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.

The reader drags down the recording

The mystery was okay. It felt short in length, but it was a fine escape. The reader is probably the reason I don't continue the series. His voices for women are awful. Harsh word, I know, but every woman sounds insipid, and they speak so softly and rapidly that none of them sounds like a real person. It was as if the reader was thinking "Drag queen" rather than Woman. Drag is wonderful in and of itself. But, not as a substitute for a regular woman.

This could be the new Foyle's War on TV!

This is a made for the big screen novel about a pair of criminal sleuths who are almost complete opposites who solve a interesting fact pattern that is both original and satisfying. The main protagonist is a 39 year old ex. Scotland Yard detective with a sketchy history of dealing with a criminal's basic rights who happens to be a methodical and brilliant professional that has teamed up with the writer of the book, Anthony Horowitz, to chronicle several high profile crimes as a private detective. Horowitz brings with him a firm set of moral values that are cut and dry while the protagonist has a moral compass that sometimes seems to waver. I think it is fair to say that both of the main characters are charming in their own ways and in the end work well well together. I would hope that the author will continue to write about the his new Detective character and that he maintains his skeptical partner as the story develops into new novels. Riveting, funny, and smart writing equal a near perfect score on all accounts.

The adventure continues.

Great mystery flled with interesting. characters. Love the reluctant biographer and the grumpy detective with a secret concept. I know this is the end of the "three book" deal but here's hoping for another.

Another Great Horowitz Tale

Addicting story with clever intricacies. I kept finding any opportunity--or just making the time--to turn it back on and hear the story unfold; and Kinnear, as ever, delivers a brilliant performance.