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A review by emilygv
The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but a pretty cover has yet to let me down.
There was a point early on at which I'd debated dropping this book (the very beginning, aside from the wonderful first chapter that had me hooked, I found to be a bit slow. purely personal preference), and (aside from that) Hawthorne's suddenhomophobic outburst definitely caught me off guard, but I'm glad I stuck with it to the end.
I'm definitely a fan of Horowitz's writing style. I'm not even quite sure what it is (the descriptions? the balance of dialogue? the vocabulary choices?), but it stood out to me so much that I had to make note of it.
There's definitely some big Agatha Christie vibes that I got while reading, which I loved. And I'm almost embarrassed to say that I didn't realize the whole Holmes/Watson dynamic was intentional for several chapters.
I loved how even the smallest details in the descriptions ended up contributing to the big reveal. I didn't figure it out myself, but it was fun looking through all the early chapters to come to some smaller realizations that Horowitz would proceed to describe in the following pages.
Horowitz the narrator being a self insert character took some getting used to, especially with a few lengthy descriptions of his other projects thrown in, but the insights that came along with it really added to the experience in my personal opinion (though I've read some reviews with the opposite point of view).
I've already placed a hold on the next book in the series!
There was a point early on at which I'd debated dropping this book (the very beginning, aside from the wonderful first chapter that had me hooked, I found to be a bit slow. purely personal preference), and (aside from that) Hawthorne's sudden
I'm definitely a fan of Horowitz's writing style. I'm not even quite sure what it is (the descriptions? the balance of dialogue? the vocabulary choices?), but it stood out to me so much that I had to make note of it.
There's definitely some big Agatha Christie vibes that I got while reading, which I loved. And I'm almost embarrassed to say that I didn't realize the whole Holmes/Watson dynamic was intentional for several chapters.
I loved how even the smallest details in the descriptions ended up contributing to the big reveal. I didn't figure it out myself, but it was fun looking through all the early chapters to come to some smaller realizations that Horowitz would proceed to describe in the following pages.
Horowitz the narrator being a self insert character took some getting used to, especially with a few lengthy descriptions of his other projects thrown in, but the insights that came along with it really added to the experience in my personal opinion (though I've read some reviews with the opposite point of view).
I've already placed a hold on the next book in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia