Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

CLOSE TO DEATH by Anthony Horowitz is book 5 in the series featuring Detective Daniel Hawthorne with Horowitz himself as a rather bumbling sidekick character. The first few chapters, though, introduce readers to the inhabitants of Riverview Close, a small, gated community off of Petersham Road in Richmond-upon-Thames. There’s a doctor, Tom Beresford and his jewelry-designing wife, Gemma; the dentist, Roderick Browne and invalid Felicity; two older women, May Winslow and Phyllis Moore; a retired barrister, Andrew Pennington; and a chess champion and his second wife, Adam and Teri Strauss. They have amicably shared the neighborhood for years until new residents, Giles Kenworthy and Lynda, and their two sons, disrupt the peace with loud music, inconsiderate parking, skateboarding, and a proposal for a swimming pool! The ensuing sudden death of a neighbor is a case which Hawthorne investigated years ago and Horowitz is determined to turn it into a book despite warnings that it did not turn out well or as expected. Au contraire, this tale is one of the best in the series with the environs and the characters brought vividly to life. There are plenty of twists and turns including a locked room mystery of sorts. CLOSE TO DEATH received starred reviews from both Booklist (“Kudos to anyone who can figure this one out!”) and Kirkus (“[contains a] string of surprises the real-life author has planted like so many explosive devices”). As Horowitz opines, “anyway, you know perfectly well that there's more to a novel - even a crime novel - than violent death. It's all about character and atmosphere and language.” Excellent!