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jillianeubauer's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
So I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and I really enjoyed the layout of the story. I think part of that has to do with the narrator...huge thanks, Rory Kinnear. It was a brilliant book and I haven't ever heard of the author using himself as the main character. Currently, I am taking a beginner CSI class and of course obsessed with Criminal Minds, Monk, and Castle so this book only added to my interests right now. I am only giving it 4 stars because I don't see myself rereading this book, usually meaning that there was something lacking -I just can't put my finger on it right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Homophobia and Blood
ambermahalia's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
likji's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Car accident, Suicide, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Pedophilia
bluejayreads's review
I am not much of a mystery person. I picked this up on concept alone – that the author is taking self-insert to the extreme and putting himself, as himself, into the novel as the Watson-esque sidekick to a modern-day Holmes.
The concept did bring a unique meta aspect into the story. Since at least one of the characters was verifiably real, it gave an almost-nonfiction feel to this fictional novel and I did enjoy that. However, that’s the only good thing I can say about this book.
I’ll start with my minor quibble: Horowitz’s motivation to start writing for Hawthorne is weak. He initially refused to do it when Hawthorne asked. Then he went to a book fair, where a woman asked him why he only wrote fantasy instead of things that were real and true, which are objectively better to read about. His response was that he preferred it, which is perfectly valid. Leaving aside my blinding rage about nonfiction being presented as always and forever 100% more valuable than fiction and it’s not worth reading fiction if one could read nonfiction instead, this exchange makes Horowitz decide that he should write something “real” for once and change his mind about writing for Hawthorne. He didn’t need the money and he didn’t even particularly like Hawthorne, but I guess that exchange made him realize that nonfiction is inherently better than fiction and he should try writing something true for a change.
But I kept going because I was a bit intrigued by the mystery. And honestly, I really like Sherlock Holmes and I know Anthony Horowitz is a good writer (I loved his Alex Rider books as a kid), and I kept hoping it would get better.
Hawthorne is very much like Holmes in many ways. He does have Holmes’ seemingly-magical deductive ability, but in the first 25% of the book you get to see it in action several times but only once with the explanations that make Sherlock Holmes books fun. Hawthorne also captures all of the asshole parts of the original Sherlock but without any of the charm. Perhaps it’s because Horowitz doesn’t live with Hawthorne and therefore didn’t get to see the humanizing moments like Watson did with Holmes, but Hawthorne is an incredibly unlikeable person. I gave up when he went on a homophobic rant – which was challenged by Horowitz, to be fair, but it was still a moment that made me realize that this guy, who I wanted very much to be a modern Sherlock Holmes, was in no way shape or form tolerable to read about.
Also, the original Sherlock seemed to like Watson at least some, or at least recognize that he could be useful. Hawthorne seems to have nothing but hatred and contempt for Horowitz, and if I had been Anthony I would have ducked out the first time I got yelled at for doing the thing he asked me to do.
This book ended up being modern Sherlock Holmes but worse. It captures all of the negative aspects of the original Holmes, amplifies many of them, and downplays the best part about Holmes – the amazing deductive reasoning powers. It leans so hard on the Sherlock Holmes parallels, even in the book itself, that I can’t separate it out to judge the story on its own merits. But Hawthorne himself is terrible and unlikeable, so I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed it much regardless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, and Homophobia
Moderate: Child death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
unboxedjack's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Death, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
uhhlexiconic's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A book as much about writing as it is about murder, The Word is Murder drew me in. At its best its an intriguing look at both worlds; at its worst the author as a character conceit came off as the story before a recipe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Homophobia
cozylifewithabby's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
annabellereads99's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia
ririforrealreal's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.0
A wonderful take on the classic Sherlock and Watson relationship. You have your somewhat unlikable Sherlock paired with a relatable Watson character who isn’t necessarily a super lovable person meant to write a book about their “adventures”. Clues are thoughtfully mixed into the story and don’t stick out like a sore thumb. I felt genuinely surprised by the ending in this who-done-it and was excited to read the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Murder
ne0n_ange1's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
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