Review: The Sentence is Death (Hawthorne & Horowitz #2)
Gaby Meares
Although Horowitz claims he has ‘no wish to turn myself into a character, and a secondary one at that: the perennial sidekick’, that is exactly what he has done in this series. He is Dr. Watson to Daniel Hawthorne’s Sherlock Holmes.
The set-up is thus: Hawthorne is a disgraced former police detective, now working as a private investigator. He has chosen Horowitz to be his biographer, which means, of course, Horowitz is involved in all his cases. Following in the tradition of Holmes, Hawthorne is a difficult character, seemingly unaware of his negative effect on everyone he encounters: he’s constantly rude and politically incorrect, making it very difficult for Horowitz to portray him in a sympathetic light. And yet, we still do warm to Hawthorne and his eccentricities.
Horowitz has cleverly woven fact with fiction; real with imaginary, which can at times be a little distracting, but overall makes for an intriguing read. While acting as Hawthorne’s sidekick, Horowitz is also working on the shoot of the latest episode of Foyle’s War (he is the writer and creator of same). This gives the reader a fascinating glimpse into the not-so-glamorous world of television and all its unforeseen difficulties. I will now watch Foyle’s War with some insider knowledge up my sleeve!
Horowitz’s real-life work colleagues and family also star in the book. Although Jill has wife ‘has made it clear that she’s uncomfortable being a character in my book’ he argues ‘unfortunately, truth is what it’s all about. She is the main character in my life’ (my italics). Well, that’s just damn cute, don’t you think?
This is a whodunit written in the classic tradition of Christie and Conan Doyle. There are red herrings aplenty and a labyrinth of twists, turns and coincidences to keep you guessing. It’s a jolly good romp!