Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The final case for Susan Ryeland?

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

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CBR 17 BINGO: Red (see cover) Anthony Horowitz is back with what is most likely the last Susan Ryeland/Atticus Pünd mystery. I’m sad to see the series wind down, but how many times can a person get involved with the same franchise to disastrous results without breaking the audience’s suspension of disbelief? (This isn’t Jurassic Park for heaven’s sake.) If you’re a fan of Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders, you might be wondering how Horowitz could squeeze another novel out of this premise, what with […]

Midsomer Murders-Y

The Word is Murder (Hawthorne and Horowitz #1) by Anthony Horowitz

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Anthony Horowitz is a reasonably well-known writer. He’s written Sherlock Holmes stories (with the express approval of Conan Doyle’s descendants, mind you). He’s written episodes of Midsomer Murders – the early ones, before the thing went haywire and we began to wonder why this quaint English district had such a high homicide rate. He’s doing well for himself. Therefore, when the boorish Daniel Hawthorne approaches him and asks him to collaborate on a novel, he is inclined to turn him down. Yet somehow, Hawthorne – […]

Enjoyable Murder

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

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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 […]

Neighbors can be a nuisance, especially when they start murdering each other

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

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Neighbors. If they aren’t blasting their radio at 4 a.m. or blocking your driveway, they’re cutting down trees or letting their kids ride their skateboards over your flowerbed. Disagreements between neighbors don’t usually lead to murder, though, unless you live in Florida or are a character in the fifth installment of the Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery series by Anthony Horowitz. Close to Death centers on a gated neighborhood called Riverview Close, comprising just six homes. Five of the households get along splendidly, but the newest […]

Three Mysteries for a Cozy Spooky Season

Still Life by Louise Penny

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

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October seems to be flying by – suddenly, the weather is cool enough for sweaters most days, the electricity bill is FINALLY declining, and we are seeing ghosts and pumpkins everywhere. The October Vibe is always welcome – I love the early part of the end of the year, which is both more macabre and somehow less melancholy than the upcoming holiday season. I often try to read something vaguely spooky for October – but rarely do I get it just right. Two years ago, […]

Murder of the Week

A Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

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I was a touch disappointed in Anthony Horowitz’s last Hawthorne mystery, so I started The Twist of a Knife with my expectations tempered. I love Horowitz’s two Atticus Pünd novels (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders), and I suspect I’ve been judging the Hawthorne series a little too harshly because of that. I still enjoy them, though, for what they are: light-hearted, fun mysteries that read like episodes of your favorite murder-of-the-week television series. The Twist of the Knife is an entertaining installment. When the novel […]



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