The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz - 4 stars

[annapi]

Horowitz is a really creative writer! In this murder mystery, which cleverly combines fact and fiction, he casts himself as the "Watson" to the detective Hawthorne and becomes part of the story. He peppers the narrative with so much truth from his life that I found myself googling characters' names just to determine whether they were real or not.

It opens when a woman goes to an undertaker to arrange for her own funeral, and six hours later is found murdered in her home. A private investigator, Hawthorne, approaches Horowitz and proposes a partnership - he investigates, Horowitz writes the book about it, and they split the profits 50-50.

He does give the reader all the clues, but I really did not try to solve it myself as I was just for the most part enjoying the ride. There were some surprising twists along the way, and by the end I knew I would read the second book. I hope he can keep the series going.

[Holly R W]

This is a book I've considered reading. Its premise sounds so interesting. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Susan]

Oh I loved this - as an audio in the car. It sure got me across the Mojave desert with a smile. The narration was great. Horowitz is so clever. Nice review.