Skip to main content

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."
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...
3 comments
Read more

Joshie

  When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...
2 comments
Read more

Josh at Five

 Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...
Post a Comment
Read more