A Line to Kill

A Novel

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Rory Kinnear

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of the brilliantly inventive The Word Is Murder and The Sentence Is Death returns with his third literary whodunit featuring intrepid detectives Hawthorne and Horowitz.

When ex-detective inspector Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, author Anthony Horowitz, are invited to an exclusive literary festival on Alderney, an idyllic island off the south coast of England, they don’t expect to find themselves in the middle of murder investigation - or to be trapped with a cold-blooded killer in a remote place with a murky, haunted past.

Arriving on Alderney, Hawthorne and Horowitz soon meet the festival’s other guests - an eccentric gathering that includes a best-selling children’s author, a French poet, a TV chef turned cookbook author, a blind psychic, and a war historian - along with a group of ornery locals embroiled in an escalating feud over a disruptive power line.

When a local grandee is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Hawthorne and Horowitz become embroiled in the case. The island is locked down, no one is allowed on or off, and it soon becomes horribly clear that a murderer lurks in their midst. But who?

Both a brilliant satire on the world of books and writers and an immensely enjoyable locked-room mystery, this audiobook is a triumph - a riddle of a story full of brilliant misdirection, beautifully set-out clues, and diabolically clever denouements.

©2021 Anthony Horowitz (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Best Hawthorne Yet!

I really liked this one, the cast of characters was diverse, the locale was well used and the twists and turns were executed with a nice bit of "flash". I am super close to giving the story 4 stars because Hawthorne is still a mystery himself. Maybe by book 10 we'll find out more 👍
A great job by Rory Kinnear on the variety of voices and it was great listening again.

You won't be disappointed

This was my first book by Anthony Horowitz and can't wait to start at the beginning of the series.

Kudos to the narrator !

best pair ever

I love these manor/destination stories and our lead characters are clever hilarious. the audio narration is excellent.

It took a while, but it gets better

If I hadn’t had been so invested in the first two books, I would have given up on this one.

I had two annoyances - 1. It took a very long time to get the the murder part of the book. The first 2 hours, I think, were just set up and frankly not that interesting. 2. Rory Kinnear’s performance in this book sounds different from the first two stories. I had to double check it was the same narrator because I thought he’d been changed on us like in Moonflower Murder.

Once the mystery was established, it was back to regularly addicting Horowitz fiction.

The partnership continues

I was glad to see a third in the series as I enjoy their partnership. The storyline with Ban Nab was a bit confusing to me but I enjoyed everything else.

Clever Plot

There are plenty of evil people in this plot which is however very ingenious. The book within a book format of this series doesn't add a lot and gets a bit tedious.

Horowitz does it again!!

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.

In this story, Hawthorne and Horowitz are invited to an “exclusive” yet low-rate Penguin Random House literary festival on a small island off the south coast of England. No noteworthy author has been invited, because well, all the famous authors turned them down. Other guests include a children’s book author Anne Cleary (NOT to be confused with the real life and wonderful children’s author Beverly Cleary), blind psychic Elizabeth Lovell, war historian George Elin, a French performance poet Maissa Lamar and TV Chef Marc Bellamy. None of these speakers are expected to draw crowds, which is why imitation Horowitz is flummoxed as to why they are attending.

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.

Also true to Horowitz form are the adorable quirky characters, including the ersatz Horowitz. But the most fun is what Horowitz has with his own character and the literary industry.

Fun and riveting.

Horowitz does it again with twists and turns plus even more about the relationship between himself and Hawthorne. Great narration.

Talk about a cliffhanger!

I have loved all three of the Hawthorne Horowitz adventures. They are expertly plotted and have characters that get under your skin and stay there. Rory Kinnear's narration is impeccable. I highly recommend all three.

I am, however, having a terrible time forgiving Mr Horowitz for the last sentence of A Line to Kill, which promises to give me the answers to questions I've had since the beginning.

I now have a wild desire for Book 4, which is somewhere along the way to publication. Grrrrrrr!😆😆😆

Good book

This is a good book. I do think it drags a little, however the last chapters will keep you on the edge of your seat. Definitely worth the read and the listen!