The Word Is Murder (A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery)

Product Information

And now we have a book inspired by the famous detective duo, Holmes and Watson, as Daniel Hawthorne takes on an accomplice to transcribe the details of a murder for a true crime novel. In doing so Horowitz writes himself into a story of murder, treachery, and revenge, as he himself becomes the accomplice. And the word we have for such as imaginative collaboration and plot, is ‘ingenious’ !!!. As fun as it might be to overlap truth and imagination, this element alone wouldn’t exactly make for a good novel, especially not a good murder mystery. Rest assured, Horowitz spent as much effort in crafting the mystery as he did in making his character dislike every one of Hawthorne’s bad habits.

This was my very first foray into the writings of Mr Horowitz. It will not be my last as its clever writing, easy style and the ability to draw one into the story line is quite alluring. Most alluring is the fact that the author himself is one of the main protagonists. and his being so made this book just plain fun. True, it was a murder and mayhem mystery, but the telling of this tale with Mr Horowitz being exactly what he is an author, made for an excellent way to both get to know him as well as read of his interaction with the very astute but totally weird ex detective Daniel Hawthorne, a bit of a British Detective Columbo. Sometimes a book shows up on my radar and its premise is so unusual and so intriguing, there is just no way I can pass it up. That's what happened with The Word is Murder. In any case, Horowitz accompanies Hawthorne as he runs around questioning people, including: the undertaker and his assistant - who were the last people to see Diana alive; Judith and Alan Godwin - who are still distraught about their dead/injured sons.....and think Diana got off too lightly; the judge who gave Diana a slap on the wrist; witnesses to the automobile accident ten years ago; Diana's actor son Damian - a conceited snob who abuses his girlfriend; and others. On its face, this blend of details about Horowitz’s life, work, and personality, with the creation of the fictional detective and murder is at risk of being unbearably self-centred. It’s a pleasant surprise that it is not. Horowitz does mention points of his career and projects that he has worked on as a means of entry to some parts of the story (and occasionally anecdotally), but it comes in the form of interesting tidbits, rather than bragging. There’s even a scene including a few famous directors that is quite hilarious. I loved last year’s Magpie Murders and with this book the author has made his way onto my favorites list. This is a highly readable, well-written, and well-constructed mystery with the proper clues and red herrings, and a surprising conclusion. Well-done! I read this with the Traveling Friends reading group and one of us (not me!) gets the Nancy Drew prize for figuring out the murderer.

Enter: Diana Cowper, a sixtyish Londoner, who begins our story with an unusual event that should really be termed as an ending. Diana enters into a neighboring funeral home to plan her own funeral. Before her signature is barely dry on the funeral forms, Diana enters once more into her London home. And the word is murder spelled out brutally for Diana. Café Mortel, an opportunity to discuss one’s mortality over tea and cake. ― Anthony Horowitz, The Word Is Murder Clash of Reality and Fiction in The Word is Murder

A total joy. Anthony is a master entertainer, the genius twists and turns of his writing and plot keep me on the edge of my seat.' Rory Kinnear

Taking a more horror slanted angle, this book was initially released in 2005 on the 1st of June in the United States by Anthony Horowitz. Combining both fantasy and horror, it was to set-up ‘The Power of Five’ series creating an overall arc and tone for the books. Having a graphic-novel adaptation as well in 2010, its popularity has continued to endure since it was first published.

SIMON: And, if I may, there was kind of a family scandal that hit you when you were a young man, wasn't there? This was such a great read. I absolutely loved that the author inserted himself into the story and quite honestly had to ask myself could this be real? The interplay of the characters was a draw as well as the ending which was quite threatening to our author, or was it? Born on the the 5th of April, 1955, Anthony Horowitz had a British upbringing after being born and raised in the area of Stanmore in Middlesex. Enjoying the privileges of a wealthy childhood, he gained a first class education, thus paving the way for him to become a successful writer. Despite this he suffered a lot of unhappiness and would constantly be found reading as a way of escape. It was at thirteen whilst attending Rugby School that he discovered his true passion for writing as a means for expressing himself. Later graduating from the University of York, he gained himself a degree in art history and English literature during the year of 1977. This all helped him to provide an academic study of the form, thus inspiring his work that was to come later on, along with the experience he gained over the years as well. In fact, Horowitz had his first success as the author of several thriller and spy series for young readers, including “Alex Rider” and “The Diamond Brothers.” Yet he seems to have an instinctive sense of how and why people commit murder, and how they are caught. Or at least a version that resonates with crime fiction consumers.If you haven’t read Horowitz before, know you are in for a treat with his unique writing style. Last year I read and LOVED Magpie Murders and while I would say that Magpie remains my most favourite, this novel is a very close second! The main problem here is the device, where the writer is asked to accompany a detective to write a true crime book about a crime he is in the middle of trying to solve. It is a particularly ridiculous device, and I've mostly seen it on television where it works better because we never actually have to see what the writer will write. Because this is not how writing works! No writer would do this! And having to read the product of it is not particularly fun.

SIMON: Oh, thank - well, I enjoyed the book. Now do we interview you as Horowitz, the novelist who created Hawthorne, or Horowitz, the novelist who is in this novel? And it’s a seamless blend between the actual facts of his career and the events in this novel. Horowitz has skillfully created a near-seamless blend of the his own creation and recognizable television shows and novels. For example, while he writes this book, he is supposed to be working on a follow-up to THE HOUSE OF SILK. That said, I think in the book, there is a growing warmth between us. I think it would be impossible to read a book in which the hero did not have some sort of likability. And one of the things that it provokes is a desire in me, the narrator, to try and find out more about him, the detective, which will lead to an investigation that will continue through the series.Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own. Such an interactive narrator is helpful at times in the mystery, as Horowitz gives vague clues that hint at the novel’s twist. For instance, Horowitz writes, “As for Chapter One, forget the bell and the Mont Blanc pen…[b]ut be assured that the rest of it, including a clue which would indicate, quite clearly, the identity of the killer, is spot on.” It is this narration that allows “The Word Is Murder” to be more than the average detective novel. What’s more, the detective in question does not fall into the usual character trope, although he possesses the uncanny ability to derive information from the simplest clues much like most detectives in such novels. Hawthorne is ex-police (due to a mysterious, years old incident that got him fired) and he is wholly unlikeable and a raging homophobe. Beyond these basic facts, Horowitz seems to know little else about Hawthorne, making the detective of the story a bit of a mystery himself. This is what reluctant author Anthony Horowitz tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne in an awkward encounter. The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind. HOROWITZ: Evil does have an attractive quality. I think doing something bad, being mean, breaking the law has a strange visceral appeal. Maybe it's something to do with liberty - the fact that being bad sets us free because we're not obeying rules, we're breaking them. I don't know. I mean, in my life, I try to do good, but I'm often tempted by bad. And it's certainly true that when I'm writing a book, the villain is the one that I enjoy creating most.