5 stars out of 5
Jolly good fun!
The more books I read by this author, the more of them I want to read. No matter who's involved - Sherlock Holmes, James Bond or, in this instance, the author himself - they're clever, witty and thoroughly engrossing. Throw in a little murder, and it just doesn't get better than that.
This one is the second in what I presume will be an ongoing series featuring rather obnoxious private detective Daniel Hawthorne. Horowitz, known as "Tony" to Hawthorne, is the writer of a popular TV series titled "Foyle's War" (one of his real-life accomplishments, by the way) and somewhat reluctantly teams up with the fictional Hawthorne when the latter is called in by the police to help solve a crime. He's also writing a three-book series about Hawthorne, for which he's got a contract even though the first one has yet to be published. Now, Anthony is working on the second - so he's taking copious notes about what happens here - starting with the murder of well-known London divorce attorney Richard Pryce.
It isn't a pretty murder; Pryce was smacked in the head numerous times with an unopened bottle of very expensive wine (and then stabbed with the broken bottle). The only clue is the number 182 that's been left on the wall with green paint from an ongoing refurbishing project. But wait, there's more: Pryce recently represented the now ex-husband of a famous writer, who wasn't happy with the outcome and threatened to hit him with a bottle of wine the last time she saw him in a local restaurant.
For all intents and purposes, that would put her at the top of the suspect list. Hawthorne, though, isn't convinced. He's eager to start investigating, with Anthony's help, of course - but the local police, led by irascible Detective Investigator Cara Grunshaw, are determined to get the credit for solving the crime and insist that the "outsiders" keep them informed and stay out of their way.
Shortly thereafter, another man dies as a result of falling in front of an oncoming train - possibly an accident, possibly a suicide and possibly a murder. After a bit of sleuthing, a connection between him and the wine bottle victim turns up - together with the death of a third man some years earlier. But does that connection have any real meaning, or is it just happenstance? At that point I had no idea, but fittingly, one of my favorite quotes from one of the late Ian Fleming's Goldfinger popped into my head: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times it's enemy action."
Now that I do know, of course, I'm not saying anything except that I really, really enjoyed this book. Hearty thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, May 2019); 384 pp.
5 stars out of 5
The late Ian Fleming's James Bond novels are among my all-time favorite books - and have the distinction of being the only books I've read more than once (for the record, the same is true for the Bond motion pictures). So when the first of the "new" Bond books by Anthony Horowitz, Trigger Mortis, was released in 2015, I was more than a little apprehensive. But that one came through with flying British colors, earning a 5-star rating from me. Apparently, Fleming's estate agreed; he was asked to write another - this one - and by golly, I like it even better than the first.
In a different sense, this one is the first; it takes place as Bond has been called up from the ranks to replace the former 007, who's been killed in the line of duty. When asked by chief M what number he preferred, he responded that keeping the 007 would, among other things, send a message to the enemies that the British service might be down, but never out. Bond's first assignment, however, will put that message to the test.
Not knowing exactly what lies ahead, Bond is looking forward to earning his license to kill; he's headed for the south of France, where his predecessor was shot three times (definitely overkill) while investigating the Corsican underworld and super-corpulent bad guy Jean-Paul Scipio. Known for their abundant profits by manufacturing and distributing quality heroin, it's a puzzlement as to why the Corsicans suddenly brought that activity to a screeching halt. Add in the intrigue of a beautiful former agent who seems to have gone rogue, and Bond has his work cut out for him well before he leaves England.
Once in France, Bond meets up with Reade Griffith, a CIA agent with whom he, well, bonds. He also learns that the gorgeous femme fatale is now involved with Irwin Wolfe, a beyond wealthy businessman who's making a killing (no pun intended) in the manufacture of color film for the motion picture industry (as an aside, one of the interesting parts of this novel is the time setting - not long after World War II and long before the Digital Age we've all come to know and love).
It wouldn't be a Bond novel, of course, if Bond himself didn't narrowly escape mortal danger at least once (and since we all know he made it well past the initial license-to-kill stage, it's not a spoiler to say he doesn't get bumped off in this one). He does get roughed up now and again - and again and again - as he pits his many skills against everything from a high-stakes casino blackjack game to the wiles of a clever but possibly deceitful woman to several unscrupulous bad guys. It's all a high-stakes game that Bond is intent on winning - and for readers, a delightful prequel to what's already come. Good job!
Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, November 2018); 290 pp.
5 stars out of 5
This book had my name on it right from the git-go. First, I'm a diehard fan of the late Ian Fleming's James Bond books - and of the motion pictures as well, though for the most part they have little in common with the books. Second, Anthony Horowitz also authored Moriarty, to which I happily awarded 5 stars (yes, I love Sherlock Holmes as well).
For the first few chapters, though, I began to wonder if this one was destined to be not much more than name-dropping of people and places from other Bond books (it begins as Pussy Galore is ensconced in Bond's flat as a protective measure after the Goldfinger affair). Okay, I expected some of that - this one marks Bond's return after an electrifying exchange with Oddjob at Fort Knox. But would there be a real plot here with enough substance to stand on its own?
So, I consulted my Bond expert husband, who had just passed the book on to me, and his answer was a resolute yes. Even more impressive, he said, is the authenticity of writing style compared with that of Fleming. Now that I've finished, I totally agree; especially when the action began to heat up as the end was near, I really felt as if I were immersed in the pages of From Russia with Love or You Only Live Twice.
Interestingly, author Horowitz says in the acknowledgements that the concept for this book came from outlines Fleming had created for a possible TV series that was being discussed in America prior to the success of the film, Dr. No. Once that took off, the series idea was scrapped, and a couple of those outlines were used as the basis for subsequent movies. But five remained and were given to Horowitz; he picked one that piqued his writing interest and actually used about 500 words of Fleming's own dialogue in one chapter of this book.
The story here, set about a dozen years after the end of World War II, is that Bond learns his old nemesis, SMERSH, wants to kill the chances that a leading racecar driver will win an international Grand Prix in West Germany, thus allowing a Russian driver to win and demonstrating the power of the Soviets. Bond's boss, M, sends him in to prevent that from happening (yep, that means he'll have to impersonate a real driver and do laps around the track himself). But prior to the race, he spots a meeting between a top SMERSH official and a shady Korean millionaire dubbed Jason Sin, and suddenly Bond is convinced there's much more afoot than winning a road race.
Needless to say, Bond is right on the money, and the chase begins to find out what the secretive Mr. Sin really is up to (and, that accomplished, convincing the U.S. and British powers-that-be of the need to stop him). As Bond fans should expect, the whole thing comes down to resolution by the very capable secret agent, who must pull out all the stops to keep the world safe for democracy. Again.
I've missed you, Mr. Bond - great to have you back!
Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, September 2015); 320 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Sherlock Holmes, the well-known detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1880s, has long been a favorite of mine. Of course, I read most of the novels and short stories many years ago and continue to "follow" his adventures in every motion picture and TV show that turns up (actor Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal in TV's "Sherlock" is a favorite). But until recently - when it was a special Kindle offer - I had no idea this book (or its predecessor, The House of Silk, existed. In fact, it was an Amazon Best Book of the Month in December 2014, and I learned that both books were approved by Doyle's estate.
It was the description, though, that reeled me in: The mystery "explores what really happened when Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty, tumbled to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls." I stayed on hooked all the way to the end - an end that, for the record, pretty much blew me away.
The story begins not long after the two enemies tumbled over the falls, effectively eliminating one of the criminals sought by both the Pinkerton agency and Scotland Yard. Now, another one has moved to the top of the most-wanted list, and it appears he fancies himself a worthy successor to Moriarty. Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase, who provides a first-person narration here, has come to Europe from New York in hopes of tracking down the criminal, named Clarence Devereaux. Chase meets up with Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a dedicated Holmes aficionado, and they join forces on a search that takes them through unsavory parts of London and puts their lives at risk with regularity.
The writing style mirrors that of Doyle (that is to say a little bit stuffy, but totally fun), and references to that author's works are too numerous to mention. I don't think it's necessary to have read Doyle's works to enjoy this book, but on the other hand, a little familiarity with them certainly enhanced my enjoyment. I'll also emphasize that this is not a book about Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson per se; the references to both are many, but neither makes a personal appearance (Sherlock, of course, was lost at the Swiss falls before this book begins).
In summary, this is the first book in a while that elicited a "Wow!" from me when I got to the end. I also learned that author Horowitz has written a James Bond novel (another all-time favorite character of mine) set for release in the United States in September 2015, titled Trigger Mortis. Big surprise - I'm heading to Amazon to pre-order a Kindle version as we speak.
Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, December 2014); 309 pp.
