After reading several other books by Anthony Horowitz, I looked forward to reading The Twist of a Knife. I read with pleasure the first two books featuring Horowitz himself and the PI Hawthorne, The Word is Murder and The Sentence is Death. I’ve read other books by Horowitz, all with enjoyment. As a result, I expected the same from The Twist of a Knife.
My displeasure with this new story is that Anthony Horowitz, the writer and a character in the story, is accused of murder. The rest of the book then details how Hawthorne figures out who is the real killer and solves the very real problem Horowitz faces. It seems a worn-out plot line to accuse a main character of murder. I’ve seen it too many times in British and American TV shows as well as forming the plot of many mystery novels.
As soon as Horowitz receives the gift of a sharp dagger from the producer of the play Horowitz has written, I knew the dagger would be the instrument that would haunt Horowtiz. It’s no spoiler to tell readers that Horowitz is arrested very early in the story and the evidence against him is staggering. It will take Hawthorne to figure out who has committed the murder and framed Horowitz.
This disappointment won’t keep me from reading other books by Horowitz. I hope that now he has the main character accused of murder out of his system, he will continue with his more interesting plots.
Parkdalear's Blog 