There have been three books in this series and I’m reading them out of order, but no matter. These are enjoyable romps written by an author who has already tried his hand at writing a Holmes-and-Watson mystery, so he knows how this works. But while Dr John Watson M.D. was a fictional character, Anthony Horowitz the author — and character in this series — is very real.

To truly enjoy a book like this one, one has to like the characters and in particular the Holmes-like former police detective Hawthorne, for whom Horowitz is just a foil. And Hawthorne is an interesting character, as are many of the others who appear in these books.

This one is set in London, and begins with a women being brutally murdered on the same day that she has gone to arrange her funeral. It’s an interesting premise, and the book is filled with red herrings. The plot was not entirely convincing, but I’m not sure anyone expected realism here — you come along for the ride, and the pleasure of at least solving some of the puzzles.