Anthony Horowitz’s The Word is Murder is so much fun. Its conceit is that Horowitz himself is a character. He is solicited to write a book about an unfolding murder by an ex-cop named Hawthorne. Hawthorne is Sherlock Holmes-ian in that he can deduce amazing things from small details. Hawthorne was let go from the police force for an incident he doesn’t go into, but is still hired as a consultant for hard-to-crack murders.
In this case, the murder victim is Diana Cowper. She visits a funeral home to pre-arrange her own funeral, being particular about what she wants, such as the songs played, the verses quoted and the type of coffin. Six hours later she is strangled in her home. Hawthorne is on the case, with Horowitz there to record all the details for their coming book.
Horowitz and Hawthorne are a fun duo. The book is written in first person from Horowitz’s point of view. As he has to write this murder mystery, he has many questions, but Hawthorne isn’t always forthcoming with the answers. The mystery has lots of side streets and two other murders are discovered as they work the case.
I don’t like to give anything away when I review mysteries, so I’ll keep this brief. But the book was a pleasure to read and had a pretty satisfying ending. I have read Horowitz before, and I think the Horowitz-Hawthorne mysteries are their own series, so I’ll probably pick up more of these books.