If you have been reading and enjoying the enormously satisfying Hawthorne and Horowitz series as I have, then you will realize that Anthony Horowitz is doing something special here. By inserting himself into five books, he has become the embodiment of self-referential meta-writing that shows no bounds.

With the release of CLOSE TO DEATH, Horowitz confesses that it was quite the complicated novel to write. He had to juggle three different timelines in addition to keeping his own persona active amidst a field of fictional creations. The results are once again ingenious, and it could end up being my favorite mystery of the year.

This fifth installment begins with a photo depicting Riverside Close, the cul-de-sac neighborhood that will be the host area for at least one murder. In the picture, the homes of its residents are mapped out for us. They have lived there for years without incident. That is, until the bane of all their existences move into the area: Giles Kenworthy; his wife, Lynda; and their two young offspring.

"[CLOSE TO DEATH features] an unforgettable case that will have heads shaking for its brilliance, as well as the eventual solution. There is much to love about this mindbender of a novel."

We are taken through the lives of each of these residents and feel their shared pain at the constant barrage of inconsiderate behavior from the Kenworthys. This includes loud parties that run late, music blasting, cars parked haphazardly and blocking other driveways, and their refusal to attend community meetings to address these and other issues. All sorts of complaints are made at that first meeting but to no avail.

What follows are much more serious incidents. A blocked car prevents Dr. Tom Beresford from making it to emergency surgery in time to save a patient; the beloved dog of bookstore owners May Winslow and Phyllis Moore is thrown down a well and is killed. A cricket ball crashes through the window of international chess champion Adam Strauss and his wife, Teri, destroying a rare chess set. Flowers planted by the late wife of retired barrister Andrew Pennington are trampled. Another blow is struck when the Kenworthys begin plans to mow under the community garden and build a pool and spa --- which will ruin the lovely view that dentist Roderick Browne and his invalid wife, Felicity, have from their home.

This all culminates in Giles Kenworthy being struck and killed by a bolt shot from a crossbow. The local police, led by Detective Superintendent Tariq Khan, are investigating, but they need assistance. This comes in the form of Detective Daniel Hawthorne and his partner, John Dudley. The way that Hawthorne’s role in the case is introduced is truly outstanding.

Anthony Horowitz --- the character --- doesn't know what case to use for his fifth Hawthorne and Horowitz novel, so he reaches out to Hawthorne for help. This time, Hawthorne wants to see what Horowitz is writing along the way, a different strategy from what they employed in their four previous successful books. This is why CLOSE TO DEATH is told in a back-and-forth manner that features Horowitz in the present and Riverview Close five years earlier. Since Horowitz claims not to know the outcome of this odd case, Hawthorne feeds him info on it piece by piece, allowing both the reader and Horowitz to try to figure things out as the investigation moves forward.

The crossbow that killed Kenworthy belonged to Roderick, who insists he wasn’t even aware that it and a deadly bolt were missing from his basement. Yet guilt seems apparent when Roderick commits suicide not long after Kenworthy’s murder. He is found in what mystery fans would call a locked-room situation. While Khan is ready to close the door on the case, Hawthorne believes that Roderick was not the killer and that he himself was murdered by the actual culprit.

At this point, the confounding murder case pushes the great Hawthorne to the extremes of his detection skills. It’s very similar to Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, where the detestable victim was equally despised by each and every suspect, which rendered it nearly impossible to name a single killer. The real Horowitz takes this premise and runs with it. The result is an unforgettable case that will have heads shaking for its brilliance, as well as the eventual solution. There is much to love about this mindbender of a novel.