Over spring break, I devoured Anthony Horowitz’s “The Sentence is Death,” a gripping and engaging murder mystery about Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, Anthony Horowitz. The pair investigate the murder of celebrity divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, who had quite a few secrets and even more people who might want to see him stopped.
If you’re confused about the author appearing as a character, don’t be – Horowitz appears in the novel as a writer documenting Hawthorne’s cases in the midst of Horowitz’s own work on “Foyle’s War,” a real life TV series written by the same author. To have a sidekick who learns clues along with the audience and solves the mystery (albeit slower than the detective) is common, but this “nonfiction” lens was refreshing and entertaining. Horowitz (the character) is a writer primarily, but is observant enough that when the detective isn’t forthcoming about the case, the famous author decides to solve it himself.
I attempted to do the same. I wrote down notes on every clue and suspect and tried to piece the case together, and I got really, really close to the solution – but not quite. Can you do better? If you can solve the mystery BEFORE page 308 and send an email to weathervane@emu.edu with the name of the murderer, the reason the victim was killed, the latest page you read when you solved it, and how you came to your conclusion, you may win a Common Grounds gift card. You can do it!
“The Sentence is Death” is the second in a series detailing the Hawthorne/Horowitz partnership, but they stand alone sufficiently, and hey, you could use the first book as a practice round! Both novels feature Horowitz’s practical yet descriptive writing style and unique commentary, vibrant and complicated characters, and a suspenseful series of riveting revelations. “The Sentence is Death” in particular shares more details about our cryptic detective, whose personal life he keeps strictly private, and more of Horowtiz’s colorful commentary about their strained partnership.
I grew up on Sherlock Holmes and Encyclopedia Brown, with the occasional Cam Jansen, Jigsaw Jones, Nancy Drew, or Theodore Boone – it would be fair to say I stood a decent shot at figuring out the mystery before it was revealed. This book was so well done, I was entertained getting close, but was still surprised by the ending. And, of course, it was an enjoyable read from a strictly literary standpoint as well.
In summary, it’s a great book with an even better mystery – and if you can honestly solve it only using your copy of the book and your own detective smarts, you could win a Common Grounds gift card! Remember, you have to solve it when you’ve read no further than page 308 (after Horowitz says he solved it, but before he shares his theory with Hawthorne). The competition ends on April 14. Students can find copies at local libraries such as the Massanutten Regional Library, online library apps such as Libby, or affordable online shopping websites like Amazon or Thriftbooks.