SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER OWN MURDER?

A woman is strangled six hours after organising her own funeral.

Did she know she was going to die? Did she recognise her killer?

Daniel Hawthorne, a recalcitrant detective with secrets of his own, is on the case, together with his reluctant side-kick - a man completely unaccustomed to the world of crime.

But even Hawthorne isn't prepared for the twists and turns in store - as unexpected as they are bloody...
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Buried secrets, murder and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz's page-turning new detective series. If you enjoyed BBC's Sherlock, you'll LOVE The Word is Murder.

Chosen as one of Crime Time's books of the year

'Raises the game-playing to Olympic level' - Guardian Books of the Year

'A real page-turner. I loved it!' - ALED JONES (ITV, Weekend)

'The beguiling whodunit plot is dispatched with characteristic elan as Horowitz blurs the line between fact and fiction' - Financial Times

'Splendidly entertaining, absorbing and difficult to put down. Hawthorne is an intriguing character' - Daily Express

'Sharp-witted readers who think they've solved the puzzle early on can rest assured that they've opened only one of many dazzling Christmas packages Horowitz has left beautifully wrapped under the tree' - Kirkus Reviews

'Deduction and wit are well-balanced, and fans of Peter Lovesey and other modern channelers of the spirit of the golden age of detection will clamor for more' - Publishers Weekly