Review of "Close to Death: A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery" by Anthony Horowitz

 

 

 

The previous books in this series are structured like 'Sherlock Holmes' stories in which Dr. Watson accompanies Sherlock Holmes on an investigation, then chronicles the case. In these novels, 'Watson' is writer Anthony Horowitz.....



.....and 'Holmes' is private investigator Daniel Hawthorne. who was once a police detective. Horowitz accompanies the PI as he investigates a murder, then writes a book about it.



Horowitz has a multi-book deal with his publisher, who's pressuring Anthony for the next volume. Since Hawthorne has no ongoing homicide investigation at the moment, the PI agrees to let Anthony write up a five-year-old case. Hawthorne gives Horowitz the files, witness statements, and audio recordings, and Anthony sets out to pen the manuscript.



The five-year-old homicide occurred in London's Riverview Close, an upscale community of six homes circling a flower-filled roundabout. The houses have names, harking from the time the property was converted from a royal estate into a residential neighborhood.



The homes and residents of Riverview Close are:

Riverview Lodge: This is the largest property in the Close - home to Giles and Lynda Kenworthy and their two sons. The Kenworthys are unpopular because they seem to have little regard for their neighbors. The Kenworthys have several vehicles, which they park all over; they throw loud parties; and they let their sons play cricket and ride skateboards in the Close, which results in broken windows and damaged property. In addition, Giles Kenworthy blasts his car radio late at night and tends to be rude and dismissive.







Woodlands: This is the home of Roderick and Felicity Browne. Roderick is a 'Dentist to the Stars' and Felicity was an accountant until she contracted myalgic encephalomyelitis. Felicity is now confined to her bed, where her pleasures consist of music, audiobooks, and watching the birds in a nearby magnolia tree. The magnolia tree is endangered by the Kenworthys' plans to build a swimming pool in their yard.





The Gables: This is the residence of May Winslow and Phyllis Moore, septuagenarian former nuns who own a cozy mystery bookstore/café. May and Phyllis have a French bulldog named Ellery, who tends to poop on the Kenworthys' lawn.





Lynda Kenworthy confronts the elderly women and says Ellery has to stop despoiling their grass or her husband will deal with the problem. Soon afterwards, Ellery has a terrible accident.

Well House: Andrew Pennington, a retired lawyer and grieving widower, lives here. Andrew is the only Black resident of the Close, and he believes Giles Kenworthy is disrespectful to him for that reason.



The Stables: This is the residence of chess grandmaster Adam Strauss and his Hong Kong Chinese wife Teri. Adam has high self-regard because of his chess prowess, and Teri coddles and supports him. Adam resents Giles Kenworthy's loud music, which disturbs his online chess games.





Gardener's Cottage: Physician Tom Beresford.....



.....and his wealthy jewelry-designer wife Gemma live here.



Tom is annoyed by Giles Kenworthy's habit of blocking their shared driveway, which sometimes makes Tom late for work. In fact, Tom blames Giles for the death of a patient, who perished when Tom was delayed getting to the hospital.

The residents of Riverview Close arrange a meeting where the 'complainants' plan to confront the Kenworthys with their grievances. However, Giles and Lynda Kenworthy bow out at the last minute, leaving the others annoyed and frustrated. Six weeks later, Giles Kenworthy is killed with a crossbow.



Detective Superintendant Tariq Khan, who hopes to become Police Commissioner some day, gets the case. Khan questions all the residents of Riverview Close, who seem to be uncooperative and obstructive. Persuaded to get outside help, Khan engages PI Daniel Hawthorne and his colleague John Dudley. The case is soon closed, and Khan looks forward to a promotion on the back of the quick resolution.



Five years later, as Horowitz is writing about the Giles Kenworthy homicide case, he discerns a problem with the solution. Anthony decides to investigate further himself, despite strong discouragement from all quarters. As usual, Anthony reads all the clues wrong, but he's correct that mistakes were made. Eventually, Horowitz learns the whole truth, and it's a corker!



I would challenge even the best armchair sleuths to winkle out 'whodunit', but they'd have fun trying.

For me this book is over-complicated. I can imagine Horowitz (the real life writer) with flow charts and diagrams composing this plot. Still the book is entertaining and I look forward to future collaborations between Horowitz and Hawthorne.

 Rating: 3.5 stars