Review: The Sentence is Death

The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Page length: 384 pages
Genre: Crime Fiction
Publication Date: 1 November 2018
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital
Source: ARC via NetGalley
 
Stars:  5 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)

 
ABOUT THE SENTENCE IS DEATH
 
You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late…’
 
These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine – a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.
 
Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?
 
Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.
 
But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realises that these secrets must be exposed – even at the risk of death…

My Review:

As I really enjoyed Mr Horowitz's new Sherlock Holmes in The House of Silk, I was very excited to get the chance to read The Sentence is Death. I read the book in two days and couldn't put it down – it was a sumptuous way to spend the weekend.
 
Anthony is a writer, (the writer of this book and many others) and Daniel is an ex-policeman turned private detective. I knew immediately I was going to be a fan of Daniel and Tony's pairing. The book opens on the television set for Foyle's War (I couldn't help but check – yes, Mr Horowitz was indeed a writer for said television programme), when Daniel Hawthorne comes blustering onto set ruining an expensive take.
 
The race to solve the murder was on…. Between Daniel and Tony, and between them and the police. A second death that was possibly a second murder, possibly a suicide, or possibly an accident muddied the waters. There were enough clues and red herrings to keep me wondering throughout the book.
 
I didn't realize this was the second book in the Daniel Hawthorne series.
And luckily I can now binge straight away on more Daniel Hawthorne with the first in the series The Word is Murder.
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.