The Word Is Murder (Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery #1)

by Anthony Horowitz

Overview

"One of the most entertaining mysteries of the year. It’s also one of the most stimulating, as it ponders such questions as: Which is of greater interest to the reader, the crime or the detective? And: Is the pencil truly mightier than the butcher knife?” — Wall Street Journal

New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes.

A woman crosses a London street. It is just after 11 a.m. on a bright spring morning, and she is going into a funeral parlor to plan her own service. Six hours later the woman is dead, strangled with a crimson curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric man as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. And Hawthorne has a partner, the celebrated novelist Anthony Horowitz, curious about the case and looking for new material. As brusque, impatient, and annoying as Hawthorne can be, Horowitz—a seasoned hand when it comes to crime stories—suspects the detective may be on to something, and is irresistibly drawn into the mystery.

But as the case unfolds, Horowitz realizes that he’s at the center of a story he can’t control, and his brilliant partner may be hiding dark and mysterious secrets of his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062676801
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Series:	Hawthorne and Horowitz Series , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	16,705
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)

About the Author

ANTHONY HOROWITZ is the author of the US bestselling Magpie Murders and The Word is Murder, and one of the most prolific and successful writers in the English language; he may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author. His novel Trigger Mortis features original material from Ian Fleming. His most recent Sherlock Holmes novel, Moriarty, is a reader favorite; and his bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. As a TV screenwriter, he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War on PBS. Horowitz regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines, and in January 2014 was awarded an OBE.

Editorial Reviews

Horowitz is undeniably brilliant.

Metro London

The Word Is Murder is full of surprises and suspense…hugely entertaining. It is a special treat for those who want to read crime mysteries.

Washington Post Book Review

Irresistible … What can’t this supremely versatile writer do?

USA Today

"The beguiling whodunit plot is dispatched with characteristic élan as Horowitz blurs the line between fiction and reality… there is no denying the sheer ingenuity of the central notion.

The Financial Times

The Word Is Murder is full of surprises and suspense…hugely entertaining. It is a special treat for those who want to read crime mysteries.

Washington Book Review

Irresistible … What can’t this supremely versatile writer do?

USA Today

An ingenious funhouse mirror of a novel sets a vintage ‘cozy’ mystery inside a modern frame.

Wall Street Journal

…Horowitz succeeds with The Word Is Murder by simultaneously adhering to and defying the rules of a traditional mystery.

Christian Science Monitor

The Word Is Murder is an intriguing labyrinth of whodunnits and a true page-turner throughout .

Real Crime Magazine

Actually, the word is not murder, it’s ingenious....a masterful meta-mystery.

Booklist (starred review)

Actually, the word is not murder, it’s ingenious. . . . A masterful meta-mystery.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Sharp-witted readers who think they’ve solved the puzzle early on can rest assured that they’ve opened only one of many dazzling Christmas packages Horowitz has left beautifully wrapped under the tree.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Deduction and wit are well-balanced, and fans of Peter Lovesey and other modern channelers of the spirit of the golden age of detection will clamor for more.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Horowitz is undeniably brilliant.” — Metro London

"The beguiling whodunit plot is dispatched with characteristic élan as Horowitz blurs the line between fiction and reality… there is no denying the sheer ingenuity of the central notion.” — The Financial Times

“The Word Is Murder is an intriguing labyrinth of whodunnits and a true page-turner throughout .” — Real Crime Magazine

“An ingenious funhouse mirror of a novel sets a vintage ‘cozy’ mystery inside a modern frame.” — Wall Street Journal

“Irresistible … What can’t this supremely versatile writer do?” — USA Today

“Horowitz succeeds with The Word Is Murder by simultaneously adhering to and defying the rules of a traditional mystery.” — Christian Science Monitor

“The Word Is Murder is full of surprises and suspense…hugely entertaining. It is a special treat for those who want to read crime mysteries.” — Washington Post Book Review

"The Word Is Murder, with its dry tone and insider anecdotes about publishing and the movie business, is certainly one of the most entertaining mysteries of the year. It’s also one of the most stimulating, as it ponders such questions as: Which is of greater interest to the reader, the crime or the detective? And: Is the pencil truly mightier than the butcher knife?” — Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

An ingenious funhouse mirror of a novel sets a vintage ‘cozy’ mystery inside a modern frame.

Wall Street Journal

…fiendishly clever new thriller…In true Conan Doyle tradition, all the clues are skillfully hidden in plain sight, but readers will sail right past them until a shocking twist forces them to replay the entire sequence of events in their heads, begrudgingly admiring the author for his audacity.

Bookish

A page-turner that is exhilarating and infuriating in equal measure.

Edinburgh Evening News

A book firmly rooted in the style of Doyle, faithful to the character as created and with just enough wiggle room to allow the author to say all the things he’s been longing to say about the world of 221B Baker Street...THE HOUSE OF SILK will satisfy.

Huffington Post

Great fun . . . [for] readers who can’t get enough of James Bond at his coolest and suave-est.

Seattle Times

Horowitz has written a humdinger of a Bond story, so cunningly crafted and thrillingly paced that 007’s creator would have been happy to have owned it. . . . From his brilliant first chapter on, Horowitz is a pitch-perfect mimic of the Fleming one-line punch.

Simon Schama

A no-nonsense writer Horowitz proceeds briskly and ladles out spills and thrills with aplomb.

Irish Independent

Praise for Moriarty: “[A] deliciously twisty new novel.

Columbus Dispatch

A compendium of dark delights. . . . A brilliant pastiche of the English village mystery and a hugely enjoyable tale of avarice and skullduggery in the world of publishing.

Irish Times

Horowitz . . . delivers the tersely precise prose that makes Bond so compelling, but more than that, he also supplies touches of Fleming’s cruel poetry. . . . A brisk and effective ride.

The Guardian

[In The House of Silk,] Watson’s elegiac voice should silence the objections of even the most persnickety Sherlock scholar.

NPR