Another wonderful, complex mystery from Anthony Horowitz. This time Hawthorne provides Horowitz with the details of two murders in an upscale housing area five years earlier. The murders were carefully planned, brilliantly executed and improperly concluded by the police.

This is my first Hawthorne + Horowitz book in the series. (It's the 5th book!)

Close to Death is the story of a group of neighbours that live at Riverview Close. A neighbour (that is not well-liked) is killed and everyone's a suspect. Private detective Hawthorne is hired by the police to investigate the case. All the characters in the book were interesting and the setting was great. There was always something happening at Riverview Close which kept me turning pages.

This was a true detective story which is not usually my style. But I still enjoyed it. I didn't expect this outcome and thought it was pretty clever.

For me, this book was a 3.5 stars. I look forward to reading more Hawthorne + Horowitz books, maybe once I'm more familiar with the characters I'll be more into the story.

*** Thank you HarperCollins Canada + NetGalley for this ARC.

🔎 W H O D U N I T W E D N E S D A Y 🔍

Anthony Horowitz and Daniel Hawthorne are back again in Book 5 of the series “Close to Death” by Anthony Horowitz! This is yet another classic whodunit involving one heck of a dysfunctional pair!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

The Present: Anthony needs some new material for the next book in his series “Investigations by Hawthorne”. With no new cases going on, Anthony decides to write about a murder case that took place 5 years earlier that Hawthorne investigated.

The Past: Riverside Close is an exclusive and secluded gated community that is made up of 6 charming houses. The neighbours have always been close to another and content, until the boisterous Kentworthy family moves in. The residents of Riverside Close have had enough with the Kentworthy’s misbehaved children, blaring music, and cars packed every where. They plan a neighbourhood meeting to put forward all of their complaints and qualms with one another … and to everyone’s disappointment the Kentworthys are not in attendance.

When Charles Kentworthy is found dead with a cross bow arrow through his neck … all of the neighbours become suspects! Hawthorne is thrown into a twisted investigation because all of the suspects involved have reason to want Charles dead!

I LOVE this series and I am a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz’s writing style! I love the dysfunctional banter between Horowitz and Hawthorne and it adds a lot of entertainment to each locked room mystery!

Thank you kindly to @harpercollinsca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 16, 2024!

This is one of the most clever mystery series I’m currently invested in. It’s the perfect mix of fiction & the somewhat non-fictional, as Horowitz writes himself into the books. This time around he’s writing a book about a crime Hawthorne solved before they worked together so it takes on a completely different vibe, being mostly third person instead of first. The chapters where Horowitz breaks in, are insightful & entertaining. The mystery itself is a perfect one, small cast, multiple motives & a unlikeable victim that no one is really sorry to see dead. It’s the perfect mixture of love for golden age mysteries & a still a modern vibe. It has a fantastic ending, very apropos & perfectly executed. I love the series & this particular book as well, I can easily recommend you seek them all out! I hope there will be more.

The best Hawthorn & Horowitz yet. Wonderfully inventive, a most enjoyable murder mystery. I am slowly coming round to appreciate Hawthorn!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of Anthony Horowitz's "Close to Death".

This is the first book I have read in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series so I was initially confused when I discovered the author had inserted himself into the story as a character. Quite honestly I thought this unusual approach ruined the story. You start off in chapter 1 with the set up, getting to know the characters, becoming familiar with the location in which the crime will be committed and forming initially opinions based on the character's backstories. Standard stuff for a murder mystery novel. Then suddenly you are violently thrown out of the story by a chapter in which the author - who is a character and is writing the story you are reading - promotes his back catalogue of literary works and brags about upcoming projects. I lost count but I think the Alex Rider series was mentioned on at least 6 different occasions.

I suppose this series is too meta for me. But I know it has a good following so I hope fans enjoy this latest instalment.

The fifth instalment in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. I have loved all the prior books and did a little jig when my NetGalley request was approved. This one did not disappoint. Riverside Close is an idyllic gated community with only six homes. Hawthorne is called in to investigate when one of the owners is found on his porch with a bolt of a crossbow imbedded in his chest. As Hawthorne digs deeper he finds everyone in Riverside Close had a reason for wanting the victim dead. Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

A wonderfully crafted mystery that had me guessing until the end. Loved the unique setting and various timelines and characters. Highly recommend to all mystery readers.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I'll start by saying I'm a fan of Horowitz's adult mysteries, and was eager to read another book featuring the enigmatic Hawthorne.
I've always loved that the author makes a fictitious version of himself a character in these books, and I always wonder how realistic his portrayal is.
In this instalment, Anthony's publisher is nagging him to write a new book to fulfil his contract, and Hawthorne gives him a case he closed 5 years previously. The 'action' moves between the fictionalized version of this case, and Horowitz in the present grappling with a cranky Hawthorne and the challenge of writing about the case from arm's length.
I really enjoyed the shift from past to present, the different narrative styles, and the experience, with Horowitz, of trying to follow the clues of something that was already history. We're left wondering about the relationship between the writer and his muse.
Really well written and twisty as always, I zoomed through this.
For fans of contemporary puzzle mysteries.
4.5 out of 5.
Recommend for fans of contemporary semi-cosy puzzle mysteries.