I absolutely love this series, with Anthony Horowitz as the long-suffering sidekick to former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne. In this novel, Horowitz is told he has a contact to write a new book, but currently there is no case going on, so it is suggested he focus on an old case that Hawthorne was involved in with his previous assistant, John Dudley.

This case revolves around a gated community in Richmond, Riverview Close, with a number of expensive houses and wealthy residents, including a chess grand master, a dentist to the famous, a doctor and his jewellery designer wife, two elderly ladies, a retired lawyer and, well, the new family in the Close, the odious Giles Kenworthy, his wife and sons. A man who does everything he can to upset the harmonious balance amongst previously happy neighbours, including blocking driveways, playing loud music, wishing to build a swimming pool and other minor nuisances which build up. When he is found murdered, Hawthorne is called in as a consultant.

Given the paperwork from the case, Horowitz is, as always, working with as much knowledge as Hawthorne cares to disclose. He has no idea who has committed the murder and we follow both the investigation by Hawthorne and that by Horowitz. In addition, Horowitz is keen to try to discover more about the intensely secretive Hawthorne's past and do a little digging of his own....

If you have not started this series, I would suggest starting from the first book, as you will have a greater idea of the characters involved and their meaning. However, you could certainly read this as a stand-alone mystery, but ideally go back to the beginning. Anthony Horowitz has created a series which is unique in my experience. He is wonderfully self-deprecating - for instance, letting slip that the play he had written in the previous book had been a flop and, as always disgruntled over his agent's relationship with Hawthorne. Loved this - I am visiting a talk by Mr Horowitz next month and I am really looking forward to hearing him speak. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I really enjoyed this, I haven’t read any others in the series and had to quickly google the format to see if it was actually real or not.. that’s how well written it was.
There are no characters that you particularly like which is unusual in terms of the suspects!

Great all the way through

In 'Close to Death', Anthony Horowitz does not reprise the role of Watson to Hawthorne's Sherlock. Instead he undertakes to write a novel based upon a past Hawthorne investigation; one where he was accompanied by John Dudley (an ex police officer) and investigates a murder in a quiet close in Richmond. There a neighbour dispute about parking, flower beds and dogs sneaking under fences, ends with a murder and whilst initially the police feel out of their depth and call in Hawthorne to investigate, quite quickly there appears an obvious solution accompanied by a confession. However, Hawthorne isn't convinced and Horowitz is warned repeatedly that he won't like the outcome of the investigation.

Unlike previous books where Horowitz like Watson is part of the action and chronicles events in the first person, much of this novel is in the third person, with passages where Horowitz describes meeting with Hawthorne about the book, and his own attempts to make sense of the story. For me, using this device this novel was far more successful than its previous counterparts, partly because I've found the character Horowitz gives himself in these novels pretty narcissistic and smug. Initially, I felt the cutting back to Horowitz from the third person took away from the action, but overtime I liked this way of playing with the idea that the novelist is describing a real murder as opposed to a fictional one. Overall this is a very successful novel that I would recommend.

Anthony Horowitz has once again returned to his strange series of novels in which he features as a character, alongside fictional detective Daniel Hawthorne. I like Horowitz's crime novels - he writes well, and has a gift for constructing the sort of twisty, enjoyable 'cosy' mysteries that are popular with me and many other readers. I just wish he'd stop this particular series. The actual crime story here could be told without needing the bizarre intrusion of Horowitz as a character, busily name dropping as many of his awards, other works and successes as possible whilst also claiming to be a terrible bumbler in the world of 'real' crime - which clearly isn't real. It's a concept I've never liked and hasn't grown on me with time.

Having said that, I did still read this, the fifth in the series. Despite my irritation with the concept, it's not great enough to outweigh my liking for Horowitz's mysteries themselves and his style of writing. Leave aside all the nonsense with Horowitz-the-character generally putting his foot in it and being exceptionally dense and irritating, the central plot is decent. A murder has taken place of an unpleasant investment banker right at his own front door in a wealthy gated street in Richmond. Every one of his neighbours had good reason to dislike him - he was locked in some form of dispute with all of them. Hawthorne is sent in to help the police solve the crime.

Unlike the other books in this series, Horowitz does not follow Hawthorne around himself. The crime took place several years earlier and Horowitz must piece together the narrative from Hawthorne's notes, and those of Hawthorne's assistant at the time. Horowitz's irritation at discovering such a person existed leads him to blunder about trying to find out more about the detective with predictably poor consequences. In fact Horowitz's jealousy towards his predecessor is really strange given that he was never enthusiastic about writing the books to start with and doesn't even like Hawthorne much. It feels like the concept, never good to begin with, is being stretched too far now.

If you like murder mysteries and 'cosy crime', it's worth reading, although you are spoiled for choice in this genre. If you only want to read a couple of cosy crime novels a year, then don't put this at the top of the list. Horowitz's 'Magpie Murders' and 'Moonflower Murders' are much better choices.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this, I have to confess that I have not read any of the previous books in the series but I don’t feel like that detracted anything from the experience, this was a great book, very well written, there is a classic whodunnit and it keeps you on your toes throughout with the different timelines. The fact that the writer acknowledges the fact that he is writing it feels quite meat at times but I feel like makes the story more interesting. Over all really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend

Another great book in the Hawthorne series. Not my favourite as simply not enough of the narrator! A private close in Richmond where everyone has a motive. More back story for Hawthorne but much more to come I hope.

A different crime for Anthony this time as there hasn’t been any murders for Hawthorne to solve their agent suggests Anthony writes about an old case of Hawthorne’s. A murder in a exclusive close in Richmond. Anthony is also determined to find out more about Hawthorne’s life with disastrous consequences. An enjoyable read with an ever changing culprit

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.