2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss A Line to Kill, the third book in the Hawthorne & Horowitz series by Anthony Horowitz.

Pages: 375 pages

Length: 1 month (October)

Participants: Beth, Susan, Dominique, SarahKat

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

Started listening to this book this morning. So far enjoying the story.

I started this on audio today.

Just realized I never returned after I finished A Line to Kill. I liked this one just as much as the last couple. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Started this one yesterday. I love the concept of Hawthorne being pulled into Anthony's world and completely conquering it at that first meeting. Poor Tony! 😂

I'm almost done. Beth, that part was funny, but also why?? You think Hawthorne is just awkward or possibly on the spectrum or something but then stuff like this happens and it's obvious he can "act the part." Why does he give Tony such a hard time?

My review

I actually started this one over because I got distracted by other books and lost my place. Finished today.

I liked the book more than it seems you did, SarahKat. I haven't read the book you mentioned in your review, so this didn't seem as much like familiar territory to me. I enjoyed the way the mystery played out.

Good question about why Hawthorne gives Anthony such a hard time.
-- He doesn't like having to rely on someone else (he can't tell his own story, so needs Anthony).
-- He's really feeling a bond with Anthony, which makes it harder for him to be more transparent.
-- He just likes yanking Anthony's chain (my ex-father-in-law was like that... he like to stir the pot just for the sake of stirring the pot).
-- Or lots of other reasons that we'll learn about later.

Definitely a good mystery, and if you're still into the premise of the series that real-life author writes about himself like a fictional character, you'll enjoy this one.

How do you imagine Hawthorne looking? Because of the voice the narrator uses, I imagine an older, heavy-set guy... I picture Robbie Coltraine. But he's definitely described as slender and in his 30s... which leans me toward Benedict Cumberbatch in his Sherlock Holmes days. What do you think?