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A Line to Kill (A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery)

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Those attending the festival, as well as the local police, believed the crime was solved when Derek Abbott, a man who had worked for Charles, seemed to admit to the murder. Abbott, who had just been fired by Charles, had been arrested and questioned by Hawthorne in the past for child pornography and having sex with minors. The police were only able to convict him of possession of pornography. While Abbott was in police custody, his left leg was permanently injured when he fell down a flight of stairs. He claimed Hawthorne pushed him. Sexy Secretary: Kathryn Harris, Marc Bellamy's assistant and gofer, is "very attractive, slim, with grey eyes and sand-coloured hair." At the party, which Bellamy is catering, she wears a sexy French maid outfit. Le Mesurier the dirtbag hits on her more than once.

The cast of suspects/characters from the literary world is colorful and quirky, and I loved the witty satire, with the author poking fun at the literary world, and himself. Not every attendee is who they say they are and there are plenty of suspects and secrets to uncover. “There are an awful lot more than six people who wanted him dead… It’s a line to kill if ever I saw one.” This book is a pure pleasure to read and enjoy and Jan and I took part in both the enjoyment and the pleasure of a well done whodunnit. 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.Very soon they discover that not all is as it should be. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour. Even though Anne showed Horowitz and Hawthorne a letter stating that she was dying of heart disease and she claimed Kathryn had little to do with the murders, Hawthorne still insisted that they turn themselves in to the police. This begins with Horowitz feeling a little over-confident, as Hawthorne comes to a meeting at his publishers. Hawthorne, he imagines, will be in 'his world.' Of course, this confidence is premature, as Hawthorne manages to be the centre of attention, be utterly confident and embrace the idea of a literary festival on the Island of Alderney. With 'Tony,' as always disgruntled (Horowitz's self-deprecation is done masterfully) and, quite rightly questioning Hawthorne's willingness to attend the festival, the two men and the other 'celebrity' authors head off for the little island. The meta aspect of this being Anthony Horowitz writing a fictional mystery starring Anthony Horowitz is still really intriguing to read. It's such a fine line between who he is and who his fictional alter ego is that you can't help but wonder what his true feeling are about certain things and what is just made-up. And that's a big part of the fun of it. Title Drop: Hawthorne notes that there's something like a dozen people with reason to kill Charles le Mesurier and says "It's a line to kill if ever I saw one."

It's difficult to describe the charm of a Horowitz book to readers who aren't fans of mysteries, but I will try.* These books feel special not just because there are some good story twists, or because the killer is especially clever, but it's more about how the author tells the story — there's a meta aspect that is engaging, especially when Horowitz the Writer is himself a character in the book, and confesses in being slow to understand what's going on. And I do love the character of Hawthorne, who is a former detective and a reluctant collaborator with Horowitz's character. Sidenote: When I was halfway through this book, a colleague leaned over to make small talk before a meeting and asked what I had been reading lately, and I started gushing about Anthony Horowitz books. I saw their eyes glaze over and could tell they weren't mystery readers. Because I'm physically incapable of stopping a book-gush once I've started, I kept plowing on, raving about how clever his novels are, and by the time the meeting started they seemed intrigued enough to write down the names of some of my favorite Horowitz mysteries. Never underestimate the power of a passionate book rave!As usual Hawthorne’s usual intuitive skills are fine tuned as he continued to banter Horowitz who often appears clueless. It makes for the often funny interactions between them. Because of the circumstances, Horowitz wondered why Hawthorne insisted the women admit their crimes. Horowitz believed justice was served when Anne died before she could go to trial. Kathryn’s case was heard by a jury, but they sympathized with her and found her not guilty of any crime. As his regular readers will know, however, Horowitz has none of Christie’s flaws as an author and there are no cardboard cut-out characters, wildly improbable murder methods, or cosy camouflaging of harsh realities of crime and harm here. Alderney does not have a standing police service and although officers from neighbouring Guernsey are flown in, they have little experience with violent crime themselves and it is only natural that they take advantage of Hawthorne’s extensive expertise by recruiting him as an unpaid consultant. A Line to Kill is set just before the publication of The Word is Murder (the first in the series) and opens with Hawthorne and Horowitz being invited to speak at a literary festival on the tiny Channel Island of Alderney. Alderney is only three square miles in size, home to about 2,000 people, and has never had a murder… until the detective duo arrives. The novel is very much an homage to Agatha Christie, particularly the later Poirot novels, and she is mentioned both explicitly and implicitly, for example in a chapter title. Following Christie, Horowitz spends nearly a third of the narrative setting the scene for the murder: a small literary festival on a tiny island establishes a limited pool of suspects in a convincing manner; tensions concerning the construction of a Normandy-Alderney-Britain power line disturb the peace of an otherwise idyllic community; and a suitably obnoxious murder victim is presented in the form of Charles le Mesurier. Naturally, while the book within the book talks of a three-title deal for the Hawthorne Investigates series, the ending here leaves open the prospect of even more of these volumes to come. That’s a no from me.

That said, Horowitz populates his literary festival with fictional authors, rather than drag any real contemporaries through the mud, and they’re an interesting and distinctive cast - a necessary must for what turns out to be a classic Agatha Christie country house murder mystery, and conceived and executed as superbly as anything by Dame Aggie. Horowitz and I came up with the same possible theory regarding the killer’s identity, and we both thought our solution was a pretty clever one, until the real murderer was revealed, and it was a million times more original. This isn’t a spoiler because Horowitz doesn’t narrate his theory until post-murder reveal, and out of embarrassment, thankfully never voices his thoughts aloud to Hawthorne.You Know the One: Early in the book Anthony mentions the first two Hawthorne books, involving the murder of one Diana Cowper and then the murder of a divorce lawyer, without mentioning the killer in either. 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. This is the 3rd installment in the Horowitz/ Hawthorne series, featuring my favorite duo. This can work as a standalone, but for insight into the characters I recommend reading the previous two books first (plus they are really good!). Horowitz is both author and a character in his own novel, as a bumbling ‘Watson’ to retired Detective Hawthorne’s ‘Holmes’. They are an unlikely pair that get along as well as oil and water. Their relationship adds much to the charm and humor in this story, with Horowitz’s cluelessness adding to the fun. When Horowitz and Hawthorne arrive on Alderney they see multiple signs reading BAN-NAB, erected by citizens protesting a company called NAB, which proposes to build a power line from France - across Alderney - to England.

This was another excellent addition to the Hawthorne and Horowitz series and I can't wait till the next book comes out. 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. The third instalment seeks to refresh the formula by having Hawthorne attend a book fair to publicise the first novel on a tiny island off the coast of the UK. A group of writers attending the festival are invited to a reception party at the palatial home of their wealthy host, a lecherous and loathsome playboy.Perfumigation: Played for a minor Hawthorne gotcha. Anthony smells editor Graham Lucas's aftershave and doesn't like it. In the next chapter Hawthorne deduces that Lewis is actually having an affair with publicity director Tamara Moore, because that "aftershave" was actually the scent of her perfume. Self-Deprecation: As usual, Horowitz's version of himself misses almost every clue and screws up Hawthorne's investigation by Saying Too Much. It's also repeatedly established that almost nobody at the literary festival has heard of him or thinks his books are any good, with the only apparent exception being the child pornographer Derek Abbott who Horowitz is annoyed to realize has a copy of one of his books in his house. Anthony Horowitz is both author and character in A Line to Kill. As with the past two books in the series, he is partnered with Retired DI Daniel Hawthorne. As before, he underplays his own intelligence, becoming Watson to Hawthorne’s Holmes.

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