Title: The Word is Murder
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Publisher: Century
[Synopsis]
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?
Unexpected death, an unsolved mystery and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz’s page-turning new thriller.
SPREAD THE WORD. THE WORD IS MURDER.
[My Review]
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 [read my review here]. 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!
[Rating: 5/5]
Many thanks to Century and Netgalley for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.
Ooh! This sounds wonderful! I have to go check and see if my library has it on order yet. Awesome review Jazz!
I love Anthony Horowitz and I’m psyched because my hold for Magpie Murders finally came up yesterday. And, did you know about the new Alex Rider book, Never Say Die? It just came out Tuesday!☺️
It is a great read, definitely reserve it if you can – and enjoy Magpie Murders, another great Detective read! I did not know about a new Alex Rider book so may have to get hold of it, take me back to my youth! ????
Oh!And I have to,apologize for calling you Jazz. I mixed you up with another blogger I was responding to at the same time.????
No worries at all, I’ve done that so many times myself!
Somehow I didn’t know about the adult novels! I read the Alex Rider books growing up too.
It sounds like a great detective novel!
Cora ❤ http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Love your summary of the book at the end of the review. I can appreciate a book without liking the characters if other things catch my attention! Great post!
Thanks! Exactly, sometimes it’s more interesting if the characters aren’t standard ‘likeable’ characters! 🙂
Great Review! My son loved the Alex Rider series growing up too, but I have never given him a try. This or maybe Magpie Murders would be a good place to start.
Definitely! Magpie Murders would be ideal (not sure I’d necessarily read the Alex Rider series now but as a child I loved them) – if you love a good solid old-fashioned Detective novel then either this or Magpie Murders is a great shout 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this book! I found it ok, not too special, but it’s very good that you liked it so much 🙂
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[…] Hawthorne. This is the second – the first one being The Word is Murder, another great novel [read my review here] – and throughout Anthonoy includes references to his life as a writer, his family and much […]