The Word Is Murder - Paperback

by Anthony Horowitz (Author)

"One of the most entertaining mysteries of the year. It's also one of the most stimulating, as it ponders such questions as: Which is of greater interest to the reader, the crime or the detective? And: Is the pencil truly mightier than the butcher knife?" -- Wall Street Journal

New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern Sherlock Holmes.

A woman crosses a London street. It is just after 11 a.m. on a bright spring morning, and she is going into a funeral parlor to plan her own service. Six hours later the woman is dead, strangled with a crimson curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric man as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. And Hawthorne has a partner, the celebrated novelist Anthony Horowitz, curious about the case and looking for new material. As brusque, impatient, and annoying as Hawthorne can be, Horowitz--a seasoned hand when it comes to crime stories--suspects the detective may be on to something, and is irresistibly drawn into this witty mystery.

But as this meta mystery unfolds, Horowitz realizes that he's at the center of a story he can't control, and his brilliant partner may be hiding dark and mysterious secrets of his own.

Front Jacket

One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper--the wealthy mother of a famous actor--enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service.

Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who's as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life--a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz.

Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself at the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, tem-peramental, and annoying; but even so, his latest case, with its many twists and turns, proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own.

A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word Is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best.

Back Jacket

One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper--the wealthy mother of a famous actor--enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service.

Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who's as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life--a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz.

Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself at the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, tem-peramental, and annoying; but even so, his latest case, with its many twists and turns, proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own.

A masterful and tricky mystery that springs many surprises, The Word Is Murder is Anthony Horowitz at his very best.