From the publisher: In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fourth literary whodunit, Horowitz becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne.
The Twist of a Knife is the fourth Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery, and this series just keeps getting better. In this entry, the author is the primary suspect after a nasty critic of his newest play is murdered. It’s weird to wrap my head around Horowitz being a character in his own books, and I’m always wondering what’s “true” and what’s made up about his life and his personality. It reminds me in good ways of last year’s movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which starred Nicolas Cage as himself.
Anthony Horowitz the character is a bit clueless and a bit of a goof. Hawthorne is an incredibly talented detective who is full of secrets and extremely unlikable at times. They work well as a team – in the way that Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson work well as a team. In this book, the fictional Horowitz gives us a great impression of the innocent man being falsely accused (although he is a bit of an idiot – where is his lawyer?).
This series is just so much fun. I enjoy the English atmosphere of the setting. I love the insight into the worlds of publishing and theater. The relationship between Hawthorne and Horowitz is a hoot. I was so entertained by The Twist of a Knife that I really didn’t even try to figure out who done it (and I did not, in fact, guess who done it). Hawthorne brings everyone involved together on stage for the Big Reveal and it’s fantastic. The ending of this book provides plenty of fodder for additional books, and I hope there are plenty more.
If you like classic murder mysteries and haven’t yet read any Hawthorne and Horowitz titles, I recommend you give the first one, The Word Is Murder, a try. I read an advance reader copy of The Twist of a Knife.
The Twist of a Knife is scheduled to be published on November 15. The library will own all of the books in multiple formats.