purposes of this novel unspoiled by almost any crime having never had a murder case.

The novel brings together a small cast of writers with their own secrets and histories, including a blind psychic, an unhealthy chef, a children’s author, a local war historian and a French performance poet. A somewhat eclectic mix and Horowitz places this motley crew in an isolated location which is itself riven with political tension as a plan to run an electrical power line through the island to connect France and England. The sponsor of the festival – spinthewheel.com, an online casino – is owned by Charles le Mesurier one of whose employees is one Derek Abbott, the alleged paedophile who Hawthorne allegedly threw down a flight of stairs, an action which led to his leaving the police.

One of the pleasures of this book is the prickly relationship between (the ficitonalised) Horowitz and Hawthorne: they both seem to needle each other and erect impenetrable barriers against the other, yet both seem reliant on the other too. Hawthorne has remained an enigmatic and mysterious figure in the novels, with only the barest snippets of his life having been revealed: his wife and children have been mentioned, his career insofar as it was relevant, his hobby making model planes, his homophobia… but he is a pretty closed book.

So the chance to see into his world, to have a little more of him revealed is intriguing? Was the intrigue satisfied, though? Perhaps a little, but more interest was generated in Hawthorne as a character – who actually is he? – in the final pages than was perhaps resolved in the earlier chapters.

Oh, and watching Hawthorne upstage Horowitz at the literary festival was a delight!

What I Enjoyed
The setting on the island of Alderney – although it could, perhaps, have been a little more intense, a little more claustrophobic….
The characterisation of Hawthorne – he is a genuinely intriguing character about whom little has been revealed. He is very obviously (and consciously, I think) modelled on Sherlock Holmes.
The clearer focus: the previous two novels – if I remember rightly – have both twisted towards the thriller genre by the conclusion as Horowitz blunders into the path of dangerous people and is nearly killed. This novel kept itself within detective conventions more.
The snippets of life in the publishing world, even if the meeting at the “surprisingly shabby and unattractive” offices of Penguin Random House didn’t have the glamour of the meeting with Spielberg in an earlier novel! I did love Horowitz’ own puzzlement – which mirrored my own – at the possibility of coming up with a series of titles combining grammar and death! What might be next? The Verb Is Finite? The Modifier Is Dangling?
What Could Have Been Different
The resolution, about which I will reveal nothing, but to say that it was a little obvious and predictable from about half way through, even though I missed most of the clues that Horowitz put in. There were aspects that did take me by surprise, but the overall motives and situation was a little… familiar.

Overall:

Characters:

Plot / Pace:

Worldbuilding:

Structure:

Language:

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Page Count: 384

Publisher: Century (Penguin)

Date: 19th August 2021

Available: Amazon, Century (Penguin)

I just love the “Hawthorne Investigates” series.

Anthony Horowitz has really hit the sweet spot of a classic whodunnit. Two chalk and cheese investigators - one mysterious and aloof, one a bit naïve and bumbling - a killer location and plenty of clues and red herrings to keep the reader guessing till the last chapter.

It’s a playful and gripping contemporary version of Holmes and Watson and a pure joy to read.