In the world of murder mysteries, Anthony Horowitz stands out for his diverse approach. His books defy convention, and “Close to Death” is no exception. I have read four previous Hawthorne books—the first two were Susan Ryeland mysteries, structured as books within books. One even featured Sherlock Holmes. The fourth book saw the author playing sidekick to investigator Daniel Hawthorne in a true crime novel. Now, in “Close to Death,” Horowitz revisits an unsolved case from years ago, getting involved with Hawthorne long after the crime occurred. However, this desire to be unconventional did not work for me this time, but more about that later.
Detective Hawthorne tackles an unsolvable murder in Riverside Close, an idyllic gated and wealthy community. The entire set-up is very Agatha Christie-like, an obvious inspiration for Horowitz in many of his books. The Close consists of six houses occupied by a hedge fund manager and his wife, a chess expert and his Asian wife, a dentist and his invalid wife, a conscientious doctor-designer couple, a widowed lawyer, and two ex-nuns. The least liked person is killed, and everyone else seemingly has a motive, however trivial it may be. Horowitz uses this murder, committed several years ago, as the basis for his new book.
Once again, Horowitz blends reality and fiction, keeping himself as a character alongside Hawthorne. Juggling multiple timelines, Horowitz keeps readers engaged and guessing. The supposed murderer is revealed exactly midway through the book, and it’s left to Horowitz to piece together the real story behind the murder. While this eventually justifies the “meta” structure of the book, it is distracting and weary during the first half. On the plot itself (which is the most important part of any murder mystery), the eventual resolution is far from satisfying—while the author has scattered a few clues throughout the book, it could have been resolved in so many different ways, and I don’t think it is possible for readers to work it out themselves.
While Horowitz’s ambition is admirable, it occasionally hampers the book’s flow. Eventually, I felt that Horowitz’s desire to be unconventional sometimes overshadowed the plot.
A bonus: Horowitz rants about his dislike for locked-room mysteries in the middle of the book but helpfully suggests a couple of good ones for lovers of that genre: “Murder in the Crooked House” by Soji Shimada, and “The Honjin Murders” by Seishi Yokomizo.
Pros: Engaging, Agatha Christie-like setting
Cons: Weary meta structure at times
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