New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz takes a crack at writing a modern-day classic crime novel. In this series he casts himself as Dr. Watson to disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne’s Sherlock Holmes.  It is an intriguing premise that allows the author of the book to be one of the main characters.  At first I was not sure how I felt about it, but I ended up really liking it, and  I had no idea who the killer was until the big reveal at the end. 

Book one features a mystery that revolves around a woman who visits a London funeral parlor on a bright spring morning, to plan her own service, and then six hours later she is found strangled in her home. 

Daniel Hawthorne, former police detective turned consultant, is called in by the police to help solve the case; and while he’s sharp and intelligent, he is not very likeable. So when Hawthorne first asks celebrated novelist Anthony Horowitz to write a book about him and the case, Horowitz is not sure it is a winning idea. He is a bit hard up for material though, so decides to partner with Hawthorne and reserve judgement about how likely a book is until later. However, as the case unfolds, Horowitz gets sucked into the case and starts to see the potential in writing a book.  So much so that he finds himself trying to solve the murder himself because Hawthorne is very secretive and a mystery himself.

This mystery offering by Horowitz is intriguing and will keep most readers guessing up until the end. The characters are well drawn, with Hawthorne stealing the show. 

It is interesting that Horowitz is writing about himself, as a writer, and includes insight into his professional life. This includes what has worked well for him–his Alex Rider series–but also where he has had challenges.  He never takes himself too seriously and this behind the scenes style is unusual, but effective. I just finished the third book in this series and enjoyed the second and third, just as much as the first, maybe more because I already knew the characters and the story background so it took me less time to understand all the relationships.  

Review written by: Jeana Gockley, Joplin Public Library Director

Find the book in the catalog.