This is a worthy addition to this highly addictive series, and I can't wait to begin the next installment.' A Line to Kill is set just before the publication of The Word is Murder (the first in the series) and opens with Hawthorne and Horowitz being invited to speak at a literary festival on the tiny Channel Island of Alderney. Alderney is only three square miles in size, home to about 2,000 people, and has never had a murder… until the detective duo arrives. The novel is very much an homage to Agatha Christie, particularly the later Poirot novels, and she is mentioned both explicitly and implicitly, for example in a chapter title. Following Christie, Horowitz spends nearly a third of the narrative setting the scene for the murder: a small literary festival on a tiny island establishes a limited pool of suspects in a convincing manner; tensions concerning the construction of a Normandy-Alderney-Britain power line disturb the peace of an otherwise idyllic community; and a suitably obnoxious murder victim is presented in the form of Charles le Mesurier.

Having loved the first two books in this series, "The Word is Murder," and "The Sentence is Death," I was thrilled, not only to read the third, but to hear in the interview at the end of this that Anthony Horowitz is planning further mysteries featuring Hawthorne. Arriving on Alderney, Hawthorne and Horowitz soon meet the festival’s other guests—an eccentric gathering that includes a bestselling children’s author, a French poet, a TV chef turned cookbook author, a blind psychic, and a war historian—along with a group of ornery locals embroiled in an escalating feud over a disruptive power line. Lee has also been awarded honorary degrees from Mount Holyoke College (1962) and the University of Alabama (1990). (Noble, p. 8.) Where to begin: first, there is always a clever, layered, intelligent mystery with a resolution that I never see coming, but even more delicious are Horowitz's clever inside jokes about writers, the publishing industry, current events, and, even himself. As the character author Anthony Horowitz, he has been cajoled into writing a series of books about Hawthorne, a mysterious and irascible former detective who has become a consultant to solve murders that have stumped traditional law enforcement.McWhorter went to school with Mary Badham, the actor who portrayed Scout in the film adaptation. (Murphy, p. 141) Surprise, surprise, someone is murdered, and I’m not going to reveal who, because I went in blind, so there. I will say that the murder doesn’t take place until a wee way through, which suited me as it gave me a chance to get the characters straight, and learn the layout of the island.

One of the members of the literary group is travelling along with her accomplice under a false identity. Fleming, Anne Taylor (July 9, 1976). "The Private World of Truman Capote", The New York Times Magazine. p. SM6.

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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. The Big Reveal, when it comes, felt much less satisfying than in the first book and I could see it coming a mile off. (At least in this one, we can be thankful that Horowitz’s alter-ego doesn’t stagger away from the scene with a knife poking out of his chest.) This was another excellent addition to the Hawthorne and Horowitz series and I can't wait till the next book comes out. a b c Metress, Christopher (September 2003). "The Rise and Fall of Atticus Finch", The Chattahoochee Review, 24 (1). You always feel that Anthony Horowitz has such fun with this series, and he has a great group of suspects, from a spiritualist, to a children's author, a celebrity chef and a French performance poet. On the island, there is a row going on about a power line and this has created bad feeling between the locals. When there is a murder, it is up to Hawthorne to unravel the motives and there are many.