Initially published in 2000 with the first novel, Stormbreaker, Horowitz's most well-known work is undoubtedly his children's series, Alex . Mother to a famous actor, it seems unthinkable to most she would leave the realms of the living soon. With a love for literature reaching across all genres (except romance), he has embarked on the quest to share its wonders with the world by helping people find their way to books which truly speak to them, whether they be modern sensations or relics from a bygone era. The Word Is Murder is a captivating tale with an interesting mix of blood, murder and humour only Horowitz could pull off… As the book neared the end, I found myself literally gaping in shock as the killer was revealed.

Hawthorne is ex-police (due to a mysterious, years old incident that got him fired) and he is wholly unlikeable and a raging homophobe.

As brusque, impatient, and annoying as Hawthorne can be, Horowitz—a seasoned hand when it comes to crime stories—suspects the detective may be on to something, and is irresistibly drawn into the mystery. Without getting metaphysical about it, Horowitz accepts the job, and soon finds himself drawn into a case which only gets stranger and more chaotic by the minute. The aggravating factors of first-degree murder depend on the jurisdiction, but may include a specific intent to kill, premeditation, or deliberation.

Anthony visits Hawthorne at his home, happy to have more details for the novel, and the partnership seems to have reached a harmonious stage. In the law of the Republic of Ireland, infanticide was made a separate crime from murder in 1949, applicable for the mother of a baby under one year old where "the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child". They interview Diana’s son, Damian Cowper, who is a fictional composite of other well-known British actors, so his career highlights include real shows and films, such as Homeland. However, although the common law is by nature flexible and adaptable, in the interests both of certainty and of securing convictions, most common law jurisdictions have codified their criminal law and now have statutory definitions of murder.Another study estimated the worldwide murder rate at 456,300 in 2010 with a 35% increase since 1990. They learn from other witnesses that Diana was anxious about her lost cat and had recently lost money in a theater production. In 1811, the wealthy white planter Arthur Hodge was hanged for murdering several of his slaves on his plantation in the Virgin Islands.

When we read fictional novels, we do so to distance ourselves from reality, to entertain ourselves with hypothetical scenarios which happen to people who aren’t real. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, [note 1] brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. While 2,905 of the black victims were killed by a black offender, 2,918 of the white victims were killed by white offenders.Although still a work of fiction, “The Word Is Murder” is written in first person, and the narrator is Horowitz himself. In many common law countries, provocation is a partial defense to a charge of murder which acts by converting what would otherwise have been murder into manslaughter (this is voluntary manslaughter, which is more severe than involuntary manslaughter). There are more than enough twists to keep you guessing, and the further we get into the story the more it feels like the tempo picks up, but never as to become overwhelming. Commentary: Postpartum Psychosis, Infanticide, and Insanity Implications for Forensic Psychiatry", J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 40:3:326-332 (September 2012).