The Blurred Man - A Diamond Brothers Story [Import] [Paperback]

Anthony Horowitz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 79 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0744590663
• ISBN-13: 978-0744590661
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,425,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anthony Horowitz's life might have been copied from the pages of Charles Dickens or the Brothers Grimm. Born in 1956 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a family of wealth and status, Anthony was raised by nannies, surrounded by servants and chauffeurs. His father, a wealthy businessman, was, says Mr. Horowitz, "a fixer for Harold Wilson." What that means exactly is unclear -- "My father was a very secretive man," he says-- so an aura of suspicion and mystery surrounds both the word and the man. As unlikely as it might seem, Anthony's father, threatened with bankruptcy, withdrew all of his money from Swiss bank accounts in Zurich and deposited it in another account under a false name and then promptly died. His mother searched unsuccessfully for years in attempt to find the money, but it was never found. That too shaped Anthony's view of things. Today he says, "I think the only thing to do with money is spend it." His mother, whom he adored, eccentrically gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. His grandmother, another Dickensian character, was mean-spirited and malevolent, a destructive force in his life. She was, he says, "a truly evil person", his first and worst arch villain. "My sister and I danced on her grave when she died," he now recalls.
A miserably unhappy and overweight child, Anthony had nowhere to turn for solace. "Family meals," he recalls, "had calories running into the thousands&. I was an astoundingly large, round child&." At the age of eight he was sent off to boarding school, a standard practice of the times and class in which he was raised. While being away from home came as an enormous relief, the school itself, Orley Farm, was a grand guignol horror with a headmaster who flogged the boys till they bled. "Once the headmaster told me to stand up in assembly and in front of the whole school said, 'This boy is so stupid he will not be coming to Christmas games tomorrow.' I have never totally recovered." To relieve his misery and that of the other boys, he not unsurprisingly made up tales of astounding revenge and retribution.


Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiest writer in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. He writes in a comfortable shed in his garden for up to ten hours per day. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he has also written episodes of several popular TV crime series, including Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. He has written a television series Foyle's War, which recently aired in the United States, and he has written the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss's book, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. His film script The Gathering has just finished production. And&oh yes&there are more Alex Rider novels in the works. Anthony has also written the Diamond Brothers series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Diamond Brothers on brilliant form, October 27, 2009

By 

Lorraine GG (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blurred Man (Diamond Brothers) (Diamond Brothers) (Paperback)

"The Blurred Man" is about the Diamond Brothers' investigation into the death of the founder of a children's charity on behalf of their client, who has given millions to the charity. The benefactor is suspicious because the founder died just before they were due to meet for the first time and the charity is closing down. He suspects possible murder and fraud. Philanthropic people do sometimes hand over large amounts of money without ensuring that their donations are going where they are supposed to be going, and there are many people who are happy to defraud such naive and generous people, so the basis for this particular adventure is not unrealistic.

We get the usual unattractive villains, who make a very odd couple. Nick is on good form: the charity made children's wishes come true, and when the client says that Nick must have made wishes sometimes, he says "Yes. But unfortunately Tim is still here". And Nick wonders to himself whether the client would donate to his own little charity, "Bankrupt Brothers of Dumb Detectives". Tim's tactless remarks in the scene where the brothers visit a witness in an institution are very funny too. There is an over the top scene in which the brothers are pursued by circus performers. Perceptive readers may pick up some clues to the solution of the crimes, others will be surprised by the revelations when the case is closed as a result of Nick's deductions.

This story contains some good descriptions of various London attractions and districts. I really like such authentic small details: I know from experience that many compartments on the London Eye are indeed empty when the day is wet and cloudy.

As I have worked for many charities and have experience of the damage that the fraudulent ones can do, "The Blurred Man" was rather painful to read, but this was balanced by the humour. I have read two Diamond Brothers stories so far, and want to read the others.