the sentence is death by Anthony Horowitz

67th book of 2021 & 1st DNF of 2021

Second book in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series

Reading period: Aug 11th 2021 – Aug 14th 2021

Summary

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late…”

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer. Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine – a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realises that these secrets must be exposed – even at the risk of death…

Rating

DNF @ 76% (but in reality less as I just wanted to see if I was right)

Review

Sadly, it’s my first (real) DNF of the year. I didn’t expect it, but this book wasn’t for me.

The main problem I had was that I wasn’t intrigued by the story and that from the beginning. Even if the story goes in many directions, you feel that it’s done purposely to lose you and makes you question who’s the culprit. However, I found that it makes the story too linear as you easily find them.

The second struggle was that there is a new despicable character. The thing is that we already have Hawthorne, who can make the reader uncomfortable with his reflections, but when you had another one, it’s a lot harder to read; I was tempted to skip those paragraphs.

I didn’t finish the book, but I still wanted to know if I was right for the culprit, so I read a little more than I wanted. First, I was kind of right, and second, the explanation was a little light for me. Also, the twist of the murder isn’t surprising.

I know there is a new one in this series, but it’s no longer on my priority list.

Liz.