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The New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty brilliantly reinvents the classic crime novel once again with this clever and inventive mystery starring a fictional version of the author himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes, investigating a case involving buried secrets, murder, and a trail of bloody clues. Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric man as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who's as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes.
- ISBN-13: 978-0062676801
- Publisher: Harper Perennial (May 7, 2019)
- Paperback: 432 pages
Reviews
Cathy
He often leaves Horowitz feeling inadequate when he makes suggestions or attempts to become involved in the investigation. When Diana Cowper, a well-to-do, healthy, 60-something woman, enters an undertaker's to plan her own funeral, it uncommon, but not odd. The dialogue and banter between them is fun to read and Horowitz is more often than not left exasperated, finding Hawthorne’s general attitude objectionable. An entertaining twist on a murder/mystery.
Jeannette Hartman
Anthony Horowitz is both author and a character and narrator in this work of fiction, a clever and slightly mind-bending approach to story-telling. Anthony Horowitz creates a fictionalised version of himself, portrayed as side kick to Daniel Hawthorne, an ex Detective Inspector who used to be with the Metropolitan Police Force. Lines are blurred as truth and fiction are merged so seamlessly in this extremely well written and characterised, sometimes dark, story. 5*How refreshing to read an inventive and unusual take on a murder mystery.
The plot is well constructed, with enough twists to keep it moving at a pace. Hawthorne is investigating and Horowitz tags along, writing the story around him as it plays out while adding details of his own life and career. Anthony Horowitz the character has been approached by a disgraced police detective (Daniel Hawthorne) about writing the stories of Hawthorne's investigation. ’ That seems to sum up their partnership perfectly.
The story begins as Diana Cowper, mother of a famous actor, visits an undertaker in order to plan her funeral down to last detail. The strange thing is she’s found murdered just six hours later, strangled in her own home. 4. Like many of Horowitz's novels, there's a death from the past that both haunts and confuses the investigation of the current murder.
I haven’t read anything quite like this before and passages about his books, TV shows and dealings with his agent are recounted with self-deprecating humour. It puts Horowitz in a Dr.
Watson role to Hawthorne's Sherlock. Despite being ‘let go’ Hawthorne still works for the police in an unofficial capacity as a consultant. A most entertaining and original book. Horowitz puts it very succinctly when he remarks that Hawthorne has ‘a magnetic personality, Although, of course, magnets can repel as well as attract.
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