The Sentence is Death: A mind-bending murder mystery from the bestselling author of THE WORD IS MURDER

Anthony Horowitz

Nov 2018 · Hawthorne Book 2 · Random House

About this ebook

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

Ratings and reviews

This is my first Anthony Horowitz book and what a peculiar little tome it is. The perspective is skewed in a way that is fresh to this reader and I have to grudgingly admit I think it was this very quirkiness that appealed so much to me. The murder mystery itself is actually quite pedestrian and follows the usual tried and tested pathways of the genre - all very Agatha Christie and VERY Arthur Conan Doyle. The fact is that whilst this is ostensibly a book about a murder and the subsequent investigation, really it is a book about people and perceptions. The quirkiness comes from the fact that the the author inserts himself in to the tale, not by virtue of writing (goodness knows there are a LOT of writers who do that) but actually a living and breathing character in the book. In fact, the narrator of the book is the author - well a semi-fictionalised version of the author; with enough knowing nods to his real life to make the lines between fact and fiction decidedly blurred. Somehow what should be an egotistical action works in Mr Horowitz's hands and sucks you right in to the tale. Although that may have more to do with the glorious Daniel Hawthorne than anything else. I knew nothing of the author before setting out on this particular book and my first reaction was this was Holmes and Watson updated for the 21st Century, all it was missing was an opium addiction and a violin. To then find out that he has written 2 Sherlock Holmes novels and then for the similarity to be openly acknowledged several times in the text it made me feel like I was in "on the joke" from the beginning. Strangely there is a lot of humour to be found in this book, of a generally black and rather bleak nature but it is there. I will admit to being captivated by this book and thoroughly enjoying every red herring - although I did call the reason behind the murder of the divorce lawyer I had not figured out whodunnit. In fact about halfway through I stopped trying to figure it all out and just enjoyed the book for what it is and gloried in the anti-social Hawthorne. So much so I bought the first book before I finished this one and have been desperate to start it but didn't want to get the storylines confused - the good news is I can start it as soon as I want now. The murder mystery itself is well constructed and you can feel Tony's frustration throughout because he always feels at least two steps behind the erstwhile ex-Inspector. The cast of characters are quite varied and although we never really explore any particular character in depth there is a feeling that you know them warts and all. In short a thoroughly good old-fashioned tale that sweeps you up and keeps you turning the pages. THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE

A really good mystery book. I figured it out who the killer was by the halfway of the book.

About the author

Bestselling author Anthony Horowitz has written two highly acclaimed Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk and Moriarty; three James Bond novels, Trigger Mortis, Forever and a Day and With a Mind to Kill; the acclaimed bestselling mystery novels Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders and the Detective Hawthorne novels, The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, A Line To Kill, The Twist of a Knife and the latest Close to Death is out in April 2024.

He is also the author of the teen spy Alex Rider series, and responsible for creating and writing some of the UK's most loved and successful TV series, including Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. In January 2022 he was awarded a CBE for his services to literature.