The Twist of a Knife: A gripping locked-room mystery from the bestselling crime writer (Hawthorne, 4)

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How many authors willingly insert themselves into their stories? And not only do that, but get themselves accused of murder? Within hours, Grunshaw has arrested Anthony and thrown him into jail to await interrogation. Still bearing a major grudge for a past humiliation at Anthony’s hands, she refuses to listen to anything he says. When a second theater critic is found to have died under suspicious circumstances and even more evidence paints him as the perpetrator, Anthony finally registers just what a tight spot he’s in. With the noose edging ever closer, there’s only one person he can call. The very person he’d just closed the door on…Daniel Hawthorne. But will he put his grudge aside and answer the call? Or will Anthony find himself behind bars for crimes he didn’t commit? The next morning Harriet is found dead, stabbed through the heart with a dagger. All signs point to Anthony as the culprit, and he makes an appeal to Hawthorne to investigate and clear his name.

I adored all the Agatha Christie-ness, the suspect interviews, the unusual clues that didn’t seem to fit with anything, and the players gathered together for the final reveal, and Hawthorne’s reason for it. Just like in the previous book, A Line to Kill, a little more was revealed regarding Hawthorne’s past. As the story opens, Horowitz is telling Hawthorne, "The answer's no. Our deal is over." Horowitz had followed Hawthorne on three investigations and written three books, and he wanted to move on. Moreover, Horowitz points out, "I can't write another book about you. You're not working on any new cases." But that's about to change. It is opening night for Horowitz' new play, Mindgame. A popular critic named Harriet Throsby writes a scathing review full of vitriole. This is what reluctant author Anthony Horowitz tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne in an awkward encounter. The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind.And that was maybe the worst part of the plot for me, as it seemed as though both of the galoofing cops were 100% convinced it was Anthony because he'd made them look bad in a previous book. It bothered me that they were both such poorly constructed, one-dimension characters. This is the fourth installment in the brilliant Hawthorne and Horowitz series. This begins with Hawthorne asking Horowitz to write another book, but Horowitz has other plans. His play, 'Mindgame,' opens the following week and he has thrown himself into hopes for success on the stage and his name in lights. Of course, it is all going to go wrong. On the opening night in London, theatre critic Harriet Throsby gives the play a terrible review and the next day she is found stabbed to death with an ornamental dagger that producer, Ahmet Yurdakal, gave Horowitz as a gift. After concluding the third book with ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne, novelist Anthony Horowitz decides he’s had his fill of his partner-in-crime and ends their collaboration. To be honest, Anthony’s focus is now on his play, Mindgame, which is about to debut to London’s West End at the Vaudeville Theatre. These two are in a bit of a dispute over another book deal. "I’m sorry, Hawthorne. But the answer’s no. Our deal is over." There, Anthony is surprised to see the Sunday Times critic, Harriet Throsby, come in with her daughter Olivia. Critics never attend first-night parties, but - as Horowitz learns - Harriet always expects to be invited. The Times critic is reputed to be a nasty woman, and she soon proves this by sniffing at the wine disapprovingly, criticizing the restaurant, looking bored, eyeing people malevolently, and slinking around listening to people's conversations. Later that night, Harriet writes her review of 'MIndgame.'

It can be a bit tedious with its Agatha Christie type ending (you know where they gather all the suspects together before the big whodunit reveal). It also seemed unlikely that Anthony would get arrested, spend the night in jail after being interrogated, and then try to hide it all from his wife.

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The actual mystery was really quite good. I did NOT guess who the killer was, and it wasn't until Hawthorne was basically explaining to everyone that I even thought about that person as a potential suspect. Anthony Horowitz is in trouble. His West End debut has been panned and the scathing reviewer stabbed to death in their own hallway. That would be bad enough, but he's the one who's been arrested; two 'old friends' on the force are holding quite the grudge against him and have no intention of listening to his pleas of innocence. Good job he knows a very good detective... Except the last conversation they had consisted of Horowitz refusing to write any more books together. Now he needs Hawthorne's help - desperately - and he might not get it. All in all, this well known author is having a really bad day... Horowitz and Hawthorne’s bromance is officially over – kaput, terminated, canceled, executed at dawn. Or, is it?

The Twist of a Knife is consistently, delightfully entertaining, with Horowitz's own theatrical experience providing just the right amount of bittersweet bite' Airmail There is something about Hawthorne’s character that is secretive to Anthony, and (well as the author – he determines what he wants to write, right?) – so, if he is going to work with him, there is more to find out about him the longer he works with him…so…maybe this won’t be such a bad deal? My little library finally got this latest in the Hawthorne/Horowitz series which I have been impatiently awaiting for months. It was worth the wait! I have read all of this particular series and loved them all. This is the fourth book in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series by author Anthony Horowitz. This is a very entertaining series and is slightly different from a lot of crime novels in that the author is one of the characters. In the series author Anthony Horowitz writes crime investigations that involve ex detective Daniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne is a very private person and a difficult person to get to know along with, which makes life difficult for Horowitz. As with the previous books, the author cleverly inserts himself into the narrative, and what makes this series so enjoyable is the relationship between Hawthorne and Horowitz, with their witty dialogue and snark. Every book reveals a bit more about the secretive and elusive Hawthorne, and leaves me wanting more.

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I read/listened and loved it! Narrated by: Rory Kinnear, who is a favorite of mine. 8 hrs/ 31 min , released 11-15-2022 Horowitz is very nervous on 'Mindgame's' opening night. However the production seems to go well, and Anthony makes his way to the after-party at a Turkish restaurant. Anyway, the biggest issue is to not be convicted of murder – that isn’t a good look for the author. Are you still following me in this review?

I’m sorry but the answer’s no.” Reluctant author, Anthony Horowitz, has had enough. He tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne that after three books he’s splitting and their deal is over. The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind. In this story author Horowitz is planning to finish the series with Hawthorne having completed the three books he was contracted to write. Anthony Hawthorne is planning to move on to other projects, one being his new play, a thriller called ‘Mindgame’, which is about to open at the famous Vaudeville theatre in Shoreditch.

There's no doubt that I'll be catching up on what I missed in books 1-3. Horowitz has an incredibly engaging style and this shows he's quite happy not to take himself too seriously. A winning combination. In addition, Hawthorne is waiting outside the jail for Anthony, so they can immediately start searching for the real killer.