Review: The Word is Murder

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you love Foyle's War and Midsomers Murders; if you enjoyed Magpie Murders on Masterpiece, then you will love this mystery written by the author of those programs. The most interesting thing about this book is that Anthony Horowitz is himself a character in the book! But there is much besides the murders to keep the reader interested--a look into the development of such filmed offerings, the writer's process and the production of the piece. There are also glimpses of the publishing of a book and again the writer's process in its composition.
Yet, for all that information, this book, The Word is Murder--not its original title--Detective Horowitz wished it to be called something else--is not a full-fledged product of Horowitz's mind, Oh, no, Daniel Hawthorne, fired from Scotland Yard but used by them as an investigator, has approached Horowitz to write a murder mystery that Hawthorne is currently investigating. He wants Horowitz to tag along throughout and then once the mystery is solved to organize the events leading up to the solution into a book starring Hawthorne. The deal is that Horowitz has no creative license but must adhere strictly to events and places and people precisely as they are. When the book is published the two will share the profits 50/50.
The murder mystery is intriguing--though I figured out the murderer about 3/4 of the way through. Could not for the life of me understand the motive, however. The interaction between the author and investigator is hilarious in many ways though in no way is this a comedy. As a matter of fact, it was sometimes difficult, even at the end, to determine if this is a Murder Mystery or a Detective Story. And at times, whether this is a true crime book or a fictional tale.

Horowitz is just incredible and the next book is on my shelf to read next.

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