South by South East

Diamond Brothers #3

by Anthony Horowitz

Tim Diamond, the world's worst private detective, is broke - as his much smarter younger brother Nick is quick to remind him. So, when a mysterious stranger offers Tim a wad of money for his overcoat, it seems like a stroke of good luck. But there are worse things in life than being broke.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Humor, Crime, Adventure

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Jemima Pett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Horowitz is a very popular kids author in the UK, and I saw a stack of his books in our library when I picked up The Boundless. I picked up this one, largely because of the plaintive message from one of the characters at the front of the book “This is the third book in the Diamond Brothers series and if you enjoyed the other two, then you need help.”

Tim Diamond is an adult, but very inept, ex-policeman turned private investigator (in London). Nick Diamond is his kid brother, and the one with the brains. Together they create mayhem solve the mystery presented to them when one James McGuffin turns up at Tim’s office asking for help, leading to a bullet being shot at him through the Diamond’s window. Tim is dim, and Nick is slick, and the MI6 agents, Ed, Ted, Ned and Red get them out of a spot of bother with the local police, one of whom is Inspector Snape – and I checked the publication date and I bet both authors were amazed they picked the same name.

This is a fun story with plenty of pun-ishment for those who hate corny jokes and word play. I’ll poke a stick at jokes about Nick, and you get the picture ‘cos it’s a fixture. There’s a chase across London, a trip to Holland, a requirement to save the world from an assassination that will lead to WW3, an auction of a Salvador Dali masterpiece, an ice rink and a windmill. Plus baddies called Scarface and Ugly. Oh, and of course, the mysterious master criminal Charon, who is behind the assassination attempt, but more importantly, out to put Tim and Nick out of commission for their role in McGuffin’s death.

It’s wild, wacky, and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, reading it in one sitting while my Kindle recharged. It’s also very British. I’d love to know what American kids make of it!

[Hamza Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think South by South East wasn't that fun compared to Public Enemy Number Two, But I loved reading it. It was interesting to read about a female villain. I liked the character of "Charon" How easily she tricked everyone. As usual Tim acted stupid and Nick came to his rescue.
"You are not going to faint, are you?" I asked
"No!" Tim was indignant
"You usually faint when there's a dead body."
"No I don't."
"You even fainted when your Goldfish died."
"That was grief."

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

161 - 2017

[Robert Tumpalan · Rating 4 out of 5]

South By Southeast can be described as a comedic mystery. Following the Diamond brothers who unexpectedly get caught up in an international spy crisis, we experience many twist and turns on their week long rollercoaster of an adventure. Filled with nail bitting situations and corny jokes, you really feel like you are watching a show on Disney channel while reading this book. This book contains scene with guns and violence, but nothing majorly graphic. I recommend if you are looking for a book that is light, a little silly, but still gives you the thrill of a solving a mystery.

[Theunis Snyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A juvenile mystery. Fast paced and very funny. The pace is so fast that something new and mysterious happens on every page. A cross between a spy thriller and a detective story. Besides juvenile mysteries and TV series like some episodes of Midsommer Murders and Foyle’s war, Horowitz also wrote some brilliant detective stories like “Magpie Murders”. The clues to the criminal in this story are all given. I am happy to say that for the first time I solved a mystery. But I didn’t see all the clues. I must sek out the rest of this series!

[John Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is still one of the series with the highest word to joke ratio I have ever read but there were a few less laughs in this one compared to the others I have read.

The plot was also too simplistically complicated. Which is an oxymoron that I doubt I have ever used before. There were elements that might have been better left out without affecting the ending.

There are some genuine laugh out loud moments but also some stereotypical humour that misses the mark. I recommend the series as a whole to anyone of any age. Your actual enjoyment will vary from book to book.

[15GuilderA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting and it was quite tense,i would highly recommend this.

[Awa Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading the book South By Southeast. I really liked the book. One reason I liked that book because all the mysteries, it was really hard to find out who was causing all the crime, which can be hard sometimes. For instance on pg.79 the Diamond brothers found agent 86 (Rushmore) got killed by Charon on their to the Winter house to find Charon, Rushmore was their only hope of Charon before Charon hurts anyone else. On pg. 140 Nick found out Charlotte (Tim's date) is Charon. She tried to kill Tim, but saved him.

You would like this book if you like mysteries and crime movies and book. I say this because you know when the killer is going to show up, or is going to get caught. There is lots of stabbing and shooting and lots of agents. You also grow to worry about if someone is going to die, or if the killer is going to show up. You like this book if you like crime.

One big challenge about this book is keeping track of who is who. It written with names that's not normal at all. There are lots of code names.

I think Charlotte is a very interesting character because she knew she could use the name Charon in code for her name. She also knew they would think she is a boy. So she tried to fall in loved with Tim in order to kill him. On the train when Charlotte lied that the police came on the train so she made them jump off and tried to make run over them, but they survived. Then she tried to kill Tim in the tunnel of love, but Nick his life.

[Reid W · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book because it had me thinking about everything that could happen when I wasn't reading it.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book, South by Southeast by Anthony Horowitz, a 13 year old boy named nick teams up with his brother to uncover the secrets behind a murder that was committed right outside of their apartment! They soon become involved in a world full of assassins, secret spy agencies, and lots of action. The meaning of this book is that through tough times you must always keep strong. The characters in this book where very well written. You will feel the suspense and action they go through. This is a very good book and I recommend it to everyone.

[Rogerio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely going the Alex Rider way now with MI6 assignments and fake facades. This is the down side. There is a bit of self-critic in the introduction written probably for this edition where it says that Tim is portrayed as an idiot and it is something I picked up in the previous books. What I like about is that the mysteries are thought of, they aren't so simple (no pun intended with Tim Simple). It takes some imagination to get a south by southeast from Sotheby's Tsar's Feast. So clever enough for teen spy books.

[CraftyChara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice. Clever lines and wordplay. This book is like an Alex Rider novel. What with MI-6 blackmailing our MCS into helping them.

3.5

[Sana Zameer · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Read - November, 2018
Reread - September, 2022

Another case for Tim Diamond, the worst detective in the world and his very sharp brother Nick.

[Sam Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good. First Diamond brothers book I read and got me addicted to the series

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first saw the cover of the book, I was.a little afraid to read the book. A guy who looked like a detective was shot, and his stomach was bleeding. I soon noticed that he was a secret agent working for a company named MI6. His mission was to find a dangerous killer named Charon, and preventing him from killing a Russian diplomat. Unfortunately, he died, and now the MI6 asked Nick and Tim to complete the agent's mission, which was finding the identity of Charon. So Nick and Tim went to Amsterdam to stop the crime. They were nearly killed several times, and some of them were really tensional and suspenseful. For example, Nick volunteered for a magic show, because he wanted to get out of the situation. The magic was locking up Nick in a glass box, and poking knives into holes. But when the magician was just about to do it, Charon's agents came out, assaulted the magician, and did the magic on their own. However, it was magic of course, so Nick was alive, and other agents from the MI6 arrived and shot Charon's spies. In the last, the Diamond brothers found Charon, and they completed the mission. I was surprised when Charon turned out to be a woman named Charlotte, who was close to Tim and Nick. Well I was expecting it because they both started with Char, but I noticed that I also had a stereotype that all criminals were men. The best part of the book was when it was showed that the MI6 actually hired Charon to kill the Russian diplomat, because Charon had to go to Russia to kill him, and that way the MI6 will investigate the visa and find her. The reason I liked this part was because it was pretty clever to disguise like that and track down Charon. However, I think the main highlight of this book was "south by south east" changing to "Sotheby's. Tsar's Feast". It was pretty much of a good idea, but I think it was a little lame. Lastly, I liked how Nick and Tim interacted and worked together. When every Tim got trouble, Nick held his back, and when Nick was just about to be arrested, Tim was the evidence showing that Nick was innocent.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading Anthony Horowitz and how this series in particular made me fall in love with his writing and how he crafts a story. The more that I read I always find myself coming back to the books of my childhood and having more fond memories of them than I was expecting, which is nice because I like being able to revisit them now that I am older.

This story in particular follows Nick and his dimwitted brother Tim as they try to outrun the assassin known as Charon. Their journey takes them across London and also to Dover and Amsterdam before they find themselves face to face with the deadly and elusive killer.

This books seems to have a much faster pace than the previous two, but it works because you have to remember that this series is for children and they’re not the best at sticking with longer stories. But the pacing works fine with this and the humour that is peppered through the book really elevates it as well.

[Charlotte]

I really liked it because it was really boring but really really good game really really boring boring it was really really boring it because you didn’t like the elephant 🐘 is boring and I like to think about it and it I would like it if I got to it it would really really like it to have read the book I really liked and I loved this book and loved this one ☝️ was the amazing book I really like to book 📖 I was soooo it is really amazing 😉 is a very interesting day to get it and better read the book book and it was amazing 😉 is it a very very interesting read it and book it really interesting and it is really really good it because I 👅🙈🐮🦊🐱🎒🎩👑🐱🐻🐱🐮🦆🙊🌹

[Starling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book actually LOOKED promising. But then as the story progressed, it just became rather boring. I really don't know which age group this book was targeted at but I know it's a tad too dark for kids and too simple for teens and above.

The plot twist wasn't really a plot twist. I could already see who the actually villain was ever since he/she entered the picture.

Actually, the mystery part and pieceing together everything was kinda interesting but then because of how it is written and because of the rest of the story line, nahh it just didn't work for me.

[Christopher Dodds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great and rather funny Diamond Brothers story from Anthony Horowitz, who once again does a great job in combining great characters, humour and moments of peril and the narrow escapes the two brothers have mostly having to do with the smarter brother Nick getting them out of it, but being supported by great sections of humour coming from his older brother Tim who is do greatly written that you can believe that he is quite dense but in a good way and not in a negative way.

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately whilst an amazing story the twist was lost on me as I guessed it halfway through. I still found it an enjoyable read but Tim is becoming more and more whiny. I loved the movement and the idea of a femme fatale amazing. It really does sound very much like a situation the powers that be would put themselves into.

[Rahul R · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good humorous book to read when you're looking for something light and nonsensical. The plot, while not being the main focus, does its job at least. The jokes are very hit or miss, but there were some times I belly laughed.

[Theo Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

- I thought that this was a brilliant story and had many great plot twists, although I felt that I was getting a bit tired of the style of humor that Horowitz follows.
- I would recommend this book to anyone who likes detective books, and to anyone who likes a good laugh.

[Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another early look into the origins of some Alex Rider ideas. This time, a 14-year-old is forcefully recruited by MI-6 (a la Alex Rider) and there's even a Ms. Jones that works for them and reports to the head of the program, again, just like Alex Rider.

[James Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had enough plot in just 150 pages to really sing. There are also more of those snappy lines that make it fun to read. For kids looking for something fun this isn't bad, but don't look for anything deep. 4.6 Stars

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thus had me laughing out loud.
This was so funny.
The diamond brothers worked well together, Tim a little bit dim and Nick the clever younger brother.
The baddies were good and had me fooled right to the end.

[Adhesh Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might just be the weirdest book I've ever read. Seriously. It's funny enough nut I just can't stand this mystery. And come on! The murders are total madness. Stabbing a guy with ice skates? Seriously?

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny book.

[Grace DuBois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!
LOL
Tim, is a hoot!
Lots of laughs!!!

[Kushnuma · Rating 3 out of 5]

South by Southeast is book 3 in the Diamond brothers series.

This was another good read for kids. Reminded me of the Alex Rider series.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling and gripping it had me hooked. Also lots of corny jokes and one liners. Would recommend to those who like comedy and mysteries.