Infinite Books

In the second book of the “Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery” series, the detective/writer duo returns to solve a new mystery. The celebrity divorce lawyer, Richard Pryce, was found bludgeoned to death in his home, and the murder weapon was a bottle of expensive wine, a gift from his client. Soon, Pryce’s old friend dies in an apparent suicide by train. Are those two deaths connected? And what could the number “182” written on the wall in Pryce’s place mean?

Daniel Hawthorne, fired from Scotland Yard after a pedophile left in his charge fell down the stairs, is on the case, but he doesn’t share much with Anthony. Anthony is there to follow Hawthorne, take notes, and write a second book. This time, however, thanks to Anthony’s curiosity, we get a glimpse into Hawthorne’s personal life. Surprisingly, even being antisocial, he belongs to a book club. It turns out the book club members want to meet Anthony. There is an excellent, humorous description of a book club meeting, which will surely make the reader smile. However, the case is nothing to smile about. Horowitz takes his challenge seriously, and, once again, he tries to solve the mystery with not-so-good results.

This is another excellent whodunit, and I enjoyed the developing camaraderie between Horowitz and Hawthorne. True, they can’t be called friends yet, but they seem to appreciate each other. Their comments are often very humorous, and the gallery of the novel’s characters is impressive. As for the background – I wish some tourist agency in London would organize walking tours, something that could be called “Following Hawthorne and Horowitz.” If there is such a tour, I will sign up!

THE SENTENCE IS DEATH by Anthony Horowitz, HarperCollins Publishers, 2020