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smath 's review for:
The Word Is Murder
by Anthony Horowitz
While the murder mystery itself was excellent and enticing, I found Horowitz’s self-insert character to be disappointing (and downright annoying) most of the time. Throughout the book, he is absolutely incapable of making a decision for himself and sticking to it, he’s constantly complaining about being left behind, but he’s also continuously putting his foot in his mouth and runs to Hawthorne’s heel at the slightest indication. Hawthorne is a pain; that’s the point of his character. He’s supposed to be the aloof, hard-to-like former detective who’s only redeeming quality is the fact that he’s good at what he does. Horowitz’s character is supposed to be Hawthorne’s Watson; less intelligent, but more sociable and a somewhat reliable narrator who complements and smooths the primary detective’s rough edges. Unfortunately, Horowitz’s character has a lot less of a spine. He touts himself on his success and his Allyship™️, but refuses to actually make any decisive choice or stick to any course of action of his own throughout the book. Yes, Hawthorne is homophobic and Horowitz claims he’ll try and change that (and uses that as a justification to give Hawthorne a spotlight), and then proceeds to do absolutely nothing about it. Maybe that’s expanded on in future books, but I don’t know if I’ll be willing to invest that time in not one, but TWO unlikeable main characters.
Once again, the nature of this book is tricky in the sense that I am NOT criticizing Anthony Horowitz as an author! I love his work, and I genuinely believe the murder mystery and the actual investigation part of the book is excellent. I just find it disappointing how poorly the self-insert aspect of the book played out, especially considering it’s what makes the book unique.
Once again, the nature of this book is tricky in the sense that I am NOT criticizing Anthony Horowitz as an author! I love his work, and I genuinely believe the murder mystery and the actual investigation part of the book is excellent. I just find it disappointing how poorly the self-insert aspect of the book played out, especially considering it’s what makes the book unique.