A Line to Kill: a locked room mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author (Hawthorne and Horowitz, 3)

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When I recognised the Christie-style set-up, I immediately wondered if this was a step too far for Horowitz. The Susan Ryeland series is already an ingenious and compelling homage to the world’s most successful author of fiction and I wondered if A Line to Kill would blur the boundaries between the two series. It does not and each in is, in its own unique way, providing contemporary crime fiction with a much-needed revitalisation. The Big Reveal, when it comes, felt much less satisfying than in the first book and I could see it coming a mile off. (At least in this one, we can be thankful that Horowitz’s alter-ego doesn’t stagger away from the scene with a knife poking out of his chest.) a b Bellafante, Ginia (January 20, 2006). Harper Lee, Gregarious for a Day, The New York Times. Retrieved on November 13, 2007.

Horowitz writes character rich mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. These aren’t fast paced stories, but they are rich in detail and plot poin Ever so slowly, a very interesting portrait of Daniel Hawthorne is emerging and the slow burn reveal has me hooked. He comes across as such an asshole but so much of what he's told Horowitz seems somehow off. The sleuth and the scribbler are there to promote the first of their three proposed Inspector Hawthorne novels. Horowitz sums up the rest of the event’s participants: “an unhealthy chef, a blind psychic, a war historian, a children’s author, a French performance poet. . . . Not quite the magnificent seven.” Then there’s Charles le Mesurier, the online-gaming entrepreneur bankrolling the event, a wealthy and boorish figure who patronizes or taunts most of the men he meets and, though married, puts the moves on every pretty woman.Author Anthony Horowitz is one clever mystery writer. In his Inspector Daniel Hawthorne series, Horowitz, in good fun, writes himself into the series as the author who pens novels about the retired Inspector’s cases. Inspector Hawthorne doesn’t always treat his author well, is generally downright dismissive of anything “Tony” has to say or offer. The banter between Hawthorne and ersatz Horowitz is part of the joy of reading the series. Surprise, surprise, someone is murdered, and I’m not going to reveal who, because I went in blind, so there. I will say that the murder doesn’t take place until a wee way through, which suited me as it gave me a chance to get the characters straight, and learn the layout of the island. The setting is the quiet channel island of Alderney, where a literary convention is being held. Horowitz feels he must attend to publicize his next book about Hawthorne's cases, although it isn't yet finished. We meet some of the residents of this remote, historic island, some eccentric, some menacing and almost all burdened with secrets. The literary guests who have agreed to attend are a mixed lot. There is a blind psychic who talks to the dead, an author of children's books, a TV chef and cookbook writer, a war historian, and an idiosyncratic French poet, also Hawthorne and Horowitz. However, the author feels the guests will mostly ignore his books and his writing. Instead, those attending his lecture will be more interested in discussing Hawthorne's famous solutions to the crimes he solved. A trip to a literary convention hosted in the idyllic coast of England is the scene for the next murder. Invited as guest speakers, the ideal opportunity is presented to Holmes / Horowitz when conveniently a dead body turns up for Holmes to investigate and Horowitz to pen a new thriller. That Horowitz is out manipulated, out maneuvered, and outshone by his own creation is a running joke. Horowitz also sets his sights on other tropes of the modern writer: publishers, agents, editors, literary festivals. He is an insider's insider. More importantly, he manages to make the reader care for Hawthorne, who is neither cuddly nor entirely admirable, but seems to live by his own code--a code which neither Horowitz nor the reader to this point have entirely apprehended.

Hawthorne is welcomed by the police from nearby Guernsey to help with the investigation and Horowitz follows in his wake taking notes for what could turn out be a new book. There are almost too many suspects for the unpopular victim who was involved in local politics and promoting the installation of an electric power line connecting France to the UK through Alderney, a venture not popular with all on the island.I can't really talk about the mystery without spoiling it, but it wasn't exactly who I thought it was going to be and it wasn't for the reasons I thought they might do it. While Anthony might not agree with what he does, Daniel manages to get a form of justice for crimes in a roundabout way that doesn't necessarily break the law but isn't exactly above-board, either. It's left up to the reader to decide what they think of his methods.

True to Horowitz form, there is a murder right as the festival begins. A gentleman, who owns an online gambling company is found dead, stabbed to death. What is unusual, is he taped to a chair with his right hand free. The island has no residing police force, so Hawthorne decides to take the lead on the murder. Of course, a second murder complicates the investigations. Furthermore, the men discover that a controversial power line is planned to be developed on the island adding fodder for motive. Down the street from the Lees lived a family whose house was always boarded up; they served as the models for the fictional Radleys. The son of the family got into some legal trouble and the father kept him at home for 24years out of shame. He was hidden until virtually forgotten; he died in 1952. [22] I wish to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Canada for this clever and entertaining ARC in return for an honest review. This is the third book in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series where the author has inserted himself into a mystery story alongside the intelligent, cool, and conceited detective Hawthorne. Hawthorne has asked Horowitz to write about his cases to enhance his fame. In this capacity, Horowitz accompanies Hawthorne as his assistant detective but doesn't have Hawthorne's skills in drawing clues together and establishing the truth. Their relationship is difficult, but they need each other to produce successful and popular books. Except for the atrocities of World War II, there hasn’t been a murder on the Channel Island of Alderney from time immemorial. The staging of the Alderney Lit Fest brings that streak to a decided end. Home | The Great American Read | PBS". Home | The Great American Read | PBS . Retrieved October 24, 2018.

A Line to Kill,” Anthony Horowitz’s third murder mystery pairing a stand-in for himself (a veteran English novelist and screenwriter) with ex-police detective Daniel Hawthorne, takes place mostly at a literary festival on tiny Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. “There’s never been a murder on Alderney,” more than one resident tells Hawthorne and Horowitz. But that’s about to change.