A Deadly Episode

A rather unimportant studio is making a film of “The Word Is Murder,” Horowitz’s first book featuring private detective Hawthorne; as it happens, the actors playing Horowitz and Hawthorne had worked together previously on a film by the same director who is in charge of this adaptation, and there is some history there. Anthony is not asked to adapt his own book; rather, a young eco-warrior is given that assignment, which she is happy to take on because she needs the money and, besides, she had written the screenplay for the previous film as well. When the actor playing Hawthorne is killed, stabbed in the neck with an exotic Japanese knife, there is no end to the list of suspects and the depth of motivations for the crime, but show more perhaps Anthony and Hawthorne can somehow work it out…. I love the Hawthorne and Horowitz books (of which this is the sixth, I think) because it’s incredibly meta - after all, the author is a character, indeed is the narrator, of a fictional series in which he frequently makes reference to his own real-life work, including books in this fictional series! It’s enough to make one’s head spin, but lucky for us readers, Horowitz is very good at juggling all of these layers at once. Particularly interesting in this book is that we learn more about Hawthorne’s earlier life, and we even get a story-within-a-story having to do with his first case as a private detective, a case that he has regrets over. An absolute gem, but for this series, one *must* start with the first novel, The Word Is Murder. Highly recommended! show less

I remain in awe of Anthony Horowitz’s ability to explore new twists on the format of crime fiction. One of our most prolific current authors, he seems able to write novels, plays and television scripts in huge numbers, without ever compromising quality. This latest book is another in the highly entertaining series featuring jaded former policeman Daniel Hawthorne and the author himself, as the former’s (frequently reluctant) sidekick.

This book takes the metafiction to a new level, with the first novel in the series now being filmed for television. True to form, Horowitz only becomes aware of this rather belatedly, and he is almost steamrollered into accepting the situation. He finds that Hawthorne has been involved from the start as show more a consultant, and seems to be known to all the cast and crew. Accommodation is laid on for him, while Horowitz has to sort out his own, and a car is laid on for him while Horowitz has to battle with public transport. While attending filming for the first time, Horowitz seems almost to have a Jonah effect, as one of the set runners interrupts the scene to announce that one of the stars is dead.

Hawthorne seems to get on exceptionally well with the police detective assigned to run the investigation, and is soon giving her the benefit of his valuable insight. As usual, whenever Horowitz thinks he has established a valuable point, Hawthorne shows him that he is misinterpreting things, and does little to spare the writer’s feelings.

This is another strong addition to an already very enjoyable series. show less

A film is being made of the first Hawthorne book, must to Horowitz's disapproval. Hawthorne is closely involved as a consultant but when Horowitz visits the set he can see that things are not going well. Then the lead actor is found dead. There are six suspects but which of them committed the murder and how does this relate to Hawthorne's background?
Any new instalment of this series of meta-mysteries is always a treat and this one is no exception. In mixing up his fictional self with an imaginary detective, Horowitz manages to be self-deprecating as well as a master storyteller. The lot here is complex and only really takes flight in the second half of the book but at the end I felt that I'd read a story that flummoxed and yet made show more complete sense in the end. show less

A solid ,under mystery from Anthony Horowitz. I had only read the first in this series but not the subsequent ones, so I was a little afraid this one wouldn’t make sense, but it was fine. Horowitz includes just enough recap of the relationship between Hawthorne and Anthony that anyone can enjoy this without having read the whole series, and it didn’t feel like too much exposition either. Like other of his works this was a dual murder mystery, although not told in alternating chapters but in two parts. I found the second plot line a little bit thin and I had actually figured that one out. I didn’t find either of the mysteries particularly intriguing but the meta narrative aspect definitely kept it more interesting

Not my favorite book in this series but I still liked it. It just tool me too long to actually stay awake to listen to at bedtime, which isn't always a bad thing since I have such a hard time sleeping through the night. But, once I got about a third of the way in, it picked up nicely and I did enjoy this book.

Not a fan of the Foss Hall side plot. Especially considering how long we spent there.

And I’m wildly disappointed that the motive for murder was almost veganism, only to complete a 360 back to the beginning. My least favorite Hawthorne & Horowitz so far.

Not thrilled with the demonization of veganism - probably his weakest novel.