Welcome to Litsy!

I finished this audiobook during our evening walk. I liked it, but there is something odd about the author being a main character in their own novel. I'm not saying it doesn't work, but there were moments that took me out of the story and made me think about what really happened, specifically where film productions were concerned. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery, even if the Watson-Holmes archetype was slightly too obvious.

Really enjoyed this meta-mystery. Good audiobook. Will definitely be continuing with the series.

This...review is not going to make a whole lot of sense. Logically, I should not like this book. I hesitate to recommend it to others for most of the reasons I shouldn't like it. For SOME reason, I had a good time reading it? 🥴 Basically everybody is a bit of an asshole, except for Hawthorne who is HUGE asshole. 1/?

The Undertaker's WHAT?! 😂

Not gonna lie, that vivid analogy is going to stick with me.

I love that the full list of options is explored. You COULD have sat around gleefully chewing your own shoelace (an impressive feat if the shoe's on your foot), but it just didn't seem as likely...🤔😁

The unlikable police officer Hawthorne convinces author Anthony Horowitz to document a murder case together. He will solve it, Horowitz will write about it. They are an original couple. At least as original is the murder of a woman just hours after she arranged her own funeral. Red herrings everywhere! An engaging mystery novel!

#tbrtarot @CBee One word title?? ?? One "word" in the title? ??? No? Oh OK.

(This is the picture I took to complain about this book not being in the condition advertised. On what planet is this "Like New"? The pages are yellow, the spine is cracked and the cover is peeling. I don't usually quibble about this sort of thing, but I feel they are taking the mickey a little here.)

A🤘🏽but just barely. This kept me interested and was a fast, entertaining listen. But ooooft the characters are so unlikable. One of them is explicitly homophobic and while the other one disagrees, it‘s done in a way that feels performative (“oh, that‘s wrong, but I‘m not gonna do anything abt it, I‘m the good guy tho ok?”). You can‘t just drop some homophobia, even if it seems self-aware, and not take it anywhere- no lesson, no redemption?! Nah

It was very clever - I didn‘t get ‘whodunnit‘, though I did get some other elements - but I couldn‘t quite settle into the autobiographical first-person style, it was just a bit too weird! I stopped after a couple of pages then came back to it after I‘d read another book. One thing that needled me was that because AH is so successful, it felt like too much name-dropping. I couldn‘t feel much connection with the detective. I will read the sequel.

#JanuaryJazz @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#Murder

#AdventRecommends @emilyrose_x

Book 1 in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. Horowitz writes himself into these stories as, well, himself writing the stories. In order to do this, he has to spend a lot of time with Hawthorne who is smart, irritating, rude and unapologetically blunt.

Halloween is in full swing now that I‘ve unwrapped all these fabulous, festive gifts and treats from my thoughtful and totally awesome #litsypenpal @Beck9lol !! 🎃📚🥳🧟‍♀️👻The Jack Skellington wrapping paper (not pictured) was perfect, too! I love, love, love it all! Thanks so much, Becky, you‘re the best! ❤️ Wishing Becky and all my #Litsy mates a very Happy Halloween 🎃👻📚🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤

Anthony Horowitz is very good at his job. He threw out some excellent red herrings and I was left guessing until the very end. Highly recommended.

Had to stop for 10 minutes for a sing along with Tay Tay #swiftieswhoread

Quite a good read once Ingot used to the very unusual premise of the author inserting himself into the story. I enjoyed the fast pace and the characters were really believable which is always a huge plus for me. I will definitely be looking into further books in this series.

my favourite murder mystery :)

In the words of Burt Ward in his role as Robin in the 60s Batman, “Holy murder!“ I loved this! The same day as she plans her own funeral, socialite Diana Cowper is strangled in her own home. Former police officer turned consultant Hawthorne contacts author Anthony Horowitz with an offer to tag along & document the case. Horowitz reluctantly agrees, as he has several projects in the works & Hawthorne is abrasive & unpleasant, to put it mildly.👇

I‘m really warming to this author. Great for a light read. Clever and at times funny. My 3 reads have been op shop books. So will continue to look out for more.
#joysbooks2021
@MrsMalaprop

• TBR since November 6, 2021

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nobody arranges their own funeral, and then gets killed the same day – do they? Well, that‘s exactly what happened to Diana Cowper One bright, sunny morning in London.

The Word is Murder is the first in a series of crime novels starring Detective Daniel Hawthorne and the author Anthony Horowitz. Very clever … the writer inserting himself as a character.

I was worried this would be too meta for me but it was a fun mystery. Contemporary Sherlockian detective and proud, slightly mystified writer.

I almost bailed on this but I'm glad I didn't. Full review on GoodReads
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

October #BookSpinBingo. Excited about both the #BookSpin and the #DoubleSpin.

I first picked this audiobook up 3 years ago when I went on a Litsy hiatus. I never finished it. News of the 3rd installment in the series coming out in October put it back on my radar. I really enjoyed it, especially on my morning hikes with Benji. Can‘t wait to start THE SENTENCE IS DEATH. There‘s something to be said about the Hawthorne character.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½ #shibainu #benji

I randomly selected this book off of my Overdrive wish list and was unsure how much I would like it. Turns out I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery! A woman plans her own funeral and is murdered shortly thereafter. Hawthorne, a detective, is solving the crime. He wants a book written about his life and hires Horowitz. The two form a strange relationship as Horowitz follows Hawthorne around on his interrogative interviews. #MountTBR

I wound up liking this one, but didn‘t know if I would about half way through. The detective is a next-level arse that almost pushed this book to so-so for me. I kinda loved the author writing a fictionalized version of himself into the story, however - it saved the book for me. I picked this up on audiobook loan just because the author wrote episodes of Midsomer Murders and I adore Rory Kinnear, whose performance is lovely. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Meh.
So, this could have been excellent. Great jerk of a detective, great mystery and plot. The problem was Anthony Horowitz. He wrote himself in to the story as the “Watson” and pontifically waxed about all of his success as a writer. And waxed and waxed.... It took me out of the story and I had to keep going back to find the plot again.

#mystery #audiobook #AnthonyHorowitz #Knittingwhilereading

I love the idea that the author wrote himself into this book. A cool idea and a good book. Right up my alley.

A fast paced and delightful read. I was intrigued how the author basically wrote himself as a main character and literally referenced his own writing career. But a fun mystery and I‘ll be checking out the second book.

I loved this book 👍🏻 I finally started and finished a book and it didn‘t feel like “work” to do so. I‘m onto his next book in this series 🙌🏻

The premise of this book is a little unusual, as the author himself is part of the book. In it, is asked by an ex-policeman now consultant to write a book about one of his cases, leading him (the author) to play a Watson-like role in the book.

The presence of the author-as-character is a bit off-putting in some ways, but this is still an interesting mystery. The consultant Hawthorne also takes a bit of getting used to, as he is pretty abrasive.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This is perhaps the most meta book I have ever read. Anthony Horowitz, the author, is also the narrator, and while he uses realities of his life & writing career, his relationship with Detective Hawthorne is, I assume, purely fiction. If you read or watch any British mysteries you have likely encountered Horowitz‘s work, & he is a master at his craft. For the actual murder mystery, I did not see the ending coming (though I almost never do)

Wonderful book! I enjoyed traipsing around London with the characters!

My husband bought this for me to read for our March Break trip to London, England that we never went on. It‘s the most meta murder mystery. Truthfully I found it a bit jarring at times, the sort of true crime vibe. I often thought of Comoran Strike, who is a crotchety bastard that I LOVE and the Hawthorne character in this book. There is no comparison. Hawthorne is more Sherlock, I guess. It is a good mystery with some good twists

Saturday mornings are for treats and reading

Book 1 in the Hawthorne series and it was a good one. Was abit strange that the story was told in the first person by Horowitz but it was an interesting way to do it.
#Murder2020 (book 42)

I am really enjoying Anthony Horowitz‘s books. This is the second I have read and I plan to read more. His style is quite different and I really get drawn into his mysteries. 👍

I really, really enjoyed this book. I listened to it and enjoyed the narrator as well. The author puts himself into the story as the MC and works with a grumpy ex-police detective to solve murders. I found the book to be funny and full of twists and turns. There was some strong language, but overall a really fun read/listen!! Definitely recommend.

I had never even heard of Anthony Horowitz before Litsy. I really enjoyed this! The climax was the slightest bit corny but I get that it kind of had to be. Thanks to all the Littens who reviewed this and piqued my interest!

My reading spot on this Friday afternoon. The girls and I are, very impromptu, spending the weekend with a friend in Westdene, Johannesburg. I'm dying of jealousy at how lovely her place is! By comparison I live in a hole 🙁

Just finished my first book of March, though I had been trying to wrap it up for February 🤷🏽‍♀️ This was a fun mystery with medium level gore. While I enjoyed the book, I don't actually feel like I have much to say about it. I hadn't guessed the killer, so that's a plus. But I also didn't really care all that much about the characters. I did think that making the MC a murder mystery writer gave the story a unique framework though!

I‘m not usually one to read multiple books at one time. But look what‘s happening here! 4 books in progress!

I forgot to post my #bookspin selection for the month! I've been dying to read this for ages but I keep prioritizing other things above it. No more! @TheAromaofBooks

2019 no. 4 -- A Detective named Hawthorne is talked into sharing his story with an author - named Anthony Horowitz and together they investigate the death of a woman who planned her own funeral only hours before. Meta at its witty best, Horowitz pulls off what should be an egotistical failure, but instead is a brilliant mystery with a lot of information on TV shows and being an author and so much more. A brilliant read.

Two books from my mother. She liked the Horowitz but DNFed Ohio. We‘ll see what my take is when I get around to them!🤓

This was a character driven mystery that reminded me of classic Agatha Christie. There wasn‘t a lot of gore or heart thumping action, but the story was well written and offered a very unexpected twist at the end. It took a while to really connect to the characters, but the story was appealing enough that I will read more by Horowitz. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I may not be smart enough to really get this book. But it is awesome. So good.