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.

Thanks PRH & NetGalley for the early copy! Another great addition to one of my most loved series'! Quite different from the others but it’s very clever, and nice to have a bit of a change with the introduction of a cold case. Everyone who lives on the close has a reason to want Charles Kenworthy dead but who is actually responsible? We learn about why each of the suspects had a grudge against their dreaded neighbour but in a bit of a twist we actually find out pretty quickly who just might have been responsible. This for me was very clever and made the novel something entirely different to the ones that have come before it. We also gradually begin to learn more about Hawthorne and his past and how this is starting to play a big part in the set up of future novels within the series. As always the writing is great and kept me hooked throughout. I flew through it and very much enjoyed!

I thoroughly enjoyed this, the fourth book in the Hawthorne series. Close to Death was written slightly differently to the previous books as it was over several timelines as well as being written in both the first and third person which added a different dimension to the story. Intriguing mystery that had me suspicious of everyone who lives in Riverview Close and I was completely wrong! Fabulous and I so hope that there will be more books in this series. Highly recommended ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Riverview Close is a gated community in the desirable postcode of Richmond upon Thames, where homes are heavily sought after and the pristine environment does not invite pollution of any kind - social or otherwise.

So the arrival of an exceptionally loud and brash new neighbour, with his equally obnoxious family, is a rude awakening for the genteel neighbourhood. Unsurprisingly, Giles Kenworthy's plans for a swimming pool and his four ostentatious cars do not win him any friends.

Nevertheless, nobody expects him to suffer death by a crossbow. Well, except the murderer obviously.

Unfortunately, thanks to Kenworthy's standing in the popularity polls, it is hard to know which of his outraged neighbours might be responsible, if this was an inside job, which seems likely.

So Detective Daniel Hawthorne has quite a task on his hands. This time Horowitz takes a backseat, which works well. Although the fifth in the series, this one can be read as a stand-alone for those who are newcomers to the series.

A gripping locked room-style mystery, this held my attention throughout, with its combination of a classic crime flavour with a darkly modern humour to it. I think it will be a good fit for those who enjoyed earlier crime writers as well as those looking for less gory/grotesque contemporary stories in this genre. It gets 3.5 stars.

So, I love Horowitz's adult novels and the Hawthorne series has been fantastic - superb writing, entertaining, always keeping you guesssing and on the page.

The last novel was different, because AH became the murder suspect, so I thought it would be back to the same formula as before - oh no! That would be too easy.

In this novel, AH writes in the third person, about a historical case, where Hawthorne has a different sidekick, and a lot cleverer that AH (sorry). Hawthorne has little interaction with AH, but.....sorry, that would be a plot spoiler.

Excellent book - hard to put down, fun to read and even more dark/sinister goings on than before - not just the plot, but....

Very highly recommended - you could treat it as a standalone, but you'd lose the enjoyment of the previous Hawthorne books. I genuinely can't wait until the next one, which frustratingly must be a year away - shame

I confess, I didn't get on with the first Hawthorne & Horowitz book but so many book-friends love this series and I like Magpie Murders so I thought I'd give it another try, albeit by jumping straight to book 5 - and this time we clicked!

Maybe because Horowitz is sidelined so there's far less opportunity for him to insert all his name-dropping and derail the murder investigation for his literary/TV woes; maybe because that results in most of the investigation being in 3rd person based as it is on Horowitz writing up the story from Hawthorne's notes and recordings; maybe because it gave Hawthorne the chance to shine with a different side-kick - by playing down the exact element (Horowitz!) that didn't work for me in the first of the series, this book suddenly sprang to life.

With a handful of great characters, a crazy murder in a posh Richmond close followed by a version of the 'locked room' mystery, this does a fantastic job of bringing the Agatha Christie-esque mystery to contemporary London. There are lots of little nudges to Christie aficionados, not least a whole bookshop dedicated to Golden Age crime. And there's almost a replay of one of Christie's most famous plots - I gasped in delighted excitement that Horowitz might go there!

In the end, this does show up the artificiality of the genre (and I couldn't help wondering how Christie makes her books so convincing - at least while we're reading them!) but I was all in for the ride.

Classy switch-off entertainment.

Many thanks to Random House, Cornerstone for an ARC via NetGalley