I’m a massive fan of the Hawthorne & Horowitz series and was thrilled to get an ARC of Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz.

I love the premise of these books, Antony Horowitz puts himself front and centre in the books writing a fictional version of himself working with a former Met Police Detective Daniel Hawthorne as he investigates complex cases.

This is the fifth instalment of the series and takes a different path from the previous books. In this book Horowitz is writing about a past case that Hawthorne worked on. I loved this change of pace and really liked that it mixes things ups.

I particularly like the way in which the two men work together in a publishing marriage of convenience. Horowitz is keen to learn more about Hawthorne, but Hawthorne is quite indifferent to Horowitz. They are such an unlikely double-act.

In this book, Horowitz writes chapters, checking in with Hawthorne periodically for more notes, as well as doing his own research in Richmond. And, as ever, he’s trying to learn more about the elusive Hawthorne.

I was completely engaged and loved the way Horowitz introduced all the residents of Riverview Close in Richmond. It becomes very clear that all the residents have a motive to murder Giles Kenworthy, who recently moved to the close and unsettled the tranquility of the close. This time it’s up to Horowitz has to solve the murder.

After this fifth book, Horowitz still has books to write in his publishing contract with Hawthorne. So, I can’t wait to read the next instalment in the Hawthorne & Horowitz series!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House UK, for making this book available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

How do you solve a problem like Giles Kenworthy? If you’re one of his neighbours living in Riverview Close, by potentially shooting him with a crossbow. That’s what happens to the noisy neighbour, whose gas guzzling cars, loud parties and plans for a new swimming pool finally tips someone over the edge. But in Riverview Close, everyone is under suspicion… and there’s a lot more going on that civilised conversation and neighbourhood watch. Step forward former detective Daniel Hawthorne – his fifth outing with Horowitz as narrator – who recounts one of his previous cases with the dry humour and biting wit that we’ve come to expect from him. From the start, it’s a puzzle that only continues to worse – if everyone has the same motive for murder, who is responsible? It gives me such joy to read Anthony’s books and this series is one I always look out for.

Once again, this book knocks it out of the park
What I love about this series is that it really reads as it is meant to, you are following Anthony the writer, and Hawthorne the detective!

As always, well written with great characters and story!

Anthony Horowitz made me want to read this book, it had a mixture of humour as well as mystery which made it easy to read.

I was very pleased to see this new book in the Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne series and eagerly took the opportunity to read it. This one is slightly different from others in the series that I have read in that it concerns a crime that was committed - and solved - in the past. The narrator reports on past events, rather than “helps” with the sleuthing as he does in previous books.

The format owes a lot to the classic “locked room” genre of murder mysteries, although this plot is set within an upmarket gated community, rather in a mansion or train, for example. As expected, the residents are a mixed bunch, some getting on better with their neighbours than others. After quite a descriptive start in which the narrator does not feature, the story moves along quickly and the book is difficult to put down. However, rather like Hawthorne, I didn’t find the ending the ending very satisfactory.

I've read Anthony Horowitz books before, but this is the first I've read in this series, which features the author himself (real) as a character within the story, writing about, and assisting on cases with, private detective Daniel Hawthorne (real within the story, though not I assume in real life). So he mentions his wife, agent, etc by name, who are all real, and tells events as though they really happened, though they didn't. To complicate matters further he's telling us what Hawthorne told him, which may not be reliable. Meta, and right up my street. I love this sort of thing.

It would probably help to have read the previous books in the series, but I haven't, and it wasn't particularly a problem. I'm going to, though. I don't quite know what to make of Hawthorne. He seems pretty questionable.

Anyway, the story here is about neighbour wars - in the expensive Riverview Close, which doesn't actually have a river view - that end in murder. We get to know all the neighbours, and there's even a handy map of the close at the start. Yay! Meanwhile Anthony, the character (people keep calling him Tony, which seems to annoy him) is striving to find out more about the enigmatic Hawthorne and who he really works for, and it's all a bit sinister, frankly.

I really enjoyed this and I'm going to seek out the previous books forthwith.

I just reviewed Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. #ClosetoDeath #NetGalley

Wow! New author for me and took a chance on requesting this book as I liked the description of it. I wasn’t disappointed!

Very well-written murder mystery based around a housing cup-de-sac in Richmond upon Thames.

It grips you from the first chapter and, just when you think it’s a story about neighbours getting along in a small village community until one bad apple moves in…… then the bad apple gets murdered and all hell breaks loose….. just as I like my mysteries!

I was considering giving this five stars but there was unnecessary race-baiting in here which was not appreciated nor required. - saying it was the R word if an English person puts a Union Jack up on their own property is NOT R”ism!

The residents of upmarket Riverview Close in Richmond are a close knit bunch. Six houses of varying sizes and styles, everyone gets along. That is until new neighbours move into the biggest house in the Close. Pompous, arrogant and inconsiderate, Giles Kenworthy, along with his wife and two boys, are the neighbours from hell. But what can the other residents do? Would murder be too extreme to consider?

Another in the Hawthorne series, and a welcome addition. Once again Horowitz has written a book that imitates real life, with him as head sidekick, but in a different way this time.

Once I had my head around the characters and the names of the properties, I was well on my way to enjoying the action. I must say thank you for the map, it was vital to keep everyone straight!

One point, Phyllis comes from Stourbridge and has a Birmingham accent? If she was a true Stourbridge wench she’d have a Black Country accent. Just saying aer kid! 🤣

Thank you NetGalley and Random House.

There is no doubting Anthony Horowitz's ability to produce the perfect criminal conundrum.

A cast of potential murderers all with hidden dark pasts; diversions and red herrings galore but even more bewildering ( in a clever and stylish way ) is the ability to bring the 'real' author into the pages of detective fiction weaving the belief that this is true crime.

Close to Death is the fifth in the Hawthorned and Horowitz series but this book takes a different stance whereby Anthony retells( and investigates) a crime already committed as supposedly solved.

The death of a resident in a 'gated/secure' residential community- a private close; life disturbed by the arrival of loud and obnoxious resident who doesn't want to follow the 'neighbourhood code ' of polite conduct and kindness- soon irritating and causing issues for all...and then throws in the grenade of wanting to build a swimming pool. Neighbourliness has never seemed so dysfunctional.. and Hawthorne is invited by the police to investigate- confusion, intrigue and further death follows.

This is a clever and superbly crafted read- it's easy to lose track as so much subterfuge takes place between the residents and as Anthony proceeds to pull all the pieces of the story together , even he is drawn into a darker web of Hawthorne's world.

Another brilliant addition to a great series- is it cosy crime? It is police procedural ? I think not... just a totally unique crime genre from Mr Horowitz. Highly recommended - but do read the books in order for best impact and enjoyment

Thanks to #Netgalley.co.uk and #RandomHouse #Cornerstone for a copy of Anthony Horowitz latest mystery in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, 'Close to Death'.

The Blurb...
Richmond, London . Six attractive houses are tucked away in an exclusive and very upmarket gated Riverside Close. Surrounded by flowers and shrubbery, they're sealed off from the busy main road and the realities of urban life. At weekends, with the gate locked, the residents enjoy the sound of birdsong, the whirr of mowers, the occasional snatch of opera through an open window.

Everyone knows each other. Everyone gets on.

That is, until the Kenworthy's arrive. With their four big gas-guzzling cars, their noisy children, and their plans to build a swimming pool in their garden, they quickly offend every one of their neighbours.

When Giles Kenworthy is found dead on his porch, the bolt of a crossbow through his chest, Daniel Hawthorne is called in.

But how do you solve a murder when everyone has the same motive?

Well, you bring in the brilliant Horowitz to write the story. Working alongside Daniel Hawthorne, he is drip fed information in an attempt to work out the murder that happened five years previously.

The clues are all there, and if you are looking for them with a precise, clear and level head, you will spot them. However, if like me, you can't retain the information without a notebook to hand or by flipping back through the book, then you may miss some vital clues. I picked up on some but missed others.

What I loved about this mystery was the inclusion of the author as the novelist in the story - clever stuff! As with another Horowitz novel I read and reviewed, (Magpie Murders', where the detective in the novel assists the publishing author) I found this to be a brilliant addition to the enjoyment of the story.

With several twists, a couple of red herrings, and an absolutely fantastic ending, this book is a definite winner for me.

This is the first Anthony Horowitz book I’ve read so I have to admit I found the format a little confusing initially however that’s not to say I didn’t really enjoy it. The crime itself is very unusual and with such a mix of suspects it became very complex. I really liked how the DS investigating solved the crime versus Hawthorne’s own conclusions and the almost unsatisfactoriness of the ending. The complexity of this was fabulous and the relationships between all the neighbours was fascinating. Whilst it would have been good to properly get into Hawthorne’s brain as he was processing all the clues it was curiously riveting to see him lay it all out to his suspect for the benefit of the DS. I loved the different genres of crime including cosy and locked room which made this engrossing and far too easy to read in a day! 9/10

Despite hating the first in the series, I now absolutely love everything about this series it is most of all funny and engaging, hope there's more to follow.

A small gated community is being inconvenienced by newcomers. Giles and Lynda Kenworthy moved into Riverview Lodge seven months earlier and since then have annoyed and argued with all of the other residents. The residents arrange a meeting and drinks party to raise their issues but Gile and Lynda at the last minute decline to attend. Seven weeks later Giles is murdered and all the residents are suspects.

I particularly like the map of the close as it helps with establishing who’s who and the various relationships. All the characters are quickly introduced and everyone has a plausible motive for murder.

The story is told through two different perspectives. Firstly, the events leading to and immediately after the murder are narrated through the investigations of former police detective Daniel Hawthorne. There is then the narrative from five years later as author Anthony Horowitz is tasked with the challenge of creating a book from the historic case. To do this he has to work with Hawthorne, drawing on his experiences, narrative and files from the case.

This is a very clever construct with clues there for the finding with explanations in the latter part of the story and with some unexpected revelations. Overall a very clever story masterfully told making an engaging and enjoyable read.

The “Close” in the title is a play on Riverview Close, an upmarket group of houses where everyone gets along. Until Giles Kenworthy and his family move in, with their boisterous sons, drive-blocking cars and plans to destroy the view with their new swimming pool and changing area. All the neighbours wish Giles was dead, so when he is murdered, all his neighbours are suspects and they all have the same motive. Like the other Hawthorne novels, this is a riveting mystery, full of clever twists and scattered clues for sharp readers to pick up on (or not). It is a bit different from the others in the series as the case has happened and been solved by Hawthorne already, and his sidekick “Anthony Horowitz” only partly narrates the story as he pieces it together from Hawthorne’s notes and recordings. I did feel that this didn’t work as well as when “Horowitz” accompanies him on his investigation as it happens, failing to pick up clues and getting himself into some sticky situations along the way, which adds some light relief and humour to the books and gives them their distinctive flavour. We do at least find out a bit more about Hawthorne himself, who remains an enigmatic figure to Horowitz’s continuing frustration. Still a great read in itself, but I do hope the next Hawthorne novel goes back to its original style, which makes these books even more of a treat than this one.

This is the fifth novel in Horowitz’s ‘Hawthorne’ series in which the author himself is a ‘real’ character alongside his fictional detective. All have been fun to read, if a bit head-spinning at times.
In this novel there is even a locked room mystery within a locked scene, the gated Riverside Close where the murders begin. This presents another layer to the first murder as the suspects ‘have to’ live there as they are the only ones with a key to the electronic gates.

There is a cast of stock middle class characters, barrister, dentist, doctor, chess master, all men with the women being secondary characters and either ill, dead, retired, or under-described. One has a successful jewellery business but there are disparaging comments about her inspirations.

I guess setting it in this small, exclusive development is deliberately replicating the mysteries of the Golden Age of detective fiction. Certainly, Death on the Orient Express has a similar plot line, initially at least.

Despite being set in the recent past there are some aspects that seem old-fashioned. Why shouldn’t someone receive little post? No-one gets much post now and certainly not bills. I also found it a somewhat unsatisfactory ending. There are loose ends and a possible undiscovered body.

But another enjoyable read overall and I will keep reading this series as I feel Horowitz is not yet done with Hawthorne. I recommend this. I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

A fun read. The dialogue sucks you in to the narrative of the murder with an edge of comedy too mixed in. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

‘Close To Death’ by Anthony Horowitz is the fifth instalment in the unique and addictive Hawthorne & Horowitz series, in which the author inserts himself into the narrative tailing renegade private investigator and consulting detective Daniel Hawthorne on a range of intriguing cases. The premise of this novel is that a book is needed soon and with a fortunate lack of grizzly murders in the present, Horowitz decides to delve into Hawthorne’s past… The crossbow murder in an exclusive Richmond close has been mentioned a couple of times by Hawthorne across various tomes and as a reader it’s exciting to have the opportunity to become immersed in this pivotal cqse!

We are immediately introduced to the residents of Riverview Close, who all got along until the brash and un-neighbourly Giles Kenworthy moved into the largest home with his family. From parking disputes to dead dogs, ruined flowers to a planned swimming pool, everyone on the Close had a motive for murder, but when the inevitable occurred, Hawthorne and his then-assistant Dudley were called in to identify the culprit…

The story was told in an interesting way, with the third person, past-tense narrative of the case interwoven with first person observations and the present-day actions of Horowitz himself. The novel is full of twists and turns, red herrings and false endings and pays homage to classic detective fiction while managing to remain totally unique.

I admired the characterisation of the neighbours, all of whom were well-developed, and only some of whom were likeable. I guessed one twist relating to one of the households but other secrets and lies were revealed throughout which gave the suspects depth and made them largely a sympathetic bunch.

The reason this gets four and a half stars rather than the full five is that my expectations were set too high following Book 4, and I really did miss the investigative interactions of Hawthorne and Horowitz in this book. ‘Close To Death’ was incredibly clever and entertaining, but I hope Book 6 focuses on a crime our two characters can examine together.

I LOVED this read!! I picked this up because I am love [book:Magpie Murders|32075854] and [book:Moonflower Murders|57007380] (and secretly want Anthony Horowitz to write Book 3 in the series). Well, since there's no Book 3 yet, I thought I could make do with a Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery.

What to expect?
- small town (you could say closed town mystery) mystery where a disagreeable rich neighbour is found murdered. Another death follows.
- If you don't know already, Anthony Horowitz himself is a fictional character in this series. He writes about the crimes solves by Hawthorne. this is one of my favourite kinds of books where we don't know where reality ends and fiction begins.
- cozy crime. All the neighbours have a motive to dislike the murdered man but not big enough a motive to kill him. They also have solid alibis.
- There's the coziest crime book shop named The Tea cosy run by two nuns that doesn't sell anything too violent (no Jo Nesbo here, too violent)
- I loved how Horowitz tries to understand how the crime was solved. He wasn't convinced about what he wrote. He visits and interviews the townsfolk five years after the crime was solved. There's also the elusive assistant to Hawthorne that Hawthorne refuses to introduce him to.

Read it if you love cozy crime.

A delight in every way. The fictional Horowitz is being harassed by his editor for a new book so he quizzes Hawthorne and decides to write about a cold case - a murder that happened some years ago in a small gated close in Richmond. As ever Horowitz bumbles through - using his imagination to flesh out the story Hawthorne tells him and then deciding to do some sleuthing of his own - with predictable results.

The characterisation is excellent, the plot sufficiently intriguing and this is definitely a hugely enjoyable addition to this series.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

Another mystery in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. An attractive close in Richmond is the unexpected scene of a murder. How did neighbourly relations breakdown so much that annoying newcomer Charles Kenworthy is found dead with the bolt of a crossbow through his chest. Everyone disliked him so how will Hawthorne find out who was the one to actually carry out the murder.

I am a big fan of this series of books but I enjoyed this one a little bit less than the previous one. I think it was because it’s looking back onto a crime that Horowitz was not there at the time. He’s still hapless and blunders his way into things but there’s less of the usual dynamic. Still a great read though.