‘Magpie Murders’ is Anthony Horowitz’s latest whodunit
Anthony Horowitz is prolific and versatile: He writes screenplays and teleplays (including “Foyle’s War”), young-adult fiction and adult fiction, and he contracted with the Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming estates to continue the Sherlock Holmes and James Bond series. His latest novel, “Magpie Murders,” is a clever whodunit evoking classic murder mysteries. We talked to Horowitz about the book and his career.
Q: Tell us about your new book.
A: “Magpie Murders” is a classic, golden-age murder mystery that involves a book within a book. The “inner book” has no ending because the author of the book is murdered. Therefore, his editor — in the 21st century — investigates his murder to find out who did it in the book. It’s difficult to describe, but I think the main thing is that it is two books for the price of one. And no one has been able to guess the ending — either of the endings!
Q: It may not have been solved, but I am guessing you are pleased that you do abide by the conventions of the mystery genre.
A: The book can be solved; the clues are there as to why the writer was murdered, but no one has managed to spot it. It makes me smile. I have my hobbies: I love illusions, I love magic, I love tricks. I love things that make people smile, and that’s what I was trying to do in the “Magpie Murders.” From the reactions I have gotten, it seems to have worked.
Q: Was constructing a narrative involving a book within a book more complex than a straightforward novel?
A: It’s probably the most complex book I’ve ever begun. I worked out all the different connections to the book within the book, and I had to examine all the characters in one world to ensure they had counterparts in the other world. But at the same time, the book could not read complex. It was as if it was a very elaborate scaffolding for a simple building.
Q: The book is written somewhat in the vein of Agatha Christie.
A: She was the great Queen of Crime, and the book has many nods to her techniques and to the world of fiction she created. In “Magpie Murders,” I acknowledge her influence, and it’s no coincidence that one of the key characters, Alan Conway, shares her initials, so she is there in spirit. But it’s not a continuation of her, nor is it a pastiche as in the Holmes or Bond novels that I have written.
Q: Your books featuring Bond (“Trigger Mortis”) and Holmes (“House of Silk”) were authorized by the Fleming and Doyle estates.
A: Yes, when I was growing up, James Bond and Sherlock Holmes were probably the two greatest influences on me. The stories stayed with me, and when the Holmes and Flemings’ estates asked me to write books using their characters, it was irresistible. It was irresistible because it was an invitation to “live with” great heroes of mine. But as much as I admire Doyle and Fleming, and as much as I endeavored to raise my game and be as good a writer as them, I have my own voice, too. I do original books and the continuation novels with equal pleasure. My writing makes me happy.
Q: Are you doing any other books featuring Holmes or Bond?
A: The Fleming estate was very happy with “Trigger Mortis,” and they have asked me to do another. I am in the research stage now.
Q: How many novels have you written?
A: I’m not even sure myself anymore. But I think I am up to 47.
Q: How many screenplays have you written?
A: (Laughs, then begins counting up episodes). I’d say between 50 and 60.
Q: What’s the difference between writing novels and screenplays?
A: There are separate techniques, but they do have similarities. They are both narrative-driven, and they seek to create suspense. But television is more collaborative, with set designers, costume designers, the director and so forth.
Q: Which do you prefer to work on?
A: I love all the writing I do, but books to me seem to have a greater value, particularly since I write so many books for young people. I have had a small but maybe benign influence on their life through books.
Q: Your books for young people include the popular Alex Rider and Diamond Brothers novels. Is it difficult for writers of young-adult fiction to maintain an audience? That is, does your audience grow up and leave you?
A: Children do grow up, and they leave their children’s books behind them. But I meet many people in their 20s and 30s who read me as a child, and they tell me how much those books meant to them. And there is always a new audience, if you write classic children’s stories.
Q: Rumor has it that you occasionally model characters in your novels — usually villains — after people you have met and do not care for. Is that true?
A: True! The headmaster of my school was Mr. Ellis, who appeared in an episode of “Foyle’s War” as a Nazi-sympathizing, fascist wife-murderer who himself got killed in the final reel. Now, you might think of this as a petty revenge, but if you are a long-distance writer like I am, sitting in a room by myself for 10 hours a day, polishing off your enemies in your novels makes you smile.