Anthony Horowitz has written a book about police consultant Daniel Hawthorne. He followed Hawthorne around on a murder case, taking notes, and put it all together into a book he’s calling The Word is Murder. His publisher signed him to a 3-book deal, and now that the first one is getting close to its publication day, his publishers want to talk to him and Hawthorne about publicity. There is a literary festival coming up in Alderney, in the Channel Islands. It’s a new festival, so they would be some of the first authors to participate. Although they won’t yet have any actual books to sell yet, they agree to go.
The other authors who will be at the festival are a television cook selling his latest cookbook, a French poet who writes in a little-used French dialect, a blind psychic, a children’s writer, and Alderney’s own history writer, talking about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. Anthony is expecting a fairly quiet weekend, some talks, a reading at the library by the children’s author, and a party featuring the food of chef Marc Bellamy, the television cook who specializes in old-school pub comfort food.
What they don’t expect is to turn up on the island while it’s experiencing a political battle. Neighbors are fighting with neighbors about whether or not to allow an electric company to build power lines across the island to connect France and the UK. Many on Alderney don’t want their island to be overrun with electric equipment; they want their lovely island preserved as it is. But others want the money that the agreement would bring. The islanders had been arguing for weeks about it. But the lit festival’s organizer downplays the power drama and tries to get them to focus on spreading the joy of books and reading.
And for a day or so, things go as planned. Authors hold question and answer sessions, readings, and interact with festival goers. But then, at the party catered by the television chef, held at the mansion of online casino millionaire Charles le Mesurier. As a man who stands to make a lot of money from the power deal, he’s not made a lot of fans from the locals. While he has lots of money from his online casinos, a beautiful wife, and a lovely home, his actions at the party also show him to be a bully, a womanizer, and a businessman with questionable connections.
But no one expected him to end up murdered.
With Hawthorne on the scene, the local police ask him for help in solving the murder, but e has another agenda for his time on Alderney as well. But will he be able to solve the crime, and will Horowitz be able to get his third contracted book out of it?
A Line to Kill is the third installment of books with master investigator Hawthorne and writer Horowitz. A modern day Sherlock Holmes and Watson, these two may not like each other all the time, but they can still solve all the mysteries and write it all up in crackerjack style.
I am a big fan of these novels. I love how adroit Hawthorne is at reading a room and how slow Anthony is to catch up, but I do think the plot in this one was weaker than the last two Hawthorne novels. But I loved seeing Hawthorne in Anthony’s world, at the publisher and the literary festival, and I thought the setting of Alderney was very interesting. This may not be my favorite of the Hawthorne novels, but I still wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
Egalleys for A Line to Kill were provided by HarperCollins through Edelweiss, with many thanks.
