A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she’s arranged her own funeral.
A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own.
A reluctant author drawn into a story he can’t control.
What do they have in common?
Unexpected death, an unsolved mystery and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz’s page-turning new thriller.
SPREAD THE WORD. THE WORD IS MURDER.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
The Word Is Murder is a captivating tale with an interesting mix of blood, murder and umor only Horowitz could pull off. Its not only a murder-mystery but a story about the narrator’s sidekick, Daniel Hawthorne and the people affected by the happenings in this novel.
Unlike his previous books, Horowitz takes a completely different approach to ficticious stories and includes himself as a narrator. I admit I was a little confused when it started but got on to appreciate the fact that I got to learn so much more about a writer’s life and behind-the-scenes in how a story is made.
This story may be primarily ficticious but real-life elements are put in it such as the author’s schedule and what he does as a writer. I liked how witty the characters were and even found myself liking the enigmatic Hawthorne a little (despite his rather distant and mysterious personality)
Throughout the book, we follow Detective Hawthorne and Horowitz on their journey to finding out who the killer is and more insight into the victim’s past and the people they worked with or encountered.
As a fan of his Horowitz’s books, particularly The Power of Five/Gatekeepers Series which I really loved as a child – his writing style is just as good despite and his departure from children’s books in writing a crime novel.
There were quite a number of humourous moments in this otherwise serious storyline which I enjoyed very much.
As the book neared the end, I found myself literally gaping in shock as the killer was revealed. It was not only a great and suspenseful read but also a great mystery-murder novel which keeps you wanting to learn more and comes full circle.
Thank you to Pansing Books for sending me an ARC of this book.
The Word Is Murder is now available in all major bookstores.
The Fiction Magnet 