Anthony Horowitz continues his Hawthorne and Horowitz series with “Close to Death,” an intriguing mystery where the author inserts himself as a character.
Horowitz once again works with former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne to develop another detective novel — this one about a case Hawthorne had worked on about five years prior.
Told in the usual alternating pattern — one section with Horowitz and Hawthorne discussing the case, one section of portions of the book Horowitz writes — the author works through the case of Riverview Close, an enclosed neighborhood where several deaths occur.
Will Hawthorne, and therefore eventually Horowitz, be able to figure out the true cause of the various deaths? And will a book therefore ever be able to be developed about the case?
As always, Horowitz does a great job of creating delightfully zany and enigmatic characters with a plot filled with twists and turns, leaving the reader guessing until the very end. His almost lock-roomed-mystery story also has a refreshingly novel component with allowing himself to be a main character.
Fans of authors like Agatha Christie and other classic whodunnits will love this book.
Five stars out of five.
Harper provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.
“Close to Death” (Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery, #5) by Anthony Horowitz