Another mystery where the author tells the tale of an investigation with the mysterious Hawthorne. A divorce lawyer is killed and a number of people have motives for the crime. ARC from Net Galley.

I didn't love this one as much as I loved The Word is Murder, but it was still fun to revisit Anthony (Tony) and Daniel. I loved the way that Anthony tries so hard to figure out Daniel and is foiled at seemingly every turn. I definitely did not figure out the murderer before it was revealed to me. What a great way to spend a weekend!

The Sentence is Death follows a similar outline of the first book in this series. Daniel Hawthorne is a Private Investigator and his “sidekick” is Mr. Horowitz, a writer. They team up again to solve the murder of a divorce attorney who has plenty of enemies and plenty of secrets. Many of those enemies have their own secrets as well. This is a solid book, fast-paced and witty. It was definitely entertaining to read. If you loved the first book in the series, you will like this one as well.

*I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from HarperCollins Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.*

Anthony Horowitz is known for his ability to write witty crime novels, and he does not disappoint with The Sentence is Death, the second book in his Daniel Hawthorne series.

Hawthorne is a private investigator with a sidekick who happens to be the author himself.

In The Sentence is Death, a successful celebrity-divorce lawyer is found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine. This is considered strange, since he didn’t drink. The police are soon baffled and forced to call upon the services of investigator Daniel Hawthorne.

Horowitz is at his very best in The Sentence is Death, showing off his skill without anyone really noticing how good he really is until the book is over—a technique that is the mark of a truly exceptional writer.

For me, it’s a five-star book and well worth the price of admission.

https://youtu.be/HNlUj2oLKQg

I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was looking forward to this one. It followed very much the same formula as the first book. Detective and author “sidekick” investigating a murder. Starts with a seemingly obvious suspect... then as the investigation continues we find a bunch more possibilities.. The “mystery” just didn’t suck me in as much as the one in the first book. Still a fun read but something just missed the mark for me.

Fun, fun, fun! I loved this book. I enjoy Anthony Horowitz's Holmesian novels (House of Silk and Moriarity), and his Daniel Hawthorne series is essentially a Sherlock Holmes story, with Horowitz as Watson. The Sentence of Death is an artful blending of reality (Anthony Horowitz really does write the Alex Rider series as well as for Foyle's War) with what may (or may not be) fiction. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good mystery, and it's a must read for any Holmes aficionados.

I have no plans to become a famous writer and be interviewed by the New York Times book review, but if I did, and they asked me the traditional question of who I would invite to a dinner party, I sooo would have to scream Anthony Horowitz. Yes, I've enjoyed his work before - did Alex Rider and still recommend them, recently was riveted by Magpie Murders, and of course his television work (although what were you thinking going past the war with Foyle for heaven's sake?) In his new venture he has created a faux real Anthony Horowitz, and as that character, his observations make me laugh out loud. It's a truly lovely device to be the "real" author simply chronicling events following a disgraced former police detective, (Daniel Hawthorne), around as he consults on particularly puzzling cases. Something about these two characters just works for me and I've been telling everyone they must read them, immediately. Within the story Mr.Horowitz bemoans the fact that he signed on to do three of these books and I am tapping my foot, impatient for the next book. Thank you Anthony Horowitz - please let me know if you have any food allergies

The adventures of Hawthorne and Horowitz continue in this fast-paced, witty and very well plotted 2nd outing. Agatha Christie would be proud. While the mystery originally seems simple enough (a divorcee lawyer is killed) it is actually anything but. As with the previous Horowitz books I did not see the end coming. This was an incredibly fun and entertaining read and I cannot wait for the next adventure of these two. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

Keep in mind: One lie can ruin a thousand truths.

Anthony Horowitz opens the heavy wrought iron gates on another stellar mystery that feels circa 1930. Anthony becomes a key figure in his own novel as he takes on the role of himself. Horowitz, you see, is the famed writer of Foyle's War, an on-going successful television saga in the UK. He's in the middle of filming a crucial scene on the streets of London when a cab pulls up and spoils the shot.

Anthony recognizes the man who has just exited the cab and is running towards him. Let's introduce you to the former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is now a "for hire" crime expert who works on random cases. He has convinced Anthony to write his biography. That entails riding shotgun with Hawthorne as he attempts to solve a case. Anthony signed on the dotted line with the buzz of crime/murder intrigue dancing staccato in his heart. Later, his common sense caught up with pending madness.

The body of an affluent divorce lawyer has been found in the posh section of Hampstead Heath. A teetotaler by choice, Richard Pryce is found to have been blungeoned with an expensive bottle of wine at the back of his once stately head. The number "182" has been dripping green paint on a wall alongside the staircase. There's no sign of forced entry.

Hawthorne and Anthony peruse the crime scene. Hawthorne, typically, is short on words and long on rudeness. DI Cara Grunshaw of the Metro Police is none too happy to see this duo at the scene. Grunshaw will be dogging them throughout the novel.......because she can.

The flavor of this one (including The Word Is Murder) has an Agatha Christie vibe to it. Horowitz has an amazing mind for detail. It's all brain power happenin' here. Hawthorne never divulges his thoughts, but Anthony lays out his process of deduction as he stacks the foundation of his case for who's guilty and who's not. We're awed by his reflections as the voice running right alongside of us. As readers, we're involved fully now. Is Anthony right? Maybe not so fast........

The Sentence Is Death is a delightful read filled with the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Horowitz has a way with dialogue that is laugh-out-loud in some skillful scenarios. We'll also be finding out that Hawthorne is shedding a bit of his intricate layers of self-preservation. Something is brewing with this talented crime expert who is tight lipped and laced up like a kettle drum. We'll just have to see what Anthony Horowitz has in mind with the next one, shall we now?

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Harper Collins and to Anthony Horowitz for the opportunity.

Daniel Hawthorne, Private Investigator and his sidekick Anthony (as in Mr. Horowitz) have teamed up again to solve the murder of a divorce attorney. As in any good murder mystery, there are more people with a reason to do in the kind attorney and everyone has secrets they aren't sharing. This is a solid story, fast-paced, witty dialogue and an entertaining read. I always enjoy the wit of our author as well as his relationship to the arrogant Daniel Hawthorne but couldn't figure out why the police always let Anthony breeze into the crime scene when he was clearly not part of law enforcement. Obviously, Anthony Horowitz is giving us a peek at what he hopes to be doing in his next life. If you loved the first book in the series, you will enjoy this one as well but if you are new I would suggest reading his other books first. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

A patron told me about, 'Magpie Murders' - so I read it and I loved it, I could not put it down!
This started my search for the other books he wrote. I read them all.
I loved book one in this series, 'The Word is Murder'.
Then on October 12, 2018 I saw book #2 was coming, so I started looking forward to it.
I was excited to receive this ARC.

Hawthorne is still a clever detective. He is on one set and writing another tv script, when life changes
and takes a new turn for him. You feel a part of the investigation, like a detective on the case.
You will be trying to solve the case. Revising one script while writing another new crime story.

I love Anthony's style of writing, his manner of speaking through his words.
He keeps me reading even when I am tired.

Perhaps Anthony Horowitz’s mystery starring himself as the reluctant Watson to his fiction protagonist Daniel Hawthorne in the role of Holmes should be read in order. The second book in the series seems a standard mystery tale of murder where the character of the author himself appears as the sidekick who wants to unravel both the whodunnit (before his Holmes), but discover the details of the private life of the detective himself.

The book mixes real seeming details of the author’s life as a novelist and television screenwriter with the fictional Horowitz sitting in on interrogations, spying on suspects and detective, being threatened by the police and struggling with his insecurity.

The second installment of Horowitz’ self-referential detective series starring himself as the semi-bumbling, self-deprecating sidekick to the enigmatic Detective Daniel Hawthorne. Horowitz writes fantastic mysteries — they are convoluted in the most delightful ways, are full of interesting characters, and progress at the perfect pace (also — I never do figure it out early!) One of the benefits of this particular series is also gaining some insight into other aspects of Horowitz’ writing life — the production issues for Foyles War, the interactions with agents and booksellers, and parts of the Writer’s Process (as experienced by Mr. Horowitz).

I don’t want to give away *anything* in the plot, but it covers a wide range of places, people, time, and professions — divorce lawyers, (very) expensive wine, literary snobs, interior decorators, spelunkers, forensic accountants, muscular dystrophy, and the NHS. Horowitz does an impressive job of applying diversity to characters with no regard to stereotypical expectations. I did find myself struggling to constantly sift out the fact from the fiction, which told me more about myself and my own neuroses than about the book — it doesn’t matter a bit! A fun read.

Great for fans of Robert Galbraith.

Horowitz kicks the bar higher with the second entry in his innovative, thoroughly enjoyable Hawthorne series. Author Horowitz places himself squarely and personally in the action, in his chronicle of the idiosyncratic, brilliant investigator Hawthorne, to which he has attached himself as his biographer. This story finds our narrator/biographer once again trying to solve a murder that Hawthorne is investigating and, in that process, attempting to understand just who Hawthorne is and how his mind works. Horowitz delightfully plays with the Holmes-Watson dynamic in a very fresh manner. The rather unlikeable but dazzlingly clever character of Hawthorne is slightly more revealed in this second story, to the great pleasure of fans. And the references to Horowitz's work on the TV show Foyle's War, set during this story, are especially fun. It's hard not to pile on the superlatives with this immensely enjoyable series.