Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
This is the 5th book in the series featuring Horowitz and Hawthorne and I have enjoyed them all so far. This one is slightly different in that it does not feature a ‘live’ case but one which occurred a few years before. Hawthorne was again brought in to help the police and he was working alongside someone else, not Horowitz. It focuses on the death of an unpopular man who lived in an exclusive close. All of the people in the close are suspects and we gradually find out more about them all. Each one, it seems, has something they want to hide from others. There is a mixture throughout of first and third person and we see different perspectives on the people involved and the crime committed.
I enjoyed the mystery and did not work out who the rer was through the clues that were given but it kept me engaged throughout. I did not find it my favourite of the series but I did not miss some of Hawthorne’s foibles and attitudes.
I will be recommending it to others in my book group. Many thanks for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

This is the fifth book in the Hawthorn and Horowitz series, but the first one I have read. The mystery to be solved involves a gated community, effectively making this a locked room murder mystery. There didn't seem to be much in the way of sleuthing going on, rather the story revolved around the characters, in particular Horowitz trying to find out more about Hawthorne. The book started off well with a classic murder mystery style setting of the scene. However, I was rather thrown by the sections in which Horowitz appears as a character as they interrupted the pace and added a somewhat surreal feel to the book. Perhaps if I had read the earlier books in the series it would have felt less strange. The ending was disappointing, but again, if I'd read the other books it might have made more sense. Nevertheless, this was a quick read and I did get into the idea of the author as a character after a while.

I absolutely loved how this book was written. I think have the author himself as the narrator and flicking between that and the story he was writing really made the book very interesting to read. It’s very cleverly written and really entertaining to read.

Horowitz is the master of well-clued mysteries and twisty plots. This book is no exception. It diverges from the usual first-person meta fiction perspective for the main plot, but this brings a new angle on the (can we call it long-running yet?) Hawthorne series.

Overall a good read. I was irritated by not having any clue as to where I was in the book- no "mins til chapter end" "percentage book left" etc.
A bit too clever for it's own good which made it awkward at times.
The corpse is definitely a worthy candidate for murder
I can see this becoming a TV show anytime soon. Reminded me a little of The Magpie Murders

This is the first book in the series that I have read. I found it a bit confusing at times with the two timelines but I certainly enjoyed it.
Creating a book on a previous murder and building the story from recordings and police notes takes a special skill.
I became invested in the characters and was very willing to dislike the new arrivals in the close.
Enjoy I did

Step into the captivating world of Riverside Close where gossip flows as freely as champagne in an exclusive gated community filled with larger-than-life characters. In this cleverly crafted whodunit, author Horowitz weaves a tale that is both entertaining and mind-blowing.

The story delves into the murky waters of neighbourly conflicts. The residents of this upscale enclave may appear to have it all – wealth, intelligence, and social status – but beneath the surface lies a web of secrets waiting to be uncovered.

What sets this book apart is the infusion of the author themselves into the storyline, adding an extra layer of intrigue and complexity. With each turn of the page, readers will find themselves drawn deeper into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone is a suspect.

Filled with wit, charm, and plenty of twists and turns, this is a delightfully entertaining read that will keep you guessing until the very end. So pour yourself a glass of wine, settle into your favourite armchair, and prepare to be thoroughly entertained by this gripping tale of betrayal, secrets, and scandal in the most unlikely of places.

It was my first time of reading a book by this author. Book 5 in a series. Cosy murder mystery wrote in the way of a third person . Author interviews private detective in a case that he was involved with a few years back. Decided it would be ok to try to unravel the full story.

Cosy murder mystery not just once but a few times it happened in the book. Interesting ending.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

Having read others in the Hawthorne series this was a little different in that the author was not investigate the crime alongside Hawthorne and writing as it unfolded, but instead was in a power struggle with Hawthorne to get access to enough material to even write up the "solved" case.
The book is rich with characters, all with a shady enough past or secret to make them all suspects, and the setting is a great one- the posh enclave, a gated community with seemingly no opportunity for interlopers.
I fell for the red herrings, suspected the right person (and many wrong ones) and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.
Very different to a typical crime novel but equally as compelling.

CLOSE TO DEATH is an unusual mystery where the author is a character in it, trying to write the book of a solved case with the "help" of a surly detective.

The format of this book is interesting, a split between Anthony Horowitz (as a fictionalised version of himself) trying to write the book and the chapters he's written. It took me a while to get used to it as it was initially quite jarring, but it was an interesting self-insert and the book writing frustrations were (obviously) very authentic.

The focus, however, felt less on the mystery and more on Horowitz trying to get the information to write the mystery. It certainly isn't a traditional set up in any case, and means the detective isn't around much. The sleuthing isn't the bulk of the book, therefore, making this feel very much untraditional, which I'm not sure how I feel about.

There are certain conventions and expectations of mysteries, and this doesn't really fill them. While deviations can be intriguing and make it feel less repetitive, there is also the matter of sometimes just wanting a more typical mystery where you know the shape and so are trying to guess alongside.

I'm also not sure what to make of the ending. While Horowitz is the narrator, Hawthorne is sort of the main character, but their interactions are very antagonistic. But Hawthorne is the one who comes up with the answer, not Horowitz, which wasn't as satisfying. Also it doesn't quite resolve because we get the answer but the truth doesn't exactly win out.

It's also the fifth in series, which I wasn't aware of when I went in (I have the fourth in series too, which I also didn't realise was part of a series!) I was OK reading it without any prior knowledge. Maybe I missed some things but thrillers tend to be standalones with simply detectives recurring.

I think I will try the fourth book - I'll know what to expect and the format might be more common based on the blurb.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot or publisher's "blurb"...there are already reviews like that out there.

This is the 5th in the "Hawthorne" series - however as I have not read any of the earlier novels, it was a first for me.

To begin with, I was a little puzzled - but then realised that the book is of a similar ilk to the classic "Sherlock Holmes" novels, where the narrator is the a fictionalised version of the author. My puzzlement arose as the fictionalised author sounded rather like the real author - but once I realised the deal, I was able to read on...

Although I very much enjoyed the book, I felt that the pace was a little uneven at times. There are red herrings aplenty - so much so that I suspected pretty much all the characters at one point or another!

All in all an enjoyable read - but I think I would have benefited from reading the earlier books beforehand. I shall look forward to more in the series...

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

The latest in the Hawthorne series was unfortunately a disappointing read for me. It was clever, but what I enjoy most about this series - the author being a character, with an intriguing mix of fact and fiction - was mostly absent this time. The author is obliged to write another book about Hawthorne, but instead of working on a current case, he writes about an old one which has already been investigated, set in a community of wealthy neighbours in Richmond. This leads to mostly third-person narration as he imagines how the events unfolded, based upon what Hawthorne has told him and some extra digging. I appreciate the ingenuity of the novel, which was more apparent the further I read, but I found it quite tiresome. I have to admit that I'm not really a murder mystery fan, so if you are then I'm sure you'll like the book. What I read this series for is the narrative style, which was a bit lacking in this instalment. Sadly I'm not going to continue reading this series.

I love these Hawthorne books.
I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere of the close, it really conjured up the golden age country house murder scene with a limited pool of suspects.
Having said that I suspected almost everyone and the solution was as ingenious as ever and I just couldn’t stop reading it. I love the mix of reality/fiction.

The fifth in the perfectly splendid DI Hawthorne series. In this book, as promised in an interview I heard in 2022, Horowitz (Anthony) varies the style in his role as "Watson" recording the cases of Hawthorne, the "consulting detective".
It seems Anthony has a contractual obligation to the publishers for another book, and since, as he explains to Hawthorne, they can't just wait for another case to turn up, Anthony persuades Hawthorne that he will write about an old case which took place in Richmond in Surrey, five years previously. However, when it comes to it, they've agreed on a case that proves somewhat unsatisfactory in many respects, not least because Hawthorne seems unwilling to reveal all the relevant information to Anthony. Consequently - despite being warned off by a number of people - Anthony goes off on his own, investigating and re-interviewing witnesses...
Once again, we are treated to a fictionalised but plausibly real version of Anthony's life with anecdotes and insights into an the art of writing a novel. [Plus an opportunity for him to play with the fiction he has created: "A lot of writers say that their characters talk to them but very few of them mean it literally."].
A sheer delight.
Can't wait for more.

I loved this latest book about Hawthorne and Horowitz; I have enjoyed all the previous books and the relationship between the detective and writer is brilliant. This one is slightly different, but still gives both men plot time. A very puzzling mystery indeed that seems to be solved halfway through, but isn’t of course. I would have enjoyed seeing Khan made to look stupid and miss out on promotion, but maybe later in the series? To me, this is an unmissable series of books that are very, very cleverly written.

I really have been enjoying this series. After the previous book, The Twist of a Knife, it did feel like the author owed himself a bit of a break. He really went through the ringer there for reasons I won't mention but which are handily recapped in this book. And, to a degree, I think he gave himself one as this is a very different style of read from its predecessors. Whilst this is, still, metafiction, in that the author plays a key role in the action that unfolds, it is also more of your everyday mystery novel. Whilst we are used to the books being narrated in first person, this is a combination of first and third person narration as Anthony Horowitz, under pressure to produce a brand new Hawthorne book as per his committed deadlines, goes back to Hawthorne's first case as a private investigator.

It's an interesting premise. Whilst this is a story that has a conclusion already - it is afterall from some years earlier - Anthony Horowitz, author and tour guide for this series, does not know what it is. It's not a case Hawthorne has spoken much about, and so as an author, and reader, we are coming to the action cold. So should he find out the conclusion before he begins the story, or follow the story to see where the clues will lead? Which will give the best and most satisfying conclusion for readers? Well - spoiler alert - there is a ruddy great spoiler for the conclusion to this particular case halfway through the book. So where do you go from there?

Well, the beauty of these books is in the reading. We are used to the author playing the few-seconds-behind-the-truth Watson to Hawthorne's Holmes (although I'm sure that Hawthorne would not like that comparison), but in this case Hawthorne is very much a reluctant participant in the telling of the story and it is up to Anthony Horowitz to piece together the many clues and see where the story leads him. Turns out he's not quite as inept an investigator as he might have thought, although it's fair to say his investigations lead to a whole heap of threat and trouble, much to the readers delight. But he has a rival in this case - Hawthorne's first partner, a fellow former Detective and one who is far more observant and astute than our dear author it seems.

The book is still packed with the trademark self deprecating humour and although I missed the camaraderies, of sorts, between Hawthorne and Horowitz, it was still a fun case to puzzle out. Even if the big reveal was stated quite bluntly part way through. Or was it? With some nods to the wonderful world of golden age crime, some very colourful characters, and a whole host of motives for murder - and having 'met' the victim, can't say I wouldn't have been tempted myself - maybe not everything is as straightforward as it seems? All I do know is that I am looking forward to more books in the series. It's just a fun foray into the world of Detective fiction told from a very unique and witty perspective that I am loving. And having lived not far from where this book is set, it really did make me smile. Definitely recommended for fans of the series.

I didn’t realize Close to Death is the first book in Horowitz’s Daniel Hawthorne series, where the author is himself a character, partnering with Hawthorne on several cases. However, it didn’t seem to bother me as I found myself immersed in Riverside Close where a string of murders is happening within a locked gated community mystery. The premise reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Orient Express or Ruth Ware’s Woman in Cabin 10, both set on a train and cruise ship respectively, and from which there is no escape.

The cast of residents includes a barrister, doctor, dentist, a woman with a jewelry business and a chess player, with others who are either retired, deceased or ill. All living peacefully until Giles Kenworthy moves into a home with his family. From disputes ranging from ruined flowers to dead dogs, every resident has a motive for the eventual murder, and this brings Hawthorne and Dudley to Riverside Close.

I enjoyed the way this book played out, the many twists and turns and red herrings. The characters were well developed, many unlikeable, and where secrets were skillfully drip-fed along the way. I found the story extremely entertaining, each suspect holding a grudge against a neighbor and how we learn about Hawthorne’s past which no doubt will set up future novels. Third person past narrative interwoven with first person present observations made by Horowitz is a unique detective fiction writing style I hadn’t encountered before, and it kept me hooked throughout.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House UK, the author and NetGalley for the privilege of an advance reader copy.

An enjoyable book but not as good as the previous Hawthorne ones. Horowitz is always readable and including himself as a character in the books adds another dimension. Adding himself to this plot almost felt it was to drag the plot out to a full length book. I wasn't sure why Hawthorne would have brought the historical case to Horowitz attention. The plot was suitably convoluted with lots of red herrings and kept me guessing to the end. Setting two time lines did create some repetition. Despite some negativity, I am still looking forward to the next in the series.

How do you determine the murderer when everyone has the same motive. Giles Kenworthy has been making his neighbours lives a nightmare and then he's dead. What happened? This is the fifth in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series and it continues to deliver. The pacing of this novel is slightly different as the crime took place in the past and so Horowitz isn't observing first hand. For this reason, it took a bit of time to get into it as you don't see Hawthorne or Horowitz until about 25% in. However, once I got to that point it was a fast read which kept me guessing til the end.

Number five in the Hawthorne series, Anthony Horowitz narrates the story as himself as usual.

The story is about a case that happened in the past, involving a small gated community who'd lived together in harmony for years. Then a new family move in, and they are brash, loud, inconsiderate, arrogant, potentially racist........the author paints a very clear picture of a thoroughly unlikable family who manage to upset the locals on a number of fronts, creating disharmony and a murder, then a suicide. But not all is as it seems, of course.

Even Hawthorne's dark side reappears, as in earlier books, but again, not all is as it seems.

Famous author, so very much looked forward to reding this ARC courtesy of NetGalley, and I wasn't disappointed. The book had me gripped from start to end. Fiendishly well written, twists and turns start gently and increase in their intensity all the way up to the last page. Very clever bit of story telling and writing.