The Twist of a Knife

A Novel

By: Anthony Horowitz

Narrated by: Rory Kinnear

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Narrated by Rory Kinnear

In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fourth literary whodunit following The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, and A Line to Kill, Horowitz becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation—and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne.

“I’m sorry but the answer’s no.” Reluctant author, Anthony Horowitz, has had enough. He tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne that after three books he’s splitting and their deal is over.

The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind.

His new play, a thriller called Mindgame, is about to open at the Vaudeville Theater in London’s West End. Not surprisingly, Hawthorne declines a ticket to the opening night.

The play is panned by the critics. In particular, Sunday Times critic Margaret Throsby gives it a savage review, focusing particularly on the writing. The next day, Throsby is stabbed in the heart with an ornamental dagger which turns out to belong to Anthony, and has his fingerprints all over it.

Anthony is arrested by an old enemy . . . Detective Inspector Cara Grunshaw. She still carries a grudge from her failure to solve the case described in the second Hawthorne adventure, The Sentence is Death, and blames Anthony. Now she’s out for revenge.

Thrown into prison and fearing for both his personal future and his writing career, Anthony is the prime suspect in Throsby’s murder and when a second theatre critic is found to have died in mysterious circumstances, the net closes in. Ever more desperate, he realizes that only one man can help him.

But will Hawthorne take the call?

©2022 Anthony Horowitz (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Loved it - at the theatre!

I enjoy these stories (admittedly was disappointed in the second one) and am so glad I listened to this.

Excellent mystery by the genius Anthony Horowitz.

So fun to go along on this complex investigation into a murder, with the author as its primary character.

Fake laments

The author pretends to not like Hawthorne, whereas, in fact, he is fascinated by him. I’d give it 5 stars if he lamented about Hawthorne less.

The series only gets better!

Wonderful! The device of blending real things (i.e., the play) with fiction is rendered so effectively that, after hearing the acknowledgments, I did some quick internet searching to find out what what, if anything, was true.

I also enjoy the twist on Brilliant Detective + Devoted Scribe trope. That the first person voice is someone who is well-established and quite successful in his own right, opens the space to include fascinating bits of information and power dynamics. That the two protagonists are drawn together but don’t necessarily click is also intriguing.

The bit where Anthony is alone in the apartment and wrestling with his impulse to snoop feels very human and relatable. This is another gift of the series: the humanity of the characters.

I hope the narrator is on contract for future books in the series. He brings breadth and depth to his characterizations, adding a high note of stage-worthy performance to the result.

Love a Horowitz ❤️

Pre ordered, anticipating a good British whodunit read. Didn’t disappoint.
Rory is an amazing narrator Huge fan of this particular series. Keep ‘em coming please Mr Horowitz.

Fantastic (better than #3)

I saw reviews of the third novel in this series and almost skipped it. For what it’s worth, I thought A Line to Kill was also pretty good, but this fourth novel in the series is perfection.

Horowitz delivers on his promise of a twisting narrative, Rory Kinnear is as solid as always, and Hawthorne continues to frustrate and delight.

Great Mystery & Great Narration!

Unfortunately Im not a person who can sit and read but I Love books especially mysteries and This Anthony Horowitz series is so well read! Rory Kinnear’s performa e brings all the characters to life and so much so sometimes I think Anthony is actually telling me the story ;)
I’ve listened to all the books in this series and will probably go back and listen again. If you like a good mystery with fun characters I highly recommend these books!

Fun stuff

Everything you want in a satisfying mystery. I could read a million in this series.

Yup

Love all Anthony Horowitz! Thoroughly entertaining and well narrated. If you're reading this author for the first time, recommend reading in order.

I love this author

I think these murder mysteries are very cleverly done. I am willing to believe that none of it is fiction. And to tell you the truth, I’m really, not sure.