The Sentence is Death
A mind-bending murder mystery from the bestselling author of THE WORD IS MURDER
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4.2 • 62 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Pre-order the next thrilling Hawthorne mystery CLOSE TO DEATH - coming soon!
Passion, deception, an unexplained death and a detective with quite a lot to hide lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz's brilliant murder mystery, the second in the bestselling series starring Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne.
'EASILY THE GREATEST OF OUR CRIME WRITERS' Sunday Times
'My favourite literary hero at the moment is Anthony Horowitz' Shari Lapena
'Sheer genius ... A joy from start to finish' INDEPENDENT
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Secrets can kill.
Smooth-tongued divorce lawyer Richard Price is bludgeoned to death at his London home.
Scrawled on the wall beside the body: the number 182.
What does it mean? And who was at his front door just minutes before he died and while he was still talking on the phone?
Confronted with this most baffling of mysteries, the police are forced to turn to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne.
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'Pure pleasure for readers ... A must-read delight' WALL STREET JOURNAL
'Anthony Horowitz gets away with murder in all sorts of ways and emerges triumphant' The Times
'This is crime fiction as dazzling entertainment, sustained by writing as skilfully light-footed as Fred Astaire' Sunday Times Crime Club
'A crime story that keeps you up into the small hours... a page-turning mystery' Metro
'Sheer genius ... A joy from start to finish' Independent
'Fans of traditional puzzle mysteries will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly
'Huge fun... It's hard to know why anyone who loves a good mystery wouldn't thoroughly enjoy the ride' Irish Independent
'Succeeds on all levels ... Horowitz has the Midas touch' Booklist
'No one currently working the field has anywhere near this much ingenuity to burn' KIRKUS
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Horowitz's doppelganger, also named Anthony Horowitz, once again plays Dr. Watson to PI Daniel Hawthorne's Sherlock Holmes in the British author's superb sequel to 2018's The Word Is Murder. This time the astute, if irritating, detective ropes Tony into helping him investigate the murder of high-powered London divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, who was struck on the head with a bottle of expensive wine in his home. The obvious suspect is prickly poet and novelist Akira Anno, who threatened to hit Pryce with a wine bottle in a restaurant where they ran into each other days before the murder. Pryce was representing Akira's husband in a divorce settlement in which she felt she was getting a raw deal. Other suspects emerge in the complicated case, which may have its roots in a caving expedition that Pryce and two close friends took 10 years before in Yorkshire; one of those friends died while trapped in a cave during a rainstorm. Leavening the grim story line are deliciously comic scenes in which Tony typically makes a wrong deduction or suffers a personal slight (Akira disdains him because he writes popular fiction). Horowitz plays fair with the reader all the way to the surprise reveal of the killer's identity. Fans of traditional puzzle mysteries will be enthralled.
Customer Reviews
High quality yarn
Author
British novelist, both adult and children’s. Genres include adventure, mystery, suspense, fantasy. Also playwright and screenwriter (Midsomer Murders, Poirot, Foyle’s War etc). Has written a James Bond novel and two Sherlock Holmes novels, commissioned by the respective estates. In The Word Is Murder (2017), he paired his (mostly) real life self in a Dr Watson role alongside ex-police detective and modern day Holmes named Daniel Hawthorne. This is the sequel.
Premise
Author has a three book deal for novels describing his adventures as he tags along with prescient but mysterious detective called in to solve crimes beyond the ability of regular coppers.
Plot
Prosperous, gay divorce lawyer gets dead, bashed over the head with a $2k bottle of French plonk in his own home. Various suspects emerge. Investigation proceeds, mostly in and around London although there’s a side trip to the Yorkshire moors. Gruff, aggressive female copper in charge is unhappy about the involvement of our heroes, and does her best to undermine them. Warning: Haikus are involved. Suspicion falls on multiple persons, who are gradually eliminated until final Holmesian reveal. Nuevo Watson hasn’t a clue.
Prose
Classic English mystery with a twist. Metafiction isn’t my thing. I suspect it isn’t Mr Horowitz’s either, and he’s just taking the p***, not that it matters if he is.
Characters
Mr H goes to great pains not to come off as a smarty pants himself, and we learn a little more about his mysterious detective mate. The remainder of the characters are developed as mush as is necessary to advance the plot.
Bottom line
Quick, enjoyable read from a seasoned professional at the top of his game.
The Sentence Is Death
I loved every twist and turn of this I only realised in the last chapter who the murderer was. A quality book for anyone who consumes Thriller & Crime books like I do