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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
A professional author is someone who writes for a living. Anthony Horowitz just writes, man. It takes me about a week to get around to writing these couple of hand word reviews on Goodreads when this bloke will have polished off a novel or script in the same time. Good ones too, nothing cheap and self-published. The Alex Rider series (the one with Stormbreaker?) - that was him. Foyle's War on the telly - he created and wrote that. My own favourite and a highlight of the reading choices of my own kids was the Diamond Brothers series, modern pastiches of the noir films of the 40s and 50s.
This is the second in a series of books aimed at adults but still relatively light hearted in a murderous sort of way. Hawthorne is a mysterious, cold and talented detective in the Holmes mould. His Watson in this case is the author himself, Anthony Horowitz, and the setting is in the real world. We start on the set of Foyle's War and real actors appear throughout the book. It's a fun twist and a light read. Don't expect a detailed police procedural, this is very much a cosy mystery with clues thrown left, right and centre. Even when Hawthorne smugly points out there is a clue under Horowitz's (and our) nose it's still not always easy to spot.
I don't know how Horowitz keeps so many ideas on the boil at all times, but I'm glad he does.
This is the second in a series of books aimed at adults but still relatively light hearted in a murderous sort of way. Hawthorne is a mysterious, cold and talented detective in the Holmes mould. His Watson in this case is the author himself, Anthony Horowitz, and the setting is in the real world. We start on the set of Foyle's War and real actors appear throughout the book. It's a fun twist and a light read. Don't expect a detailed police procedural, this is very much a cosy mystery with clues thrown left, right and centre. Even when Hawthorne smugly points out there is a clue under Horowitz's (and our) nose it's still not always easy to spot.
I don't know how Horowitz keeps so many ideas on the boil at all times, but I'm glad he does.
A bit clunky, characters aren’t as good as The Word is Murder. Grunshaw and the other guy Mills felt really off as characters. Still kept my interest though
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The two most unlikeable characters you’ve ever read solve a mystery. The first book that made me sad the protagonist didn’t die. #FreeColin
This book does manage to rustle up a few background characters that are tolerable, and I do love a good caving accident. That being said, if I never again have to read Anthony Horowitz write, “This aggressive, dismissive, ignorant asshole of a man was strangely compelling and intriguing. Unlike his bitch wife, who did nothing wrong but was annoying as shit simply by breathing. No I’m not sexist! I like other women! Hypothetically!”, it’ll be too soon. Anthony should have kept himself out of the book, because I just found out I cannot STAND him.
This book does manage to rustle up a few background characters that are tolerable, and I do love a good caving accident. That being said, if I never again have to read Anthony Horowitz write, “This aggressive, dismissive, ignorant asshole of a man was strangely compelling and intriguing. Unlike his bitch wife, who did nothing wrong but was annoying as shit simply by breathing. No I’m not sexist! I like other women! Hypothetically!”, it’ll be too soon. Anthony should have kept himself out of the book, because I just found out I cannot STAND him.
mysterious
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a great summer read...though it seems this summer I am destined to read only books by Agatha Christie or extremely reminiscent of Agatha Christie!
I enjoyed this. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who. I’m not entirely sure why, but it was. That aside, what a cool concept. The author actually puts himself in the book (which is a series, something I didn’t realize at first) as an author who is also a sidekick to a PI solving a murder, and writing book about said murder. It’s all very meta, kind of reminded me of the BH 90210 reboot. I was very bummed to learn through the wonderful world of Google that Daniel Hawthorne is not a real person, and Anthony Horowitz does not actually ride along on these murder mysteries so he can write about them later.
So in the story the secretive, lonely, detective Hawthorne is hot in the trail of the murder of a fancy celebrity divorce lawyer, Richard Pryce. But wait! Pryce’s estranged college buddy, Gregory Taylor, was run over by a train the day before the murder AND they were both present six years earlier when their OTHER friend, Charlie Richardson, drowned in a cave. What?! Are all these things related? Total coincidence? Is everyone murdered? Is everything an accident? Did anyone commit suicide?
Stay with me because the cast of character making up the suspects will keep you guessing. Is it the spurned divorcée/feminist author who got hosed in Pryce’s last case? Her ex-husband who acted less than ethically during the proceedings? Charlie Richardson’s widow? Gregory Taylor’s widow? The author’s publisher/alibi? What about Pryce’s husband who may be cheating on him? Somebody else entirely? The list of suspects is never ending!
The whole time author Anthony Horowitz is desperate to be more than just the sidekick. He wants to be the one to solve the murder! Will he do it, or only catch a red herring?
By no means is this a work of literary genius. It is however super fun.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of who was who. I’m not entirely sure why, but it was. That aside, what a cool concept. The author actually puts himself in the book (which is a series, something I didn’t realize at first) as an author who is also a sidekick to a PI solving a murder, and writing book about said murder. It’s all very meta, kind of reminded me of the BH 90210 reboot. I was very bummed to learn through the wonderful world of Google that Daniel Hawthorne is not a real person, and Anthony Horowitz does not actually ride along on these murder mysteries so he can write about them later.
So in the story the secretive, lonely, detective Hawthorne is hot in the trail of the murder of a fancy celebrity divorce lawyer, Richard Pryce. But wait! Pryce’s estranged college buddy, Gregory Taylor, was run over by a train the day before the murder AND they were both present six years earlier when their OTHER friend, Charlie Richardson, drowned in a cave. What?! Are all these things related? Total coincidence? Is everyone murdered? Is everything an accident? Did anyone commit suicide?
Stay with me because the cast of character making up the suspects will keep you guessing. Is it the spurned divorcée/feminist author who got hosed in Pryce’s last case? Her ex-husband who acted less than ethically during the proceedings? Charlie Richardson’s widow? Gregory Taylor’s widow? The author’s publisher/alibi? What about Pryce’s husband who may be cheating on him? Somebody else entirely? The list of suspects is never ending!
The whole time author Anthony Horowitz is desperate to be more than just the sidekick. He wants to be the one to solve the murder! Will he do it, or only catch a red herring?
By no means is this a work of literary genius. It is however super fun.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
3.5 as I figured out the killer and other pertinent details on page 160
Didn’t like it as much as the first one but still a good mystery.