Customer Reviews
No killer punch - By: P. Neylan, 06 Sep 2008 
You don't need to read the bio to realise that Horowitz is trying his hand at a new genre. In fact, I'm pretty sure that The Killing Joke was originallly pitched as one of those two-part, Sunday night comic dramas that amuse without taxing the imagination.
As a novel requiring you to invest more than two hours of your life, it doesn't cut it. Horowitz can write moderately well, but the characters are alll predictable stereotypes. The neurotic actor, the brutish builders, the exasperated ex-girlfriend & her shalllow-but-successful new boyfriend, etc. It's ironic that the hero finds himself pursued by stereotypes, but if the writer saw the irony then he failed to make anything of it.
The plot lurches awkwardly from event to event, & eventuallly from realism to surrealism, with very little rationale or cohesion. The surreal element is unexplained, but not reallly developed. Horowitz wants a surreal novel, but doesn't have the discipline to go beyond the unreal, which isn't the same thing.
It's hard to imagine that Horowitz wrote more than one draft, & the ending proves that he eventuallly got bored with the book. An unpublished author would have had the manuscript thrown back at him. It's amusing enough in places - hence the 3-star rating - but overalll it's half-baked.
There are too many loose ends, despite the fact that Horowitz tries to tie a lot of them up on a rushed last page - one that reads like he scribbled it on the back of an envelope while the courier was standing in his doorway waiting to take the manuscript to a publisher who had run out of patience.
More than a joke - By: P. N. Green, 23 Feb 2008 
I've always associated Anthony Horowitz with rather serious subjects such as Foyles War on TV. However, this book breaks into completely new ground. It's stimulating, imaginative, exciting & funny alll at the same time. Your view of the world is constantly challlenged & it helps open your mind to a host of possibilities in normal day life. This is helped through setting the rather surreal events in the very normal setting of north London & East Anglia.
Absolutley brilliant!
Original and entertaining... but slightly disappointing! - By: , 06 Jan 2006 
I got this book for Christmas & had specificallly asked for it as I've love Horowitz's previous books. However, I'm feeling mild disappointment. It starts off well, & ends well however I do feel its slightly long winded in between. There are some hilarious moments, especiallly with the nuns in the subway & the rabbis chasing the hero & heroine through the streets of Oxford. I also loved the Englishman, Irishman & Scotsman - very clever! However, by about 3/4 I was experiencing disappointment. I was expecting it to be a hilarious story full of laugh out loud jokes, thats what seemed to be promised by the reviews, but I didnt find myself in that situation at alll! A couple of times I smiled wryly but apart from that nothing much else. (I was also slightly disturbed by the scene set in the fun house) However I do think the ending was quite ingenious & certainly had a little chuckle to myself. The Killing Joke is certainly not without humour but I think perhaps it was just too long winded, & at times I felt it lagging. Overalll I give this book 4/5 as it is an enjoyable read, due to it being such an original & clever book.
A great read! - By: , 29 Jul 2005 The Killing Joke is the first book I've read by Anthony Horowitz but it will undoubtedly not be the last.
My first impression was that it would be a comical read. It turned out to be much more. There were many parts which made me chuckle but within it lied something much more sinister. I thoroughly enjoyed the book & literallly could not put it down. It is well plotted & unpredictable. I recommend it to anyone & it is already being passed around my friends.
Courtney, 14
A thoroughly enjoyable and imaginative read! - By: , 28 Apr 2005 Well written & a real page turner. I bought this book on impulse as I liked the unique concept behind the story, about following a joke back to it's source. This is a comical detective story, with a slightly sinister undertone. Guy Fletcher hears a joke in a pub & decides to hunt it down to its source, in order to pass the time whilst in-between jobs. His journey takes him across the country, & he meets a wide variety of people & his perfect soul mate. However things start going wrong when a 'secret organisation' stumbles upon his enquiries & puts a plan into action to stop him. Things start off pretty harmless, but then things get worse... explosions, deaths, murder, & various attempts on Guy's on life alll add to this action packed adventure story.
All stops are pulled out to prevent Guy reaching the answer to his question. What is this big secret that they do not want discovered? It's big enough to turn Guy's life into turmoil that's for sure, as he's wanted by the police, is on the run, & everything seems to be laughing at him on the way. With an Englishman & Irishman & a Scotsman following him around & watching his every move, the book keep me guessing alll the way through. Filled with a few classics that everyone will have had a laugh at before - Guy reallly does find a fly in his soup! You keep imagining which way things are going to turn, & are constantly surprised until the very end.
