ARC Review: Hawthorne and Horowitz#5

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

Publication Date: April 16, 2024

Summary from Netgalley:

ARC provided by Harper via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

I really enjoyed this newest addition to this series, it just might be my favorite so far. It is a bit different than the other books, in that there is a story within the story, but the mystery was just as twisty and hard to figure out as the first four books were.

The structure of this book is very different from the other four, as there are really two stories going on simultaneously. The story starts off in the past, introducing us to the characters that live in Riverside Close, through their own voices in several chapters. It is only after these chapters that Anthony Horowitz brings us to the present and lets the reader know that this book is about a murder that happened before he met Hawthorne. There is not a whole lot of interaction between Hawthorne and Horowitz in this book, which I kind of liked. I often don’t like how Horowitz treats Anthony, so this was a bit of pleasant respite. The story continues to jump back and forth between the past and the present, which really works well for this story.

I liked seeing how Hawthorne tackled this case. He does go about it in his usual way, but even when the evidence points to one person, he is determined to prove that the police detectives are wrong. Hawthorne is just as prickly as he always is, and often turns his suspects into adversaries. I think at times this makes his job harder, but it seems to work for him.

All of the suspects that live in Riverside Close are rather nice and seem perfectly normal on the surface, but they all have secrets that they would prefer to keep hidden. They all had reasons not to like the victim, Giles Kentworthy, but none seem strong enough for murder. I liked how the plot for this part of the story had lots of twists and even though I thought I knew who did it, I was never quite sure until the end. Even then there were doubts as to what really happened.

The present part of the story was interesting as well. Anthony finds out some more about Hawthorne’s past and is beginning to understand him better. He is still curious about the man behind the detective, but I think that will always be a bit of a mystery. One of the things I like best about these stories is the way the author makes himself a character, sort of like a Watson, always a step behind his Sherlock.

If you enjoyed the other books in this series, you will certainly like this one. It is a bit different but that difference really works well for this story. If you haven’t yet started this series, then you should give it a chance. It is a cozy mystery that is well written and has interesting characters and plots that will make you work hard to solve the murders.