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Another Great Murder Story

 Anthony Horowitz has been a sensation for many years -- with "Magpie Murders," "The Word Is Murder," "The Sentence Is Death," and so on. These books generate buzz, and they fly from store shelves. Finally, I've found my way to Horowitz -- because his new book, "A Line to Kill," is among the Top Ten Thrillers of the Year, in the NYT.


"A Line to Kill" is a title with a funny meaning: The villain, and victim, in this novel, is so unpopular that there might actually be a "long line" of people hoping to kill him. The villain is Charles, a wealthy resident of a remote island, and he hosts various writers at his mansion for a second-rate literary festival.

Charles is unloved basically because he wants to "turf" the island; he thinks removing various beautiful natural sites will make the island into a technological powerhouse. Also, Charles's wife is having many affairs and (maybe) hoping to profit from a life-insurance scheme. Additionally, Charles sexually assaults a young person at the party that he hosts.

It's the reader's good fortune that Hawthorne, a famous Sherlockian detective, happens to be on the scene. Hawthorne doesn't really care about justice or making the world safe; if a murder has already happened, then catching the killer won't actually "erase" the murder. Hawthorne solves murders simply because he enjoys the game; "killers are often dumber than they think, and I like outwitting them." When someone observes that Hawthorne's dispassionate nature may be the sign of a sociopath, Hawthorne simply shrugs.

Anthony Horowitz is himself a character in this book; he is like Watson to Hawthorne's Sherlock. Horowitz allows himself memorable observations: "Biographers of my friends won't have any real work to pursue, because cell phones now preserve a record of literally everything that we do, everyday, in our adult lives." And here: "Hawthorne tried to speak to the widow, but she simply said YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE, and she showed him to the door. How often does THAT happen in a detective novel?" And here: "I'm focused on these ten suspects, but thousands of people live on this island. The killer could be someone I've never met. How disappointing that particular final paragraph would be!" And: "I hope the killer isn't that one pedophile I mentioned. It's difficult to be fascinated by a pedophile....."

This is all fun and unusual, and I think I'll keep going with Horowitz, even after I've finished "A Line to Kill."
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