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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I really liked Horowitz's The Magpie Murders, and I love Midsomer Murders. This one was less compelling, perhaps because the character "Anthony Horowitz" is given to stereotypical descriptions of pretty much everyone he meets. Nonetheless, the plot is pleasingly complex, and I didn't guess the culprit. I'll try more of this series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my, I'm becoming addicted to these Anthony Horowitz book. a good memory - much like the protagonist every time I think I've solved it, Hawthorne, the antihero, proves me wrong.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kinda torn on these books. On one hand, they're compulsively readable with great plotting. I can tell that they're written by the same writer who adapted Midsomer Murders. Great Very English Murder Mystery (TM) material, and never disappoint on the intrigue.
On the other hand, I'm so confused and frustrated by the author's insistence that his detective's racism and homophobia are just another one of his many flaws. While I would agree that these are most certainly character flaws in any person in which they may appear, I would say that they're a bit more severe and should taken more seriously than a simple lack of tact or failure to observe cell phone etiquette. All along there are these hints that these "flaws" somehow originate from some horrible trauma in his past, but can I just say that no amount of trauma actually gives you a racism/homophobia/any-other-bias pass? The author agonizes over these flaws in his detective, but at the end of the day these books are still getting published, so the guilt and hang-wringing is ultimately pointless and a little frustrating, if I'm being honest. I get the author doesn't want us to think that he's excusing these flaws in his character, and that he's writing a detective who isn't supposed to be a hero, but by writing multiple books about him, that's exactly what he's doing.
This is not Liam Neeson's universe, this is the 21st century. Trauma, no matter how large, can inform but it cannot excuse. Hawthorne is an interesting character, but his racism and homophobia are treated like little quirks. If you want to write an interesting character that rebels against the norms, there are many other ways to do that rather than deliberately inserting things that are still huge social problems that literally result in people being murdered for who they are. It's really offsetting and I'm conflicted as to whether I should even continue. The books are great otherwise but it's really a slog to get through the parts about how Hawthorne is just a traumatized eccentric who doesn't fit in and that's why he's an actual terrible person.
Additionally, many of the descriptions of female characters in this book relied heavily on misogynist motifs. I understand that this author writes about terrible people, and yes the men are described as terrible as well, but it's very clear that there's something so mean-spirited about his descriptions of Grunshaw, and that she's not just a terrible person who happens to be a woman, she's a terrible person whose terribleness is amplified because she dares to be terrible while occupying a female body that does not please the narrator. And his depiction of the Japanese-American author was just so cringeworthy as well. Dude clearly has been listening to some bro politics on Twitter and decided to mash it up with whatever his perception of Yoko Ono is. Really dampened my enthusiasm, even though that character did have an interesting plotline. For as much as he dismissed that character's feminist discussion in his favorite bookstore, it seems like he could have learned a lot from actually listening to it.
On the other hand, I'm so confused and frustrated by the author's insistence that his detective's racism and homophobia are just another one of his many flaws. While I would agree that these are most certainly character flaws in any person in which they may appear, I would say that they're a bit more severe and should taken more seriously than a simple lack of tact or failure to observe cell phone etiquette. All along there are these hints that these "flaws" somehow originate from some horrible trauma in his past, but can I just say that no amount of trauma actually gives you a racism/homophobia/any-other-bias pass? The author agonizes over these flaws in his detective, but at the end of the day these books are still getting published, so the guilt and hang-wringing is ultimately pointless and a little frustrating, if I'm being honest. I get the author doesn't want us to think that he's excusing these flaws in his character, and that he's writing a detective who isn't supposed to be a hero, but by writing multiple books about him, that's exactly what he's doing.
This is not Liam Neeson's universe, this is the 21st century. Trauma, no matter how large, can inform but it cannot excuse. Hawthorne is an interesting character, but his racism and homophobia are treated like little quirks. If you want to write an interesting character that rebels against the norms, there are many other ways to do that rather than deliberately inserting things that are still huge social problems that literally result in people being murdered for who they are. It's really offsetting and I'm conflicted as to whether I should even continue. The books are great otherwise but it's really a slog to get through the parts about how Hawthorne is just a traumatized eccentric who doesn't fit in and that's why he's an actual terrible person.
Additionally, many of the descriptions of female characters in this book relied heavily on misogynist motifs. I understand that this author writes about terrible people, and yes the men are described as terrible as well, but it's very clear that there's something so mean-spirited about his descriptions of Grunshaw, and that she's not just a terrible person who happens to be a woman, she's a terrible person whose terribleness is amplified because she dares to be terrible while occupying a female body that does not please the narrator. And his depiction of the Japanese-American author was just so cringeworthy as well. Dude clearly has been listening to some bro politics on Twitter and decided to mash it up with whatever his perception of Yoko Ono is. Really dampened my enthusiasm, even though that character did have an interesting plotline. For as much as he dismissed that character's feminist discussion in his favorite bookstore, it seems like he could have learned a lot from actually listening to it.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My second Hawthorne & Horowitz escapade- it was good but I liked the first one better. Horowitz is clever but makes his charger a little too bumbling in this book. A fun read though.