Play Book Tag discussion

Anthony Horowitz, celebrated mystery writer, has a new thriller play opening at the Vaudeville Theatre, something he has been looking forward to for months. However, when a scathing critic is murdered the morning after opening night, things quickly go sideways - especially since Horowitz is the prime suspect. With evidence piling up against him and time running out, he turns to the only person he thinks can help him - PI Hawthorne. Will Hawthorne solve the mystery before it’s too late?

The mystery was very well done. Horowitz cleverly dropped clues in plain sight, scattered amongst some red herrings, that kept me constantly switching my guess of who I thought committed the crime. I only managed to figure it out a page before the reveal - and I was only half right. Everyone has motive, everyone looks guilty, but when he reveals who is actually guilty, it makes total sense when you look back.

Where this book lost me a bit was in the metafiction aspect of it. Horowitz, who is himself the main character, regularly references other books he’s published and work he’s done. It was a bit confusing trying to figure out what was real and what was fiction. Maybe if I had read his other works (especially the Hawthorne series) I might have appreciated it more. I enjoy some metafiction, but this was a little too much for my taste. If you enjoy metafiction, though, then is definitely a good read for you!