Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Twist of a Knife

Audiobook
16 of 24 copies available
16 of 24 copies available

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?

  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 19, 2022
      Fair-play whodunits don’t come much funnier than bestseller Horowitz’s brilliant fourth mystery featuring a fictionalized version of himself as the bumbling sidekick to former detective inspector Daniel Hawthorne (after 2021’s A Line to Kill). Hawthorne had convinced Horowitz to write three books chronicling some of Hawthorne’s private investigations. With that contract fulfilled, Horowitz declines his partner’s request to write another. Later, following the London debut of Horowitz’s comic thriller play, Mindgame, theater critic Harriet Throsby pens a savage review, threatening the production’s prospects. When she’s found fatally stabbed in her home with a dagger given to Horowitz by the play’s producer that bears Horowitz’s fingerprints, he’s arrested. The damning evidence mounts as his hair is found on Throsby’s blouse, and video footage shows someone fitting his description near the crime scene right before the stabbing. When Horowitz is released while the investigation proceeds, he persuades Hawthorne to join him in probing the possible guilt of those involved in staging Mindgame. Clues are adroitly hidden in plain sight. This humorous homage to golden age closed-circle mysteries is not to be missed. Agent: Jonathan Lloyd, Curtis Brown Group (U.K.).

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Rory Kinnear delivers an engaging and well-paced performance of Anthony Horowitz's third mystery featuring PI Hawthorne and Horowitz himself as a character. The amusing, sometimes befuddling, conceit mingles a fictional plot with facts from Horowitz's actual life. This time, the murder of a critic who panned Horowitz's London play implicates the playwright. Kinnear's chesty-sounding Hawthorne is engaging, intransigent, and offhand; his accent is cleverly hard to place on the social register. His higher-pitched Horowitz is hapless and comically whiny as a disbelieving victim. Most of the action involves Hawthorne conducting interviews in order to unmask the true killer, but Kinnear doesn't let things drag and offers distinctive and droll character interpretations that maintain our interest through to the surprise conclusion. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Horowitz's fourth "Hawthorne and Horowitz" mystery, following A Line To Kill, puts protagonist Anthony Horowitz behind bars. As both the novel's author and its main character, Horowitz indulges in a little retrospective of his work--in this case, his play Mindgame (actually performed in 1999) has just been panned at its West End debut by a gleefully malicious critic, who soon turns up dead. The fingerprints of the fictional Horowitz on the knife that killed her, plus a load of circumstantial evidence, lead to an easy arrest. Thankfully, with his one phone call he can reach Daniel Hawthorne, the most brilliant investigative mind in London, though after three cases (and three books) together, their contracted collaboration has ended. With only two days to prove Anthony innocent, Hawthorne finds clues everywhere, giving armchair sleuths plenty of trails to follow. As in previous series installments, Rory Kinnear narrates with a theatrical range of voices that he keeps distinct and well-matched to each suspect. His gravelly, neutral Hawthorne and anxious, relatable Horowitz remain an engaging duo that--thanks to a new contract for more "true crime" books by the pair--listeners will hope to hear again soon. VERDICT Recommended for fans of classic British mysteries and self-aware metafiction. Though the background isn't essential, listeners are encouraged to start with book one in the series, The Word Is Murder.--Lauren Kage

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now Content of this digital collection is funded by your local Minuteman library, supplemented by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.