Author-ception

The Word is Murder – Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

The set up is everything. To me, great novels are the ones that quickly grab me by the collar and drag me along for the ride.

Ms. Diana Cowper, an apparently wealthy mother of marginally famous actor, one fine spring day wanders into a funeral parlor and without an appointment sits down to plan her final services. A mere six hours later she is found dead in her home, strangled with a weapon of convenience, the cord from curtains in her home. The setting at this point could be current day or even jolly old England, it’s still a coin toss at this point.

So begins the latest novel from bestselling author Anthony Horowitz, The Word is Murder. Just when you think the set up in everything, along come what I can only dub, author-ception, as Horowitz cleverly inserts himself as a character in his own story, quite naturally playing the role of himself.

Oddly eccentric, almost annoyingly brilliant and just the right amount of Holmes-ian to keep things interesting, former police detective, turned investigative consultant Daniel Hawthorne is looking for a ghost writer to detail his story. Enter Horowitz, a not so willing participant who can’t seem to shake the intrigue of the good story the Hathorne as propositioned him with.

So commences the tale chalk full of crackling repartee between the odd couple-ish version of Holmes and Watson. Clearly Horowitz doesn’t take himself too seriously placing himself on the receiving end of lightly blunt-force humor scattered through the story. While Holmes purists may take offense at the regular points of reference and reverence, I found this to be the perfect entrée into the summer reading season.