As the inexperienced cops bumble around, Hawthorne does the real investigating, his faithful scribe Anthony Horowitz tagging along. Anthony eventually finds out that Hawthorne had his own motive for going to Alderney, relating to Derek Abbott, a pedophile and child pornographer who got a light sentence after Hawthorne couldn't make the case, and who is now living on Alderney and worked for le Mesurier. It may seem strange to pair the term ‘charming’ with ‘murder,’ but this mystery is an utter delight. I have come to expect as much from Anthony Horowitz. While this is the third book in a series that teams the author himself with the brilliantly observant, frustratingly reticent former detective Hawthorne in a fictional twist on true crime and ghostwriting, it can be enjoyed on its own. A literary festival in Alderney, the northernmost Channel Island, lands the two in the midst of a community at odds over the building of an electric power line through the middle of the island. A murder and a figure from Hawthorne’s past launch the not-so-dynamic duo into yet another crime solving adventure. When Horowitz and Hawthorne arrive on Alderney they see multiple signs reading BAN-NAB, erected by citizens protesting a company called NAB, which proposes to build a power line from France - across Alderney - to England.

The third instalment seeks to refresh the formula by having Hawthorne attend a book fair to publicise the first novel on a tiny island off the coast of the UK. A group of writers attending the festival are invited to a reception party at the palatial home of their wealthy host, a lecherous and loathsome playboy. Inspector Lestrade: Deputy Chief Jonathan Torode, sent over from Guernsey as Alderney is so small it doesn't even have cops. He is clearly out of his depth while also resenting Hawthorne's presence. The epilogue notes that he was fired for incompetence. The author is very fair about sprinkling clues throughout the narrative, but I didn't guess the identity of the killer.....so well done Anthony Horowitz. The second in the series, ‘The Sentence is Death’, became a little more plot heavy and less about the tensions between author and his secretive hero. After Hawthorne, Horowitz, and others questioned Abbott about Charles and Helen’s deaths, Abbott left what appeared to be a suicide note in his home. He jumped to his death from a cliff, making it appear that he had committed the murder.

A Line to Kill

Because of the circumstances, Horowitz wondered why Hawthorne insisted the women admit their crimes. Horowitz believed justice was served when Anne died before she could go to trial. Kathryn’s case was heard by a jury, but they sympathized with her and found her not guilty of any crime. Author Avatar: The conceit of the whole Daniel Hawthorne series, as Anthony Horowitz writes himself in as a character, the Watson who is continually irritated by Hawthorne's refusal to tell what he's thinking. Anthony Horowitz and the subject of his book The Word is Murder, Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne, are invited to a literary festival on the Channel Island of Alderney, in preparation for their upcoming follow-up, The Sentence is Death. But what the pair don’t expect to find is an island divided by conflict and become embroiled in a nefarious country house homicide…

It's difficult to describe the charm of a Horowitz book to readers who aren't fans of mysteries, but I will try.* These books feel special not just because there are some good story twists, or because the killer is especially clever, but it's more about how the author tells the story — there's a meta aspect that is engaging, especially when Horowitz the Writer is himself a character in the book, and confesses in being slow to understand what's going on. And I do love the character of Hawthorne, who is a former detective and a reluctant collaborator with Horowitz's character. It's a tiny island, just three miles long and a mile and a half wide. The perfect location for a brand-new literary festival. Private investigator Daniel Hawthorne has been invited to talk about his new book. The writer, Anthony Horowitz, travels with him. A couple of open-ended questions regarding Hawthorne’s past left me with food for thought, and I’ll be curious to see whether it becomes a main mystery plot, either in book four, or further down the line. In a recent interview, Horowitz stated he intends to write ten or eleven books in this series, so I’m thrilled to bits.That Horowitz is out manipulated, out maneuvered, and outshone by his own creation is a running joke. Horowitz also sets his sights on other tropes of the modern writer: publishers, agents, editors, literary festivals. He is an insider's insider. More importantly, he manages to make the reader care for Hawthorne, who is neither cuddly nor entirely admirable, but seems to live by his own code--a code which neither Horowitz nor the reader to this point have entirely apprehended.

Maissa Lamar – A French performance poet. (The ‘i’ in her Christian name actually has two dots above it, but I have no idea how to type that?!)

From many angles

The cast of suspects/characters from the literary world is colorful and quirky, and I loved the witty satire, with the author poking fun at the literary world, and himself. Not every attendee is who they say they are and there are plenty of suspects and secrets to uncover. “There are an awful lot more than six people who wanted him dead… It’s a line to kill if ever I saw one.” On the television front Horowitz says, Magpie Murders has been adapted into a six-episode series with Lesley Manville as the editor Susan Ryeland and Tim McMullan as Atticus Pünd, the detective in the book within the book. The Full Monty director, Peter Cattaneo, helms the show. French Maid: Kathryn Harris wears a French maid costume while serving drinks at le Masurier's party. Anthony watches le Mesurier drunkenly hit on her and is disgusted, but it turns out to be deliberate by Kathryn, part of a Honey Pot scheme.