Thought I would try another of these Hawthorne mysteries, especially as this one was billed as a locked room mystery. Sadly it failed to grip me despite the excellent plotting, the characters seemed to lack any depth.

Really enjoyed this - will definitely be recommending and looking forward to the next one by this author!

The fourth installment in a witty, clever and hugely enjoyable series featuring a relucant Horowitz as he accompanies private detective Hawthorne in order to write a series of "true crime" books.

Horowitz is now busy with other projects, including the writing of Moonflower Murders and a production of his play Mindgame. Following the ordeal of the previous three investigations, which left him feeling inept and put his life in danger, Horowitz is now putting his foot down once and for all and refuses to write any more books working with Hawthorne.

Unfortunately, Horowitz soon finds himself being arrested for the murder of the theatre critic who wrote a savage opening night review of his play. It is the same police detectives he crossed paths with in book three. The only person who can help him is Hawthorne, but will he even talk to him after Horowitz has said he simply does not want to work with him?

Brilliant storytelling, cleverly plotted, witty and self-deprecating.


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A fun romp of a murder investigation, with the great rapport, wit and sarcasm supplied largely by Hawthorne in his quest to absolve ‘Tony’ Horowitz.

This has so many echoes of an Agatha Christie mystery, with clues aplenty but with the solution always just out of grasp.

A thoroughly enjoyable, sharp, witty read.

"The Twist of the Knife" by Anthony Horowitz, the fourth installment in the Horowitz and Hawthorne series, continues to deliver the delightful storytelling that has become synonymous with this series. Horowitz's continues to artfully weave himself into the narrative, a meta-literary approach that blurs the lines between fiction and reality and offers a fresh perspective on the murder mystery genre.

In this installment, Horowitz's becomes a more central figure to the story as a prime suspect in the murder of a critic who vehemently disparaged the opening night of his latest play. This twist injects a heightened level of tension into the storyline as Horowitz’s anxiety increases.

The book is well paced, every page feels crucial with each scene contributing to the larger puzzle. Horowitz ensures all the essential clues are presented in plain sight while managing to maintain an aura of mystery and suspense that keeps you guessing until the final reveal.

"The Twist of the Knife" further explores the enigmatic character of Hawthorne. As a flawed individual, Hawthorne has always been intriguing. This book delves deeper into his backstory, shedding more light on his complexities and motivations. There’s still much more to uncover about the detective that I look forward to exploring future books.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping book that I read in two sittings. Great characters and a really engrossing story line. Highly recommended by me!

This is the fourth book in the series with Hawthorne the detective. Back in the first one we discover Horowitz has been backed in a corner by his publisher that he has to write a book about the detective and ends up with a three book deal. That has finished and not wanting to do anymore he tells him that's it.
You just know once that is done it will comeback to haunt and does it. His new play is opening and after opening night a top critic slates him and the play and is found dead. That would be bad but she is killed by an ornimental dagger given to cast and crew and it turns out Anthony is now the main culprit. He is so much in it that the police arrest him and he is plonked in jail. He turns to the one person he knows can help, Hawthorne but will he help.
The story follows Hawthorne & Horowitz as he tries to solve the murder and clear his own name.

The book is as ever well written which is no less than to be expected from this author. It is written is a great style that has humour as well as following the story as they try to solve this.
You can read this as a stand alone but if you haven't read the Hawthorne series then your missing a treat and start with the first and read them as you won't be disappointed.

A gripping book that I struggled to put down. Brilliant plot with a host of interesting characters, I will definitely read more by this author.

Yet another absolutely brilliant book in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series!

This is book 4 and technically each plot stands alone, but there is an overarching mystery related to Hawthorne’s past which you can only really follow if you read the books in order. Plus, the characters develop so well that their relationship alone makes it worth reading the lot.

Hawthorne and Horowitz make a lovely ‘odd couple’ of investigators. Hawthorne is as wonderfully obtuse and deliberately annoying as ever, and Horowitz is witty, self-deprecating and riddled with anxiety. And with even more cause than usual, as this time he is on the hook for murder.

I was pleased that I managed to pick up most of the clues as the murder mystery plot unfolded, but remained entertainingly baffled as to where they pointed right up to the last minute of the dramatic Agatha Christie-style big reveal.

The whole book is so clever and humorous, and the meta hook of author and character combined is such a good one, that I find myself loving this series more and more with each book released. I therefore sincerely hope that the arm-twisting suffered by poor Mr Horowitz means that we can expect at least three more instalments of Hawthorne and Horowitz investigating!

This is the next in the series with the author and Daniel Hawthorn and the plot follows an unusual trajectory for a murder mystery. Instead of just solving a crime, their starting point in this page turner is having to prove that the author didn't do it! A twist in more senses than one indeed!

This excellent adventure is the fourth Sherlock-and-Watson-type partnership between Anthony Horowitz (the author playing himself) and the fiendishly clever detective Daniel Hawthorne.
And this time it’s the author himself who finds himself in a pickle when he’s banged up for murdering Harriet Throsby, a theatre critic with a poison pen who demolishes Anthony’s debut West End production of his new play Mindgame. It seems like an open-and-shut case because Anthony’s fingerprints are all over a dagger believed to be the murder weapon.
The trouble is the playwright has cheesed off the detective by telling him he doesn’t want to work with him anymore. Now he needs him badly. Lucky for him (and us) Hawthorne takes the case, contrives to get his sidekick out of jail and embarks on a delicious whodunnit with many suspects, many motives and many twists and turns.
The reader is plunged into the catty world of London theatre and beyond as the plot thickens and is finally resolved in a locked-room Poirot-style climax when Hawthorne gathers the major players together to unmask the dastardly killer.
This is crime fiction and meta-fiction of the highest order, page-turning, witty and seriously smart. A perfect holiday read.
REVIEW PUBLISHED IN YOU MAGAZINE, SOUTH AFRICA'S LARGEST WEEKLY MAGAZINE

Fantastic book.

Plot summary (SPOILERS) - "Tony" tells Hawthorne he worn't write another book for him. Tony gets accused of murder, asks Hawthorne toi help him. Hawthorne works out who the murderer is. To repay his "debt", Tony has to write more books for Hawthorne.

There's something almost charming and old fashioned about this book, with an Agatha Christie type gathering at the end to unmask the murderer. It's a great plot and what I liked most are the almost comical moments where Tony is (hopelessly) trying to work out who the murderer is and the effortlessness of Hawthorne's detective abilities.

Some peole have criticised the books saying they're recycling Holmes and Watson - you know what? I don't care - they're a great read, with strong plots and great characters.

I'm hoping that this means that tehre are at least another three to come - and that we'll finmd out what really happened in Reeth!

My first Anthony Horowitz read, and it certainly lived up to the hype! It was intensely gripping, with plenty of twists and turns. I loved it! Going to have to read the rest of their work now!

The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

Everything is looking up for our author Anthony Horowitz. His play Mindgame is about to open on the London stage, which means he can finally finish his uneasy literary partnership with former detective Daniel Hawthorne. All is well on opening night and Anthony has reason to be optimistic as he waits at the afterparty for the first reviews to come in. Shockingly, The Sunday Times’ famous critic Harriet Throsby savages the play and its author. It’s the end of the line for the play. It’s also the end of the line for the critic. The next day Harriet is found stabbed, killed by an ornamental knife. Anthony Horowitz owns one very much like it…. The detective in charge has a grudge against Anthony. Daniel Hawthorne might be worth knowing after all.

The Daniel Hawthorne books, of which this is the fourth, are among the most witty, clever and dastardly books that I have ever read. They take apart crime fiction and crime writing and throw it all back together again in a way that leaves the reader, particularly this one, astounded. The fact that the author is one of the two main protagonists, giving astonishing proceedings an air of authenticity and truth, adds an extra edge of fabulous audacity! Anthony tells us everything. He’s at pains to be open with us, to justify himself, and to get things off his chest, especially about Daniel Hawthorne. Daniel is an enigma to Anthony and to us, even though, of course, Anthony Horowitz has created him.

Quite apart from the cleverness of the concept, and the truly brilliant way in which it is delivered, giving the reader all sorts of insight into what life may or may not be like for a successful novelist, The Twist of a Knife is a fantastic crime novel. It has a great plot which, as the title suggests, is as twisty as you could wish, and the characters are so enjoyable, not least the greatly feared Harriet Throsby. The idea that literary critics are being targeted is developed with relish.

As with the other novels, The Twist of a Knife is hugely entertaining and very witty, largely due to its narrator who, in this novel above all others, has much to prove, especially to the police.

I listened to the audiobook, which was read so well by Rory Kinnear. I recommend it!

Firstly, I would like to thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Although I have read books by this author in the past and really enjoyed them, this is the first one with Hawthorne. I also enjoyed this one, I read it in one sitting - I couldn’t put it down! A bit like the Agatha Christie stories I enjoyed in the past. It wasn’t a thriller but it was an excellent murder mystery.

Anthony Horowitz returns with the fourth instalment of the Horowitz and Hawthorne mysteries. Or perhaps we should call them Hawthorne Investigates? Regardless, this is a very funny sequel in which Horowitz sends up the literary world, mysteries,theatre, and many other things but mainly himself. In this novel, a very critical critic ends up dead after a particularly scathing review. The main suspect? The writer of the play reviewed. The playwright? None other than our author and protagonist Anthony Horowitz. There are loads of suspects, but somehow, the evidence keeps pointing at him. The only person who can help is Hawthorne. The problem is that Horowitz decided to end the series and cut ties....

A well-deserved 5 stars. 6 sequel that can easily be read as a standalone. But don't sell yourself short. Read all of them!

The Twist of a Knife is the fourth crime novel written by Anthony Horowitz and featuring Anthony Horowitz and ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne. After Horowitz tells Hawthorne he will not be writing any more books based on Hawthorne’s experiences as a detective, he then needs to ask him for a huge favour.. Horowitz’s play Mindgames has just opened in the Westend and critic Harriet Throsby writes a scathing review and is then found murdered. With Horowitz as the prime suspect, Hawthorne is against the clock trying to find the real perpetrator.
Full of the usual humour and twisty plot line this novel will not disappoint and I look forward to the fifth novel.

Not the best out of the Horowitz and Hawthorne series but still entertaining enough to pass the time and keep me hooked. I felt the characters were a little 2D and dry and only really started contributing to the plot later on. The mystery was a little bit obvious, unfortunately, and Horowitz was a remarkably self absorbed, childish character. Other than that, I really enjoyed the dramatic reveal, the occasional plot twists and Hawthorne in general.

Clever, Witty and entertaining. All you need to know.

I was sent an ARC of this to read on NetGalley, so I have not read the other 3 books in this series, so I went into this completely blind with little background on Hawthorne. Was this an issue? Not really, I do not think so.

I really enjoyed this book, there is some clever humour, it is complex and a really interesting story. Should we comment on the fact it was a female murdered, for an honest, review, even if it was negative? We probably won't.

I loved the little tidbits that we learn about Anthony throughout the book as well.

All in all, given I have not read the other 3, this was a really good read for me, something different outside of my usual Fantasy driven reading and I will definitely be picking up the first 3, I am glad I was given the opportunity to read this, I highly recommend it, even if you are not well versed in the tales of Hawthorne so far.

The fourth in the Hawthorne/Horowitz series sees the author accused of murdering a theatre critic. More whodunit than thriller, Horowitz is a lively and engaging storyteller and it the novel is a pleasing read.