The Word is Murder

The best part of any mystery is of course, the big reveal, when the detective puts all the pieces we’ve been trying to put together into a complete narrative almost like an omniscient god, revealing the missing clues the narrator and reader overlooked. The Word is Murder excels with its tale, the murder, the motives, the victims, the clues, everything all fall wonderfully into place to make a satisfying mystery.

However, the main characters here do not come together to create a completely satisfying narrative. A lot of Horowitz’s history as a writer and look behind the curtain is interesting but sometimes feels either not enough or too much depending on the chapter, what the buildup is, and how much the reader cares about the entertainment industry on the given day of reading it.

Sadly, where the narrative falters, even from the beginning is the detective, Hawthorne. Oddly Horowitz is acutely aware of this issue, even mentions it to his publicist. Perhaps this vast difference in character and personality between himself and his subject was meant to add drama and a bit of reality, showcasing that a writer and detective would not see eye to eye often; much like Watson and Holmes. Horowitz, obviously casts himself as the Watson to Hawthorne’s Holmes, but he’s misplaced an element of Holmes’ character that makes him likable to the reader. Even though Holmes is often quite insensitive to most reasonable people, there’s a bit of a cluelessness in his manner. As if profiling a widow’s intimate tragedy based on the state of her rings in front of her was more of an impulse, something that had to be said out loud but done with no malice and as a way to lay out all the facts. Hawthorne, isn’t the same kind of cold and calculating, he’s quiet about much of his deductions, theories, thoughts, feelings, history, eccentricities and personality. The deductions he does let loose are to showcase that people aren’t focused on the correct details. Often he’s actively rude but not in a clever way or unintentionally, just putting people down openly. Lastly, he’s not even remotely respected by anyone, no one seems to appreciate him except to some degree Horowitz. If character does respect Hawthorne it almost comes off as a character flaw. Ultimately, Hawthorne’s desire to remain almost anonymous in his own story hurts the narrative and makes sitting with the two men less entertaining, which again, Horowitz and his publicist are aware of.

So the question is, why did Horowitz go through with it and have it published as is? It would seem either that Hawthorne’s depiction is a criticism of the genre’s stereotypes of detectives, Horowitz’s own potential displeasure in writing about detectives, or Horowitz is acutely aware that this will be a series and needs Hawthorne to grow over time. Hard to say on book 1 of now 5.

Despite this flaw in portrayal of main characters, it’s still an enjoyable mystery and the two men have their moments of depth rather than surface level depictions. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the series progresses.

Amazing!
So much fun reading it! I can’t wait to read the next one!

I love a great who-done-it. Terrific writing, character development, storyline, mystery and humor kept me listening with rapt attention. I can't imagine a better narrator Rory Kinnear. Just one note: this is not like an Agatha Christie novel where body damage is sort of vague and incidental. There are a couple spots where it's pretty gruesome. If at all squeamish, you may want to pass on this. That aside, I highly recommend!