Speaking to Anthony Horowitz invariably involves looking ahead. Last time when we spoke for Moonflower Murders , we were also speaking of the third book in his Daniel Hawthorne series. And now as we talk of the third book, A Line to Kill (Penguin Random House) we are also talking about the third James Bond novel Horowitz has been commissioned to write by the Ian Fleming estate.

Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. The visiting authors - including a blind medium, a French performance poet and a celebrity chef - seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets. In any event, le Mesurier and his beautiful wife hold a soiree for festival attendees and residents of Alderney..... Cigarette of Anxiety: A jittery Helen demands a cigarette and gets one from Hawthorne, the morning her husband is found dead.Horowitz writes character rich mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie. These aren’t fast paced stories, but they are rich in detail and plot points. This time, the duo travel to a literary festival on the channel island of Alderney. It’s not long before the sponsor of the festival turns up dead and Hawthorne is asked to help with the investigation. As usual Hawthorne’s usual intuitive skills are fine tuned as he continued to banter Horowitz who often appears clueless. It makes for the often funny interactions between them. Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: While Hawthorne has some sympathy for the suicide of Anne Cleary's son, he bluntly tells her that it doesn't justify murder. This was another excellent addition to the Hawthorne and Horowitz series and I can't wait till the next book comes out. Inspector Lestrade: Deputy Chief Jonathan Torode, sent over from Guernsey as Alderney is so small it doesn't even have cops. He is clearly out of his depth while also resenting Hawthorne's presence. The epilogue notes that he was fired for incompetence.

Sequel Hook: At the very end Anthony gets a postcard-from-the-grave from Derek Abbott, saying only "Ask Hawthorne about Reeth." (Reeth being a village in Yorkshire.) note In the next novel Anthony does ask Hawthorne about Reeth, but Hawthorne admits nothing.Author Anthony Horowitz is one clever mystery writer. In his Inspector Daniel Hawthorne series, Horowitz, in good fun, writes himself into the series as the author who pens novels about the retired Inspector’s cases. Inspector Hawthorne doesn’t always treat his author well, is generally downright dismissive of anything “Tony” has to say or offer. The banter between Hawthorne and ersatz Horowitz is part of the joy of reading the series. Writing is never difficult for me. James Bond is perhaps the biggest challenge to write because I’m working in the shadow of Ian Fleming and there is so much research to do to get it right and to get the correct tone of voice. I find the process of writing one of immersion and absorption.”

That Horowitz is out manipulated, out maneuvered, and outshone by his own creation is a running joke. Horowitz also sets his sights on other tropes of the modern writer: publishers, agents, editors, literary festivals. He is an insider's insider. More importantly, he manages to make the reader care for Hawthorne, who is neither cuddly nor entirely admirable, but seems to live by his own code--a code which neither Horowitz nor the reader to this point have entirely apprehended. Blind Seer: One of the authors at the literary festival, Elizabeth Lovell, is a blind woman who claims that going blind gave her the power to talk to spirits on "the other side of the mirror", aka the afterlife. She calls it "blind sight". Subverted in that Daniel and Anthony are both positive she's faking, and they're right. Double subverted when it turns out she isn't even blind. 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. This is a worthy addition to this highly addictive series, and I can't wait to begin the next installment.' The most conventional of Horowitz’s mysteries to date still reads like a golden-age whodunit on steroids.This is the 3rd installment in the Horowitz/ Hawthorne series, featuring my favorite duo. This can work as a standalone, but for insight into the characters I recommend reading the previous two books first (plus they are really good!). Horowitz is both author and a character in his own novel, as a bumbling ‘Watson’ to retired Detective Hawthorne’s ‘Holmes’. They are an unlikely pair that get along as well as oil and water. Their relationship adds much to the charm and humor in this story, with Horowitz’s cluelessness adding to the fun. Those attending the festival, as well as the local police, believed the crime was solved when Derek Abbott, a man who had worked for Charles, seemed to admit to the murder. Abbott, who had just been fired by Charles, had been arrested and questioned by Hawthorne in the past for child pornography and having sex with minors. The police were only able to convict him of possession of pornography. While Abbott was in police custody, his left leg was permanently injured when he fell down a flight of stairs. He claimed Hawthorne pushed him. The ending reveals that Kathryn Harris put on a French maid costume for the party and lured Charles away with the promise of sex, only to kill him. True to Horowitz form, there is a murder right as the festival begins. A gentleman, who owns an online gambling company is found dead, stabbed to death. What is unusual, is he taped to a chair with his right hand free. The island has no residing police force, so Hawthorne decides to take the lead on the murder. Of course, a second murder complicates the investigations. Furthermore, the men discover that a controversial power line is planned to be developed on the island adding fodder for motive.