Anthony Horowitz is back, but he’s working alone. When detective Daniel Hawthorne invites him over to talk about their fourth book, Horowitz wants to say no. He does say no. The first book he agreed to write about Hawthorne solving a murder has been published, and he has notes for the next two. But that was the entirety of the contract, three books. Horowitz wants to move on to other things.

In fact, he’s written a play. It’s called Mindgame, a comedic thriller, and it’s coming to the London stage. It did well while it was touring, and now they are ready to open in a small theater. It has a small cast, but they are good actors. Jordan Williams is a method actor from a Native American Reservation in South Dakota. Sky Palmer is an up-and-coming actor making a name for herself despite still being in her 20s. And Tirian Kirke is slated to star in an a Christopher Nolan movie next.

Opening night for the play goes well, with the seats filled by family, friends, fans, and of course, the critics. They celebrate after at a local restaurant, where Harriet Throsby makes an awkward appearance. As the theatre critic for the Sunday times, Throsby insists on going to the first-night parties, even though it’s highly unusual. And later, when it’s just the actors, the director Ewan Lloyd, producer Ahmet Yurdakul, and Horowitz, the principals celebrate back at the theatre, with a cake and more alcohol. Ewan hands out opening night gifts for everyone, a dagger with a truly sharp blade.

And when Sky finds Harriet Throsby’s review online and reads it to everyone, Jordan throws his dagger into the cake with force. She pans just about everything about the play, from the script to the direction to the acting. And since she writes for the Times, a lot of people will read her review and make their decision based on it.

Horowitz goes home dejected shortly after, and heads to bed. He sleeps until the pounding on the door wakes him up the next morning. He opens the door to find Detective Inspector Cara Grunshaw and her partner Derek Mills. He knew them from one of Hawthorne’s cases, where he had shown up the officers by unmasking the killer. Horowitz knows that whatever is going on has to be bad.

And it is. That morning, someone had killed Harriet Throsby. With a dagger. Which has Horowitz’s fingerprints on it. They are on his doorstep to arrest him. When Horowitz gets to make a phone call, he calls his friend Daniel Hawthorne.

At first, Hawthorne tells Horowitz that he can’t help. But after letting the writer stay in jail for 24 hours, he shows to help him clear his name. One again, Hawthorne investigates. But will he be able to figure out who really killed the theatre critic in time, or will DI Grunshaw and her resentment put him behind bars for a long time?

The Twist of a Knife is the fourth in the Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery series, and I think it’s my favorite so far. Horowitz always finds a way to inject himself into the action. but this is the first time as a prime suspect, and it adds so much tension to the story. And by tension, I mean humor, because he really is out of his depth as an investigator. But Hawthorne isn’t, and he is willing to go as far as he needs to in order to find the killer.

I am a big fan of Anthony Horowitz, and I especially admire the deftness he uses to craft the Hawthorne novels. He has created in himself a character who is smart, but not smart enough, so he trips over himself trying to figure things out. These stories are masterful, and the emotional and intellectual tug-of-war going on between the two leads drives these stories far more than the murders. I will be sitting here waiting impatiently for the next Hawthorne mystery, to see how Horowitz can come up with a way to write himself into a more entertaining story than The Twist of a Knife.

Egalleys for The Twist of a Knife were provided by Harper through Edelweiss, with many thanks.