January 2019 Group Read (Spoiler Thread): The Word is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Spoilers for The Word Is Murder go here.

[Suzy]

Hi all - looking forward to your spoilerish thoughts about The Word is Murder.

[Russell]

I liked the concept of the author as a character and the inclusion of real people (e.g. Spielberg). The author writes well, too, but ultimately I felt it was an unfair mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie. At the end, I felt the author could have picked almost any other suspect as the killer and devised an explanation that was just as plausible as the undertaker one, or more so, so the reader had no chance to solve it as he read along. I was irritated by the author's regular insertion of statements suggesting that the mystery could be solved by clues he'd already included, but those clues really didn't make any sense until you knew the history that was revealed at the very end and there were plenty of red herrings pointing away from the correct solution, too. Ultimately it was solved only by the author recognizing someone from a photo, something the reader cannot do. The author also seemed to be pushing his other works which I found irritating - essentially advertising in the middle of a novel. On the plus side, he kept suspense going without resorting to the typical excess violence or near-pornographic sex scenes that many other mysteries feature. It did hold my interest.

[Suzy]

Hi Russell - I'm going to re-listen to this starting tomorrow so I can comment along with the group. I'll keep your comments about how the mystery is solved in mind this time. I didn't quibble with the solve in my original reading, but that's what I love about getting other readers' points of view.

I'm chuckling about the endless self-promotion because I just made a comment on that in the other thread on this book. I didn't feel it was a spoiler because he started it at the beginning and didn't let up. :) From my review:
While the mentions of Foyle's War and Injustice added lots of interest, eventually I felt like I was being hit over the head with product placement! Not sure I've ever experienced this in a work of fiction before. So half a star deduction from too much Horowitz self-promotion!

With that said, it sort of worked because I have Injustice on my streaming watchlist on Acorn.

[Zoe]

I have already read this and wasn’t a fan sorry to say I didn’t like any of the characters and it was just awful and flat... I preferred his Sherlock stories tbh

[Suzy]

Zoe wrote: "I have already read this and wasn’t a fan sorry to say I didn’t like any of the characters and it was just awful and flat... I preferred his Sherlock stories tbh"

I've wondered about his Sherlock stories, so glad to see the endorsement. I'll have to give them a try. I'm sorry you were disappointed in this one, but a testimony that not every book is for everyone!

[Zoe]

^ Moriarty is fiendishly clever so definitely give it a go

[Connie]

I just finished this and I don't care that he did some self promoting as he was the author of this book. I loved the wit in the book and really like that there were a variety of characters and no 2 were alike. I liked some and hated some and the murder itself was just the starting point as far as I was concerned. There was definitely a starting point, a middle where you could start trying to figure out what was what, and then the ending where it was revealed. Did I care about the killer, that would be a no, but I liked that in the end we did learn a little more about Hawthorne. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. It worked for me and I wanted to keep reading it to find out what happened next. I don't think it was a GREAT book, but the writing made me want to read more.

[Suki]

I've just finished reading Hawthorne's interview with Mary O'Brien in Chapter 8.

(view spoiler)[
I am wondering if it really was Diana Cowper at the wheel of the car-- Mary said that she only saw the back of the driver's head. Fleeing the scene of the accident seems a bit out of character for the Diana who has been presented so far, but it is totally in character for a spoiled young man (maybe intoxicated, maybe just careless) who knew he had done something wrong and didn't want to be held responsible for his actions, and he was staying with his mother at the time. His mother takes the blame because she thinks he has a great career ahead of him and doesn't want him to lose it. He may also have arranged to have her killed-- she is sure to have mentioned the threatening letter to him, and he is afraid that she would reveal the truth. And let's not forget that he is the one to profit from her death, and according to Hawthorne, he needs money to support his lifestyle.
(hide spoiler)]

[Suzy]

Suki wrote: "I've just finished reading Hawthorne's interview with Mary O'Brien in Chapter 8.


I am wondering if it really was Diana Cowper at the wheel of the car-- Mary said that she only saw the back of the..."

I thought the exact same thing! Stay tuned, as they say . . .

[Suki]

Suzy wrote: "Suki wrote: "I've just finished reading Hawthorne's interview with Mary O'Brien in Chapter 8.


I am wondering if it really was Diana Cowper at the wheel of the car-- Mary said that she only saw th..."

I know I'm probably on the wrong track-- Damian is a bit too obvious a choice. I will probably have the answer later tonight-- this book has really pulled me in, and it seems to be quite a fast read.

[Suki]

Wow, what a fantastic twist ending! I didn't see that coming at all-- I wasn't even close with my suspicions about Damian, and it turns out that his mum was pretty cold-blooded on the day of the accident, too-- much more worried about her darling son's career than about the fact that she had just destroyed two children. I really liked this book a lot, and I will definitely be reading Hawthorne #2 when it comes out. I didn't really mind Horowitz's self-promotion in this book-- it sort of fit his character (he seemed to be over-compensating by harping on his writing credentials to make up for the fact that he was hopelessly outclassed in the deduction department-- Hawthorne did remind me a bit of Holmes at times); however, if he keeps laying it on thick in #2 that will probably be the last book I read in the Hawthorne series.

I own a copy of Magpie Murders-- it's just moved to the top of my TBR pile. I'm also going to get a copy of The House of Silk. I almost bought it a number of times, but I have read several books set in the Sherlock Holmes universe that really weren't that good, so I was rather hesitant.

My favorite line from The Word Is Murder:

"Hawthorne certainly had a magnetic personality. Although, of course, magnets can repel as well as attract."

[Christi]

Man, this book. What a trip. I feel like I've lost the ability to tell fact from fiction. LOL But...LOVED it!!

[Suzy]

Suki wrote: "Wow, what a fantastic twist ending! I didn't see that coming at all-- I wasn't even close with my suspicions about Damian, and it turns out that his mum was pretty cold-blooded on the day of the ac..."

That's a great quote, Suki! I hope you enjoy Magpie Murders - it was a 5-star read for me.

[Suzy]

Christi wrote: "Man, this book. What a trip. I feel like I've lost the ability to tell fact from fiction. LOL But...LOVED it!!"

Glad you enjoyed it! Too funny about the telling fact from fiction - interesting how Horowitz inserted himself into the novel.

[Jen]

This was my first time reading Horowitz and I really liked it. I wasn't sure how I felt about the author himself being a character, but I think it really worked. Looking forward to the next one!

[Drew]

I thought this was just OK and would echo much of what Russel said in an earlier post. I found the self promotion mildly annoying, but I'll put up with that because the meta of bringing real-life characters into the book was fun. I really felt like I was reading a 70s or 80s TV mystery script, with the final ending bringing it all together with the suspects, clues, red herrings, etc. rather than reading a novel. And I am disappointed that planning her own funeral had so little to do with the end plot, other than the funeral director recognizing her. The idea that it would be a bigger part of the plot line had made me excited to read the book, so it's a bit of letdown the way it was used.
On the plus side, the characters are witty and the writing is crisp, quite a few "chuckle out loud" lines throughout.
All in all not a bad read, but I don't see myself reading more of the series.

[Suzy]

Thanks everyone for picking this book for January! I've enjoyed the conversation.

[Amanda]

I was on a wait list for this book and didn't get it it until the end of the month. I didn't mind his self-promotion. It was the first book of his that I had read so maybe I really didn't understand all the self promotion. It cracked me up that he would think that he really outsmarted the detective a few times but of course he really hadn't. He just didn't seem to understand that just b/c he wrote about detectives didn't mean he had all their skills. I enjoyed the personalities of the two main characters. I will definitely read more by this author.

[Suzy]

Amanda wrote: "I was on a wait list for this book and didn't get it it until the end of the month. I didn't mind his self-promotion. It was the first book of his that I had read so maybe I really didn't understan..."

Glad you enjoyed this Amanda. Great point about just because you've written about detectives doesn't mean you can be one. :)

[Michaela]

I recently read this book and found it awful. I hated his boasting of all the people he knew etc. There were a few funny moments, but on the whole.... I ordered House of Silk in the hope to find it different!