A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz Review

Anthony Horowitz and the subject of his book The Word is Murder, Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne, are invited to a literary festival on the Channel Island of Alderney, in preparation for their upcoming follow-up, The Sentence is Death. But what the pair don’t expect to find is an island divided by conflict and become embroiled in a nefarious country house homicide…

Anthony Horowitz is one of those names I often came across when browsing shelves but for whatever reason I never actually picked up any of his books. All I can say is that I’m glad I finally did because A Line to Kill is an outstanding murder mystery novel!

I didn’t realise this is the third book in a series but it’s very accessible as a standalone read. I was also unprepared for the meta angle of the story with the author inserting himself as the narrator of the novel - Watson to Hawthorne’s Holmes (Horowitz has also written two new Sherlock Holmes books, officially chosen by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate - and I can see why!). It’s a refreshingly unique and charming angle and instantly drew me in.

That said, Horowitz populates his literary festival with fictional authors, rather than drag any real contemporaries through the mud, and they’re an interesting and distinctive cast - a necessary must for what turns out to be a classic Agatha Christie country house murder mystery, and conceived and executed as superbly as anything by Dame Aggie.

I especially liked the setting of Alderney, a Channel Island three square miles big, and a mere eight miles off the coast of France - how it’s considered part of the UK, I don’t know! Having the story contained within a compact, isolated area was a masterstroke, ensuring the murderer couldn’t leave and lending the story a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere. It also sounds like a quaint place to visit.

Hawthorne is the star of the show and Horowitz writes both him and himself quite exceptionally - their relationship in particular is very amusing - but numerous other characters stood out as well like Judith Matheson, the festival organiser, the deliciously evil Charles le Mesurier, and the bumbling local constable from Guernsey, Torode.

The story is plotted perfectly with constant reveals about the various characters and twists coming at you left and right to ensure the story is consistently entertaining, and there are lots of little clues and red herrings sprinkled throughout to keep you guessing. It’s a smoothly written and confidently told tale - I breezed through it in a weekend, totally impressed with the assured and seemingly effortless storytelling.

A Line to Kill was a very clever, suspenseful and compelling murder mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed - needless to say this was my first but definitely not my last Anthony Horowitz book! Any Agatha Christie fans or fans of the genre will love this novel - A Line to Kill is a masterclass in crime fiction and an easy frontrunner for book of the year.