The Twist of a Knife: A Book Review

Title: The Twist of a Knife

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Release Date: 18 August 2022

Summary:

Horowitz had finally decided to end his book deal with Hawthorne, and he was all set to do it. In the meantime, his play Mindgame has gained traction across the country. The play is now in London. Excited and nervous on the first night of the play, he is sitting thinking about what will be the review of his play. His nervous pit in his stomach is no more for the play. He is the prime suspect in a murder of a renowned critic. What will be his play now?

Review:

It is the fourth book in the series of Hawthorne and Horowitz. One of the quirkiest aspects of the book is that Anthony Horowitz is a part of the crime-solving duo. He is Watson to our Sherlock. They have a love-hate relationship and involve Horowitz mostly saying, “our deal is off”.

The twist of a knife has a twist of its own when Horowitz becomes the number one murder suspect. With no solid alibi, his chances are bleak without Hawthorne. Hawthorne is a great detective, but his social skills are much left to be desired. But Tony being his partner and writer steps in to save Horowitz.

The case, of course, resonates with golden age detective novels amid Horowitz’s play (a real-life play) Mindgame. The book has a lot of references to real-life movies or books and it gives an extra edge to the storyline. With the number of suspect pools increasing with every page, the mystery keeps getting convoluted at every turn.

Time is running out for Horowitz, and soon, he will be in jail for a crime he did not commit. There is a constant feeling at every turn of the page where DI Grunshaw will walk in and arrest Horowitz. The readers won’t just be tensed but terrified by the prospect of Horowitz getting arrested.

The ending of the book complements the dramatisation presented throughout the book. Hawthorne brings all the suspects together at one quite like Christie in her novels. It will also remind the reader of scenes from Magpie Murders or Moonflower Murders because of the excerpts from the play and a book that Horowitz tries to understand the victim.

The book ends with nuggets of hope for the future (and I hope they are real and not fictitious!) with more books in the series. It can be read as a standalone but do read the other books in the series.