The Word Is Murder

A Novel

De: Anthony Horowitz

Narrado por: Rory Kinnear

Narrated by Rory Kinnear

"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-day 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 the mystery.

But as the case 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.

This book did not land for me, unlike Anthony’s other books

I have listen to three of Anthony Horowitz’s books in a row and this one was by far the worst. The Sherlock-inspired dynamic only works if the Sherlock is likable on some level. Hawthorne was a homophobic recluse who was not at all redeemed by the end.
And while I love that the author likes to mix up the detective genre putting himself in the story seems like a chance for him to do odd humble brags about his accomplishments, his lifestyle and and name drop. It didn’t work nearly as well as his book in a book innovation in Magpie Murders (so fun!).

Maybe you’ll enjoy this book more than me, but I don’t my job, you have been warned.

Excellent story and exceptional narration!

The story is pretty cogent, logical, but yet has a surprise ending. the writing is truly excellent and reads like a real novel vs a generic whodunnit. but above all, the narration is truly exceptional! one of the best performances on audible I ever heard. the narrator does different voices masterfully and stays in character for every one of them . even if the story was half as good I would still recommend it because of the narration alone. it is a gripping work and hard to stop listening to it! in a word - amazing

A gripping tale, well told.

Listened to it in practically one sitting, enjoyed the story and the performance was excellent. Each character had a clearly distinguishable voice, and all the dialogue was clearly pronounced. The author did a nice job of placing himself in the story.

Wonderful whodunit!

I thoroughly enjoyed this whodunit! I thought I knew the answers and was thrilled to see that the story was far more complex than a bad TV murder mystery. Horowitz created memorable characters. Kinnear was a very good narrator EXCEPT for that half way through the book, he deepens the voice of one of the main characters. That was the only drawback I found.

The word is clever.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I watched Magpie Murders and loved all the twists and turns. I then watched an interview with Mr. Horowitz and he said that he always leaves clues. And he does. If you listen they will come. Also the part with the directors meeting where Mr. Horowitz is interrupted was hilarious along with other funny moments. Thank You.