62 pages • 2 hours read
Anthony HorowitzThe Word is Murder
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 17-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary: “Canterbury”
On the train, Anthony is surprised to find Hawthorne reading a well-known French work of existentialism, The Stranger, by Albert Camus. Hawthorne surprises him further by saying it is for his “book group,” and Anthony attempts to get more details but learns little.
Anthony then explains his new triumphant theory of the crime: Clunes reported in his interview that Diana recognized him at a distance, without glasses. This leads him to believe that the story of the accident because of Diana’s lack of glasses is false and that Damian was the driver. Hawthorne reminds him that Clunes likely thought Diana’s glasses were not worth mentioning. He points out that that even Anthony’s draft chapter indicates that the funeral-home visit is key, not the accident.
They arrive at Nigel Weston’s comfortable residence in the town of Canterbury. Anthony is struck by his age, his pleasant personality, and the expensive art he owns. Anthony is surprised that the judge praises Hawthorne’s past investigative work. He also notes that Weston has photographs of himself with his male partner, bracing himself for more anti-gay bias from Hawthorne. Weston insists that he had to read the law as it existed at the time, which did not justify charging Diana since wearing glasses was not required. He becomes incensed at any implication of conspiracy between himself and Clunes to protect Diana from responsibility and demands they leave.
Anthony asks Hawthorne if he really believes Clunes and Weston would collude simply because of their shared sexuality and social networks. Hawthorne shoots back that all possible connections should be investigated and that he was concerned with potential financial motivations, not anyone’s private life. He stuns Anthony by saying, “It’s a shame I couldn’t go with one of the other writers” and that his other prospects “turned [him] down” (195).
Chapter 18 Summary: “Deal”
Anthony does his best to focus on the case despite Hawthorne’s angry remark. He reflects on his lifelong love of English coastal towns like Deal, which he has never visited. They arrive to find it empty with cold, bleak weather, but Anthony eventually decides it has its charms. As a kind of “peace offering” Hawthorne reveals a passion for model airplanes when they pass a shop (198), revealing a deep knowledge of the German aircraft. They visit Diana Cowper’s former home, in search of a use for the key from her kitchen. It turns out to open an elaborate memorial garden in memory of her husband. Both men are uncomfortably struck by this obvious sign of her devotion and leave quickly. The memorial plaque contains a quotation from Hamlet: “To sleep, perchance to dream” (199).
Their next stop is Deal’s downtown area, including the hotel where the Godwin boys stayed with their nanny. They also visit the ice cream shop and Pier Pharmacy, where a witness was seen briefly at the time of the accident, only to vanish mysteriously. The ice cream shop owner is still angry and upset about the tragedy, especially as her shop was closed for repairs that day—if the boys had only noticed, they wouldn’t have bothered to run across the street. She blames Diana but says the pharmacist will have more information.
The pharmacist, Traverton, recalls hearing the sound of the collision and going past the customer who soon disappeared, as well as Mary O’Brien’s obvious distress. He reports that he took Diana’s license plate, the evidence that would have implicated her. Traverton suspects that the mysterious witness was likely hiding his appearance with his sunglasses, as they were not necessary that day. He also recalls that the injured twin said, “Daddy?” (204). At the hotel, the owner recalls Mary O’Brien requesting adjoining rooms. She defends Diana and criticizes the nanny’s neglect. They leave soon after.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Mr Tibbs”
The next day, Hawthorne calls and browbeats Anthony into holding a meeting with unspecified guests in his apartment, where they will learn “what really happened in Deal” (208). Anthony is reluctant to give Hawthorne more access to his life but ultimately persuaded. Anthony spends the day reviewing the evidence, realizing that a real crime, without access to Hawthorne’s skills, leaves him with a massive amount of material and no way to prioritize or know what is irrelevant. He remains certain the Godwins are key. He examines more details, recalling Damian mentioning Grace’s earlier arrival in London, which makes her a suspect in Diana’s death. He cannot find motives for the funeral-home employees.
Hawthorne arrives and tells Anthony Diana’s cat, Mr. Tibbs, has been found, having merely escaped to a neighbor’s residence. He is surprised to learn that Hawthorne left notes with all the neighbors so he would be contacted about the cat, especially when Hawthorne says, “If it hadn’t been for [the cat], Mrs Cowper might never have been killed. Nor would her son” (212). Anthony is baffled by this, but his first mystery guest, Alan Godwin, arrives before he can learn more. Mary O’Brien arrives next, and she and Godwin are visibly uncomfortable to be thrown together in these circumstances. Hawthorne coldly informs them both it is time to tell the truth, or he will inform both the police and Judith of what he has learned.
He notes that their narrative of events has always struck him as unbelievable, and says, “Everything you two have said has been a complete pack of lies […] I’d almost feel sorry for you, except I don’t” (214). He asks when they began a romantic relationship and claims that their affair is the reason the twins were hurt. He realized the full truth on the trip to Deal, as the boys could not have failed to miss that the ice cream shop was closed and vacant. He was convinced when the pharmacist indicated that one of the twins called out for their father. Alan had snuck off to Deal to rendezvous with Mary. He was the mysterious man in the pharmacist’s, looking for a remedy for his seasonal allergies, and his sons saw him and ran for him. Godwin decided to conceal his affair rather than run to his children.
Hawthorne advises him to reveal the full story to Judith. Godwin calls him cruel and lacking understanding of his emotional ties to Mary, but Hawthorne says, “You were cheating on your wife. And because of that your child died” (217). The two leave, and Anthony is struck by Hawthorne’s cruelty. He also realizes that the accident has nothing to do with the murders. He asks Hawthorne what avenues remain. Hawthorne tells him that they need to interview Grace Lovell.
Chapter 20 Summary: “An Actor’s Life”
They visit Grace at her parents’ home near Heathrow Airport. Grace spends the visit telling the story of her time at RADA and relationship with Damian. Anthony reflects that it is obvious that Damian’s tragedy has served as an escape from an unhappy relationship. Grace recounts her lifelong dream of acting and her years at RADA, stressful but rewarding. She was close with Damian, his then-girlfriend, Amanda Leigh, and another actor, Dan Roberts. Damian was a widely acknowledged talent. Their last year featured important performances for critics, culminating in a production of Hamlet where Damian expected to play the lead. Dan was cast instead, but a sudden illness forced him into the less demanding role of Laertes. Damian’s performance led to his time with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Grace reflects that it showed her “what [she] loved most was the actor, more than the man” (224). Grace’s father says that Damian and Diana were alike in their disdain and disregard for others.
Grace and Damian reconnected years later, after Dan had dropped out of acting and Amanda mysteriously disappeared. Grace recalls that Damian was already more famous and wealthier and that she had hoped for a joyful life in Los Angeles after they mutually decide to continue her unexpected pregnancy. Grace recalls being unhappy in Los Angeles, neglected, as Damian was preoccupied with his social and career ambitions outside their family. Hawthorne, hostile and cutting, implies that she killed Damian, knowing she would inherit his estate, and that she was in London when Diana died. Grace denies any involvement, and her father points out that she was with him during Diana’s murder. Hawthorne changes tactics, asking Grace again about her Hamlet castmates. She indicates that Amanda briefly dated Dan Roberts and had a promising career before she vanished. After they leave, Anthony finds news articles on Amanda’s mysterious disappearance.
Hawthorne takes a phone call and informs Anthony that Nigel Weston has been the victim of an arson attack on his home. Anthony offers to accompany him back to Canterbury, and when Hawthorne suggests he stay home, they have another stark confrontation. When Anthony directly accuses Hawthorne of knowing who was responsible for the fire, he is struck by Hawthorne’s expression, thinking, “And there it was again, the bleakness in his eyes that I knew so well and which somehow told me that he saw the world in a completely different way than me and that we would never actually be close.” Hawthorne responds simply, “Yes […] You were” (231).
Chapters 17-20 Analysis
Time away from London intensifies the themes of dysfunction and the challenges of collaboration. It also ties Anthony and Hawthorne more closely to characters in their genre. Holmes and Watson, Poirot and Hastings, and other Golden Age detectives frequently travel across England, taking in unique settings beyond their London milieu. Hawthorne’s choice of book is also revealing. The Stranger depicts a Frenchman, Meursault, living in Algeria. The work opens with his mother’s funeral, and he is indifferent to most people, ultimately committing a murder he is executed for. While Hawthorne claims Anthony is nothing like the protagonist, some of these events echo the opening of The Word Is Murder and might reflect the killer’s attitude toward humanity. Hawthorne dismisses fiction as a mere hobby, while for Anthony it is both his passion and his livelihood. This creates friction between the two men, culminating in Hawthorne’s dismissal of Anthony as a suitable partner when he is confronted about his anti-gay bias.
In Deal, Hawthorne assembles all the evidence for the case against Alan Godwin, while Anthony is struck by the inscription on Diana Cowper’s memorial to her husband. It is a line from Hamlet, spoken during the soliloquy in which the grieving prince contemplates death and mortality. Hawthorne’s indication that Diana’s cat is the key to the case, and his refusal to explain his use of Anthony’s apartment for the meeting, underline the inequities in the partnership. Diana’s cat, significantly, shares his name with a detective: Virgil Tibbs, who first appeared in John Ball’s mystery novel In the Heat of the Night.
Hawthorne’s staged confrontation with Mary O’Brien and Alan Godwin echoes a frequent theme of Golden Age detective novels, where the investigator assembles all the suspects and delivers a monologue about the case. The contours of the tragedy reinforce the theme of deception, as Alan and Mary have lied to Judith to protect themselves. Hawthorne’s utter lack of sentimentality dismisses their behavior as selfish lust that makes them entirely culpable, where Anthony is slightly more sympathetic. The thematic coherence, however, comes at the expense of Anthony’s theory of the case: The Godwins ultimately prove to be, in a sense, a red herring. They reveal a great deal about human nature, and about Anthony and Hawthorne’s different approaches to the case, while resolving nothing about the central mystery.
Hawthorne’s interrogation of Grace Lovell is, as befits an interview with an actress, almost a monologue, with only a few interruptions. She is, in a sense, performing her life story and its relationship to her art and Damian’s. Damian emerges as a villain whose tragedy was his own ego, a man whose artistic gifts did nothing to deepen his personality. Diana’s connection to him and her tragic death brings in another element of the play: Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, dies after drinking poison meant for him. The attention paid to the production underlines the relevance of all the prior allusions to the play: Anthony, like Hawthorne, will soon discover its significance to the killer.
Hawthorne’s parting words to Anthony underscore the distance between them: Hawthorne makes no effort to spare the latter’s feelings or explain his cryptic remark blaming him for the fire. Hawthorne’s honesty without context, and snide digs at Anthony’s talent, emphasize that lying is not the only form a dysfunctional relationship can take.
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