Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Word Is Murder

Grade: A

This was a fun mystery with a load of twists, an engaging voice, and, dare I say, the beginnings of a bromance. While this is clearly a setup of a Holmes/Watson situation, I still found it fresh and unique. I have only read Horowitz's Magpie Murders books and these seemed lighter than those but no less sophisticated.

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mlottermoser's review

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adventurous mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Anthony Horowitz, a YA novel and screen writer, delves into a new genre by writing a detective novel with Hawthorne, a crime consultant. Hawthorne proposes that Horowitz can document his process and write a novel and they can split the proceeds 50/50. While mostly fiction this book includes enough facts about Horowitz that it leaves you wondering, did this really happen in real life?
Fun modern twist to the Holmes/Watson relationship. Moves steadily while still leaving you guessing at the end.
Wish we knew more about Hawthorne. More incentive to keep reading the series.

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thebookpaiges's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4/5

This was something I would learn about Hawthorne. He was someone who was only fully alive when he was working a case. He needed there to have been a murder or some other violent crime. It was his entire raison d'être - another posh phrase which I am sure he would have hated.

A woman walks into a funeral parlour and arranges her own funeral. Hours later she's been murdered. Coincidence or something more sinister is afoot? In comes our protagonist, former detective Daniel Hawthorne, as a consultant on the case. And like any good Sherlockesque hero he needs a Watson to record his exploits. Here is where the interesting bit that caught my eye comes in: the narrator is the actual author of the book, Anthony Horowitz.

This was a fun romp that reminded me of classic whodunnits. The mystery was intriguing and not easy to solve, though I will say that it could have been a bit more grounded in reality. Horowitz's prose makes this a page turner that draws you in. I had a lot of fun reading this and will definitely be picking up the others in the series.

My favorite part of the whole book was the character of Hawthorne. What if the protagonist was similar to say a BBC Sherlock detective or a loose cannon? Well, he would be fucking unbearable. And that worked here, with his outrageousness behavior giving this tale something more interesting than just the crime. He felt very fleshed out and I liked that the book didn't shy away from his faults, like his perceived homophobia and his callousness towards others.

What can be a bit hit of miss is the self insert of Horowitz. There were aspects of it that I enjoyed and some that made me loose my immersion in the plot. It can feel, at times, like a lot of self promotion of his works but it also gives us hilarious scenes like when Hawthorne crashes his meeting with Spielberg and Peter Jackson.

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leebeeloves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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frantically's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This feels like a book written by a posh, white, straight man for other posh, white, straight men who want to feel better about being posh, white and straight — after all, at least they're not homophobic too (they just want to understand the homophobes' reason).

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