The Word Is Murder

Hawthorne, Book 1

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Rory Kinnear

She planned her own funeral. But did she arrange her murder?

Buried secrets, murder and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz's new detective series. If you enjoyed BBC's Sherlock, you'll love The Word is Murder!

A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she's arranged her own funeral.

A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own.

A reluctant author drawn into a story he can't control.

What do they have in common?

©2017 Anthony Horowitz (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The beguiling whodunit plot is dispatched with characteristic elan as Horowitz blurs the line between fact and fiction." ( Financial Times)

"A very clever and inventive mystery." ( Bookbag)

"With its unorthodox protagonist, clever plotting, brilliantly imperfect characters, and escalating sense of urgency and intrigue, The Word Is Murder is an instant crime classic that will keep you reading as fast as you can...one of the best and most compulsively readable mysteries of the year. Hugely satisfying on every level." ( Written by Sime)

"Will undoubtedly exhilarate not only crime and Horowitz fans but anyone who enjoys the sense of metafiction and fourth wall breaking found in books by authors like Lemony Snicket, Bret Easton Ellis and Martin Amis." ( Fiendfully Reading)

diverting and pleasant

Easy listening. I enjoyed the first person narration and real life references. A pleasant read without being very demanding of the listener / reader

An addictive read

This is my first introduction to Anthony Horowitz. This was a witty fast paced and quintessential British listen. Daniel Hawthorne enters and dominants the book. All the while we know very little about him. In this we are pulled along on the murder of an elderly woman who six hours prior, made her funeral arrangements. There are quite a few family secrets that are revealed. And it goes in directions that are quite unexpected.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Rory Kinnear. His voice range for male characters was spot on. It was easy to differentiate between characters. He is well-suited for this book.

Would recommend to those who love British crime works or those who like mysteries with a literary bent. This will not disappoint. Plus the next book in series is due out later this year.

Brilliant!

What made the experience of listening to The Word Is Murder the most enjoyable?

A masterfully crafted book by Horowitz and shifts the genre of whodunits by blending in fiction with non-fiction. The central protagonist is the author himself here and over the course of the book, weaves in a murder mystery skillfully introducing the grump detective Hawthorne and a paraphernalia of characters, Christie-style with Holmesian bits thrown in. All in all, a fine and dandy book to read and would tax your grey cells a bit.

Also, brilliant narration! Kudos

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author and Detective Hawthorne, of course

Whodunnit out of the top drawer

Watch out for those clues! A detective fiction master class. Excellent narration rounds off a superb story

great listen !

Where does The Word Is Murder rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the most enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I loved 'Magpie Murders' and I truly enjoyed this one, too. Good story, well told and narrated - my kind of thing.

Good

Very entertaining although our hero is very easily manipulated which can be annoying. Still enjoyed it.

Great performance

Really liked the balance of real and fake. Interesting with twists and turns. Will definitely listen to more of his books.

Great murder mystery

We (as in the whole family - adults and teens), loved it. My son is a huge Alex Rider fan and this was a great follow on.
I loved the incorporation of real into fictional and think it’s fabulously clever!

"The wheels of the bus go round and round."

- In which the author writes himself into the story as the Detective explores the crime.
In the manner of Dr.Watson's side kick to Sherlock Holmes, Anthony Horowitz shadows ex Met.detective Hawthorne as he investigates the case of a woman who is murdered six hours after entering an undertaker's to arrange her own funeral.
The author's writing is simple, even elegant, in contradiction to the complexity of the plot. plus the author's inclusion of himself as a character works really well, allowing for humour and distractions to be given to the reader. Rory Kinnear as narrator is excellent, distinctly differentiating between the character voices and reading with clarity, involvement, warmth and good modulation. A fine performance which further enhanced an already enjoyable book.

A most enjoyable read

A disappointment

I bought this based purely on the rave reviews, having never encountered the author's work before, but just couldn't get past the first hour.
This is not at all the kind of book I was expecting; it reads like the -very uninteresting- memoirs of a television writer (and going back and re-reading those rave reviews, I suppose that is indeed partly true), and I'm led to believe that this literary device is meant to be somehow "meta", or "post" or even witty!
Sadly, for this reader, it's none of those, it's merely self-indulgent and alienating.
The narrator's flat delivery does little to enliven the dreariness.