Close to Death

This fifth in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series is a delightful homage to the classic crime fiction of Agatha Christie’s era, complete with a “locked room” episode and a tight little community. With just six homes, nestled among beautiful gardens, it’s hard to imagine that Riverside Close is actually located in London. But then the Kentworthy family moves into the Close with their noisy, brutish children, four cars that block the neighbors from parking, and plans to replace a garden with—shudder—a pool, changing room, and bar. Compromise would not seem to be in finance-bro Charles Kentworthy’s make-up, and his oafish behavior provokes the remaining five occupants—each odder than the one before—to swear that they could kill him. Which one of them does. In the very dramatic method of shooting him with a crossbow. Here things really take off as Detective Daniel Hawthorne takes up the case, with Horowitz more of a background player than in previous books, authoring a third-person narrative. Newcomers should not feel intimidated by the series and feel free to jump in here. The compelling plot, wonderful location, and marvelous shots of humor will be sure to pick up the reader and buoy them along.