Introduced to us in The Word is Murder this is the second Daniel Hawthorne mystery which features the author, Horowitz as a character in his own novel. It sounds bizarre and complicated but it does work really well. There are moments when you think that perhaps you are reading a true crime novel or an autobiography but no this is a very clever piece of fiction.

Richard Pryce is bludgeoned to death by a very expensive bottle of wine.

But he never drank.

His last words were "you shouldn't be here. It's too late"

What do those words really mean and who was there?

And why was the number 182 painted on the wall?

All rather strange unconnected clues that Daniel Hawthorne is confronted with when he is called to help the police. No longer a detective but called in when it becomes all too baffling.

In tow, comes Horowitz who is writing about Hawthorne and whilst we see something more of his hidden character and background, Horowitz is just as fascinated with the Hawthorne as he is about the death of Richard Pryce.

The question is who will get to the truth first, the police, Hawthorne or Horowitz?

This book is full of twists, red herrings and glimpses of Foyle's War being recorded which add to the many layers of the novel. The pace of the plot keeps you reading as you discover more about the victim, the detective, the author and of course eventually the killer.

A well written murder mystery novel that has that other element, that of the author being a character in the book, that gives it that edge above many other formulaic books out there that may well fit into the genre.

When a high profile divorce lawyer is found murdered there are a lot of suspects.  The police decide to bring in ex-copper Hawthorne who works as a consultant on complex cases.  Hawthorne is paired with famous children's writer Anthony Horowitz who is writing a series of books about murder.  As the list of suspects grows, Horowitz thinks he has solved the crime, but has he?
This is the second outing for Anthony Horowitz the reluctant investigator and I finally got the joke!  The first book I found a little self-indulgent, although entertaining the motif of author fictionalising himself I found odd.  Here it makes sense.  The whole book is an homage to Conan Doyle and there are plenty of hints in the plot and the characters.  The plot is lively and not too obvious (but guessed early by this reader) and there is a broad streak of self-deprecating humour throughout.

I’ve read Anthony’s series for younger readers and absolutely loved it so I was really excited to read this!

Having Anthony as an actual character in the book is a really interesting slant on the usual narrators and i really enjoyed that aspect! 

The plot was great and it had a familiar Agatha Christie type vibe which just made me love it more. Also, I now really want to be a private detective!

I need to go back and read book 1.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I enjoyed this story, once I worked out what was real and what was not - I think :D
I've not read a story set out like this before.  The narrator is a real person and the story had elements of real life, but (I assume) Daniel Hawthorne, PI extraodinaire, is not.
This was a murder mystery, very much in Holmes / Watson nature and it was a very good read.

Although I’ve read many of his children’s stories, this is my first Anthony Horowitz adult fiction title. Once I strarted reading I really didn’t want to put it down. I think I fell for every twist and turn, but that was fine as the journey was so enjoyable. Looking forward to his next one!

Anthony Horowitz is one of my favourite crime fiction authors so I was very excited to read The Sentence is Death, the follow-up novel to 2017's The Word is Murder, which introduced us to ex-policeman turned private investigator, Daniel Hawthorne.

A notable feature of this series of murder mysteries is that the author himself, Anthony Horowitz (or 'Tony', as Hawthorne calls him) is a character in the book, narrating the story and playing the Watson to Hawthorne's Sherlock. The conversational narration and references to what we know to be true of Horowitz's life (his work as screenwriter on the tv series Foyle's War, for example) has the reader wondering how much of the story is truly fiction. There's even a detailed Acknowledgement section at the back, which mentions and thanks both fictional and non-fictional people.

In The Word is Murder, Hawthorne asked Tony to be his biographer - to follow his investigation into the murder of a woman and turn the story into a novel. The Sentence is Death begins with Hawthorne interrupting Tony on the set of Foyle's War and inviting him to document his investigation of the murder of Richard Pryce, a divorce lawyer who has been battered to death with a wine bottle in his Hampstead home. Tony reluctantly agrees, lamenting how writing about Hawthorne means he can't begin chapters with a surprising turn of events because he has to "stick to the facts as they happened", which is one of many ironies in this metafiction, also because the (real) Horowitz has many surprising events in store.

Clues are cleverly placed throughout the story leading to the identity of Pryce's murder and giving the astute reader the opportunity to solve the mystery. The initial list of suspects include a feminist author who publicly threatened Pryce after losing a divorce battle, her ex-husband and Pryce's boyfriend. When Hawthorne and Tony uncover a link to a fatal caving accident involving Pryce, the scope of suspects widens to include two widows. Meanwhile, Detective Cara Grunshaw is blackmailing Tony for information on the case, desperate to beat Hawthorne in the race to uncover the murderer.

Running parallel to the murder mystery, and just as interesting, is the relationship between Hawthorne and Tony. Tony tells the reader he struggles with the private and abstruse Hawthorne as a main character, finding him unlikeable and unpleasant (he's homophobic and prone to casual racism), yet he begins to warm to him, describing the man with the perfectly assembled Airfix kits with "the sense of a child playing at being an adult".
Horowitz doesn't shy away from the comparisons to Sherlock and Watson (having penned some Holmes novels himself) as Hawthorne is very much like Holmes, noticing those odd little details that others don't, while Tony plays the bumbling Watson, thinking he's got it all figured out, when he's really been thwarted by Hawthorne's line of seemingly innocuous questions. The novel also pays homage to a few plot points in Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet.

Horowitz relishes the opportunity to poke fun at himself, at literary devices and at crime fiction tropes. Hawthorne describes Tony as "a bit like a travel writer who doesn't know quite where he is", characters confuse Horowitz's best selling spy-kid Alex Rider series, instead calling it Alec Rider and Eric Rider, and possibly my favourite - the playful use of the pathetic fallacy at the very end of the novel. Very clever!

The Sentence is Death is everything I love about crime fiction - a carefully crafted mystery with a flawless solution, and an interesting cast of suspects each with plausible motives for the crime (and some with a few naughty secrets), as well as a sense of fun, loads of witty moments and some lovely descriptions of London.

'Tony' is tied to his three-book deal with Hawthorne, so we can expect a third instalment with a similarly clever title coming soon. I'd also love to see a television adaptation - would Anthony Horowitz play himself playing himself?

An exellent read, unusual, engaging, intriguing and genuinely funny. I love this series and will continue to read it

Having read and enjoyed the previous outing of Daniel Hawthorne I thought I was prepared for the sequel. NO. The twists and turns were  unpredictable and the outcome, yet again, cleverly plotted. It still feels a little strange to be reading about the author as a real person in a fictional book but I think it is more my problem than that of the book.
Recommended yet again.

fabulous fabulous

I loved this murder mystery, and once again Horowitz had me hooked intrigued and entertained.

Set in the style of the great Agatha Christie he really is a brilliant contender for her crown. The drama unfolds beautifully, the crime is twisty and the suspect is not predictable.

I adore his writing style and the lack of profanity and sexual misconduct.

beautifully executed and masterfully told I loved it

I love the way this is written, the fiction mixed with fact, it’s just so original and entertaining.

Anthony Horowitz is an author, who works alongside the investigator Daniel Hawthorne, an ex-police officer, because he is in a 3 Book contract to document the crimes and investigations he is looking into.

He’s not sure if he likes Daniel, due to his manner,  casual homophobia and racism, but he is an excellent investigator and they get mixed up in all sorts of scrapes, with Anthony usually coming off worse.

There are mentions of Horowitz real life work, on tv series such as Midsomer Murder and Foyles War and his books like the Alex Rider series, which all lend such a feeling of reality you forget this is fiction.

The characters are all so believable, I really want to know more about Hawthorne and his background as I’m sure there’s more to come. The story itself is fast paced and with its touches of humour is totally engaging and has the great twists and turns of a classic whodunnit. I can thoroughly recommend it.

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

#TheSentenceIsDeath #NetGalley

Not my usual genre but this book had me gripped throughout. Will be looking out for more of the same!

This is the 2nd novel in the Daniel Hawthorne, Private Investigator series by Anthony Horowitz.
I have not read the 1st book 'The Word is Murder' nor in fact any other books by this author but quickly realised once I started this novel that times were going to change. I was so impressed and enjoyed reading this book that I had already purchased a couple of the authors other books before finishing it.
For me the book had a feel of an older style on detective novel, maybe an Agatha Christie or more likely Arthur Conan Doyle. Witty, well plotted and some excellent characters. I found the book a light read but intriguing and very enjoyable.
The setting of the novel is a little bit unusual with the author being one of the main characters. In the novel Anthony Horowitz is invited to write about the retired detective Daniel Hawthorne who still helps the Police solve difficult cases. Anthony tags along Hawthorne in much the same way that Hastings followed Poirot or Watson, Holmes, aiding and abetting along the way. The plot in this novel surrounds a divorce lawyer who has been murdered using an expensive bottle of wine and Hawthorne is invited in to assist.
This is an intriguing read that is a refreshing change from some of the darker novels I also enjoy.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Author Anthony Horowitz is in a spot of bother – filming of the latest scene of Foyle’s War isn’t going to plan and he’s running behind on his novel detailing the first case he investigated with Daniel Hawthorne (as detailed in The Word Is Murder). He soon finds those issues paling into insignificance when Hawthorne enlists his help in a new case.

Lawyer Richard Pryce has been found bludgeoned to death. Oddly, as Pryce was a teetotaller, the murder weapon was a bottle of wine. A bottle of wine worth £3,000 to be precise. What was the meaning of Pryce’s last words? And why did someone paint a 3-digit number in green paint on the wall next to his body?


Now, I liked the preceding title The Word Is Murder a lot but I preferred Horowitz’s Magpie Murders. I thought the killer in the first Hawthorne book was a bit too guessable and some of the clueing a little tangential. But the desire to put a fresh spin on the classic mystery shone through and as such, I was very much looking forward to the second title. Unfortunately, I’ve been a bit distracted with my Countdown to 1000 to look at anything new, so this has been sitting, glaring at me from my Kindle. But was it worth the wait?

The negatives, first of all. I didn’t like the police characters in this one – they seemed a bit stereotyped and could have done with some depth. Of course, that’s quite common in classic fiction, so maybe Horowitz is choosing to embrace the trope.

Sorry, I misspoke. I should have said “negative”, not “negatives”.

I’ve been carrying this around with me on my Kindle over the last day or so – sorry to Frances Brody who I promised Review 1001 to, but I’m so busy at the moment that it’s much easier to read ebooks, but A Snapshot Of Murder is coming very soon – grabbing a chapter when I can. I can’t actually remember the last time I was reading a book this enthusiastically. Possibly The Hollow Man, but I knew what happened in that one as I’d read it before, which diluted the effect for me. Probably Puzzle For Wantons, a similarly layered plot.

This is a fantastic mystery, cleverly clued with so many clues hidden in plain sight that you won’t spot and a well-hidden villain. I felt I should have spotted it as it had an echo of a book that I’d read a while ago (only a faint echo) but still missed it completely. Suspicions ricochet around for the reader as well as for Horowitz (the character, not the writer) and Horowitz’s determination to be the one who deduces the killer first gives a nice motivation to his Watson-like role. The suspects are nicely varied and distinctive bunch, with clearly defined motives – some open, some discovered as the plot progresses – and the conclusion is, I thought, extremely satisfying.

One sort-of disappointment is the plot thread of the boy living upstairs from Hawthorne. I presume this will be continued in the next title. It’s not as if I need any more convincing after such a great read to come back for more. Horowitz keeps referring to a three book deal with Hawthorne in the story, so fingers crossed for another one. In the meantime, do check this out – the perfect Christmas present for the mystery lover in your family. Highly Recommended.

The Sentence Is Death was released on 1st November 2018 from the Century imprint of Cornerstone (which is part of Penguin Random House.) Many thanks for the review e-copy.

Last year when I read The Word is Murder I thought it was a very clever and different type of murder mystery. It features Daniel Hawthorne, an ex-policeman, now a private investigator, who the police call in to help when they have a case they call a ‘sticker’. What I found particularly interesting was the way that Anthony Horowitz inserted himself into the fiction, recruited by Hawthorne to write a book about him and the cases he investigates.

In The Sentence is Death, Anthony appears again as a character, reluctantly, as he had agreed to a three-book contract with Hawthorne. At the start of the book Anthony, who wrote the script for the TV series of Foyles War, is on the set as the opening scenes in the seventh series were being shot. The rehearsal was disastrous, but it came to an abrupt end when Hawthorne interrupted the scenes by driving straight into the middle of the set to tell Anthony there had been another murder and that the police had asked for his help.

Divorce lawyer Richard Pryce was found dead in his home, having been hit on the head by a wine bottle, a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, and then stabbed to death with the broken bottle. There are several clues – there’s the number 182 written in green paint on the wall, the incredibly expensive bottle of wine when Pryce was a teetotaller, a public threat from a well known feminist writer, an unknown visitor the evening he was killed and plenty of other enemies as suspects.  There’s no doubt that Daniel is a brilliant detective, but Anthony finds him trying as he’s uncommunicative, keeping Anthony in the dark most of the time, he swears and he calls him ‘Tony’.

I found it all most entertaining and perplexing, completely foxed by all the red herrings and twists and turns in the plot. But, mainly because I’d read the first book, I loved the interaction between Anthony and Daniel and had no difficulty with the mix of fact and fiction, enjoying the details about Anthony’s life as a scriptwriter as much as the mystery about the murder. I don’t think, however that you need to read The Word is Murder first because as a murder mystery The Sentence is Death works well as a standalone. But to  see how their relationship began and develops it would help to read the books in order.

I loved this book as much or maybe even more than the first one and am delighted that I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

#TheSentenceIsDeath #NetGalley A very different type of detective story with the author actually appearing in the book and possibly, although not entirely sure, this is a true story.  The second in the Hawthorne series but that didn't seem to matter as it was perfectly readable as a standalone.  On the whole an interesting tale although a little bit slow paced for my liking with all the real deductions happening in the last few chapters.  Also, it seemed a bit unrealistic that the detectives investigating the murder allowed an ex-detective and a writer to follow, and in some cases precede, them around interviewing witnesses and suspects.  I didn't fully understand why Hawthorne was involved and who he was reporting to.  Easy to read with some interesting parts but not my favourite type of writing I'm afraid.

Didn't find this quite as engaging as the first one but it was still a romping good read. Another good, old fashioned who dun it and more learnt about the enigmatic Hawthorne.
This series is incredibly popular with my students who love the fact they can continue reading Mr Horowitz after Alex Rider.

Anthony Horowitz: The Sentence is Death, Cornerstone, Random House UK, 9781780897097

Anthony Horowitz is such a very clever writer! What distinguishes this mystery from many others is the special tongue in cheek approach the author came up with blending his real life persona into a murder mystery. Like himself in real life, Anthony is a screenplay writer for the film industry having written the screenplay for “Foyle’s War” and successful teenage fiction, just as his alter ego in the book. “The Sentence is Death” is the second book in the series, “The word is murder” the first, became an instant bestseller. 
Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his side kick, a writer named Anthony, are called in by the police to assist in the investigation of the murder of Richard Pryce, a successful divorce lawyer of the rich and famous, who has been bludgeoned to death by a 2000 $ bottle of red wine which is especially puzzling since he never drink. Equally puzzling are the 3 numbers painted on his living room wall which the killer left? When they interview his husband who was away on the day of the murder, they discover that their last conversation was interrupted by a doorbell ringing and Pryce saying “You shouldn’t be here, it is too late” indicating that he must have known his murderer. 
I will not go deeper into this excellent, very clever mystery with plenty of twists and turns, one being a second mysterious death which Anthony and Daniel Hawthorne believe is connected to Richard Pryce. “The Sentence is Death” will not let you down, an ace murder mystery! 
For German readers: the first book in the series is called “Ein perfider Plan” with a publication date of March 2019 by Insel Verlag. Obviously the pub date of the second book which I just read is even further away.

The Sentence is Death is the second in Anthony Horowitz’s mysteries starring himself and detective Daniel Hawthorne. I liked its predecessor, The Word is Murder, but Sentence sees the series really hit its stride. 

We start strongly, on a Foyle’s War location shoot. I think this is clever, as it sets Horowitz’s persona up in an extremely accessible way. All too often a crime novel has a slow, scene-setting start. This one doesn’t do anything other than to set up our relationship with the story-teller. By the time Hawthorne arrives, with a mystery to solve, we are happily settled down with the narrator. Horowitz will later, in one of myriad asides to the reader, point out that you ‘cannot have a central character who is…by his very nature, unpleasant.’ Horowitz is supposedly referring to Hawthorne, who is prone to homophobic remarks, but he knows full well that as the narrator he’s the central character. He breaks the fourth wall all the time, to give us the inside insight into his writing process, to muse about the nature of crime fiction, or just to insult a certain kind of writer. He is happy to be playful, with the sort of phrases (my favourite: referring to Ravilious and Gill as ’a collection of Erics’) that a third person narrative just can’t get away with. And he is confident enough to include a rather wonderful running joke involving Michael Kitchen, which is genuinely funny, affectionate enough to delight the Foyle fandom and straightforward enough for the general reader. The result is a form of story-telling which is amusing, engaging and provides a fine frame on which to hang the tale. Yes, we know that Horowitz will fail when he sets off to solve the crime himself. It doesn’t matter in the least.

I thought the mystery was excellent, too. The main plot involves a divorce lawyer and the usual cast of people any of whom could have dunit. But the issue is blown open by a death at King’s Cross station that takes Horowitz and Hawthorne up to Yorkshire to investigate an old caving tragedy. The use of a subplot that involves the menace of the elements contrasts very nicely with tales of the upper middle class folk of Highgate. And the psychological scarring caused by what happens in the Long Way Hole can be compared against the blunt but effective bullying by Met dimwits Grunshaw and Mills (I loved that Grunshaw references Horowitz’s writing for young people and not, say, Foyle or Midsomer Murders), and the low-level power struggle that takes place between Horowitz and Hawthorne; and, indeed, the general sense of injustice (think of Lenny Pinkerman and the admittedly hilarious set-to at Daunt’s).

What next? We’ve had ‘Word’ and ‘Sentence’ so in what I hope will be called The Paragraph is Fatality we can expect some more revelations about Hawthorne and his methods, perhaps involving Pinkerman and Kenneth Brannigan. Perhaps Horowitz will avoid being stabbed next time. But in the meantime I recommend this quirky and enjoyable take on the detective novel. 

Thanks to Century for the review copy.

Clever, witty, original, beautifully written, excellent premise and plot. I could write far more but there is no need.

This is a master of the trade at the top of his form. Read it. Highly and totally recommended.

I like Anthony Horowitz books and this one was pretty different to the others I've read.

Basically it's more of a slow-burn mystery. More of an Agatha Christie or Sherlock, old-style detective story.

The core mystery seems to be based on a true story, though it was difficult to understand whether the elements (letters, historical articles etc.) which were added in to the story, were actually 'real' or part of the fictional book (I found this lack of clarity annoying, though perhaps it was my lack of understanding??).

The story follows a writer as he tracks the work of Detective Hawthorne. Hawthorne is aloof and a bit odd. He solves the case (of course) and the writer is trying to do the same and lagging behind horribly.
The mystery was interesting enough and clear enough, and there are plenty of potential suspects. However, the story lacked tension for me and was not as riveting as I'd have liked.

Well described characters are this author's strong point and this book does not disappoint.

The other interesting point about this book is the fictional writer in the book seems to be styled on Horowitz himself (his name, where he lives, his experience of living in London and working as a famous writer etc.). This definitely added interest for me and might even have been a bit more interesting than the actual mystery.

Summary - this is well written and a decent mystery. The curiosity element of having Horowitz making himself a character in it is probably the biggest attraction because the story is a bit slow.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley. This is my honest review.