#47. Self Insert By An Author – Close To Death by Anthony Horowitz (Audible)

I originally stumbled across this series on Audible, and whilst I really enjoyed listening to the first book, I wasn’t sure if it was the story or Rory Kinnear’s narration that got me hooked. I really enjoy listening to Kinnear bring the two main characters, Daniel Hawthorne & ‘Tony’ Horovitz to life, and as long as he remains the narrator, I will continue to listen to the books on Audible. As I finish each book, I know I will be waiting with anticipation for the next instalment. This is the fifth book in the Hawthorne & Horovitz series, and it didn’t disappoint.

 

“Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.

It is the perfect idyll until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, a gaggle of shrieking children and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and they quickly offend every last one of their neighbours.

When Giles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator that can be called on to solve the case.

Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?”                                                                                       

 

As the series title “Hawthorne & Horowitz” suggests, these books follow the life of the best-selling author of murder mystery fiction Anthony Horowitz. Of course, this is a fictionalised version of himself and in this fifth novel “Close To Death,” he has been told by his literary agent that he needs to have his latest “Hawthorne” novel finished ready for the Christmas market. This puts Horowitz in a dilemma, as there haven’t been any new murders to write about recently, and he hasn’t spoken to Hawthorne for several months.

Horowitz decides he will look at former Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne’s cold cases, and finds one in particular strikes a chord with him.  He thinks this case will be a great basis for his new book, and he might be able to uncover a few things about Hawthorne’s private life whilst he’s at it.

#23. The Other Book With The Similar Plot – Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle (Paperback)

As mentioned in the previous blog, this book was my friend’s holiday read which she passed to me once she’d finished with it.

I was already reading two books that I had taken with me, but one of them was a nice hardback I didn’t want ruining with sea and sand, so this seemed a perfect book to pop to the beach with. 

I wasn’t filled with much confidence as her assessment of the book was basically ‘it’s okay for a holiday read.’ By her tone, I surmised it’d be a quick easy read that wouldn’t give the old grey cells too much of a problem. Sadly, I was right, the new Agatha Christie this was not!

“One happy couple.

Two divided families.

A wedding party to die for.

 

On the private island of Castello Fiore - surrounded by the glittering waters of Lake Garda - the illustrious Heywood family gathers for a wedding to remember.

 

But as the ceremony begins, a blood-curdling scream brings the celebrations to a violent halt.

 

With the guests trapped on the island as they await the police, old secrets come to light and family rivalries threaten to explode.

 

Everyone is desperate to know . . .

 

Who is the killer?

 

And can they be found before they strike again?”

 

So, what is my issue with this book that I didn’t have with ‘The Guest List’? Well for starters I worked out who had been murdered after the first two pages…even though we hadn’t been told who had died (in two pages you haven’t been told much to be honest!) Secondly, we go back in time to two days before the murder, just so people’s back stories can be laid out before us. As soon as one of the characters said their name wasn’t short for anything, I thought, oh I imagine it is, and I wondered what the other variations of that name were, so as I ploughed on reading, I realised which one it was. The author has tried to incorporate alternate narratives to add to the tension and possibly sow seeds of doubt, but for me, the red herrings in the book turned out to be more of a pink-footed goose chase… and I’m not talking Fuchsia Pink here, more of a Blossom or Baby Pink. At least the ending made sense, if predictable, so not all was bad. In honesty, I kept reading because it was part of the challenge and to see whether my assumptions were correct. Just call me Jane Marple!

As a beach read goes, it was enjoyable enough and the setting I was in enhanced the experience. I might have been in Montenegro, but I was sat on a beach with a mountain range looming up before me, which reminded me so much of my holiday by Lake Garda several years ago. Coincidentally, I stayed in Malcesine where this book is set, and I have visited the castle where the wedding took place. The castle is actually on the mainland, but it does house a museum and a wedding was in full-swing  when we visited; the happy couple having their photos taken in the most idyllic surroundings.

#22. A Plot Similar to Another Book – The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Paperback)

This was originally going to be my “#7. At Least Four Different POV” read, however, whilst on holiday my friend finished reading “Murder on Lake Garda” and then handed it over to me.

As she told me the premise of the book, I couldn’t help but think it sounded like a very familiar story…in fact very similar to the previous book I’d just read! Now a murder on an island is not a new idea, indeed Agatha Christie did just that in great style with “And Then There Were None.” The first book I read for this challenge, “Daisy Darker” also features people stranded on an island where a murder takes place, however, both ‘The Guest List’ and ‘Murder on Lake Garda’ feature a WEDDING and MURDER on an island where there is a mystery to be solved!

"Each has a secret

Each has a motive

Off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year 

Old friends

Past grudges

Happy families

Hidden jealousies

Thirteen guests

One body

One guest won’t leave this wedding alive..."

The book starts in the middle of the story, where the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater has just taken place. This seems rather apt seeing as the focus of events takes place on an island in the middle of the sea!

The wedding guests are celebrating in a marquee as a storm starts raging across the island, the intensity of the tempestuous wind causes the electrics to short circuit and for a moment the guests are left in darkness. When the generator begins to operate and the lights come back on, the guests hear a terrified scream emanating from the darkness outside…

#14. A Grieving Character – Eleven Liars by Robert Gold (Audible)

In 2020, as part of Hatchette publishers “secret reader” scheme, I received an advance copy of Robert’s book, “Twelve Secrets.” I enjoyed the book, so when I saw the second book in the Ben Harper series titled “Eleven Liars” pop up on Audible, I thought I would listen and see how the storyline had progressed.

 

“Journalist Ben Harper is on his way home when he sees the flames in the churchyard. The derelict community centre is on fire. And somebody is trapped inside.

With Ben's help the person escapes, only to flee the scene before they can be identified. Now the small town of Haddley is abuzz with rumours. Was this an accident, or arson?

Then a skeleton is found in the burnt-out foundations.

And when the identity of the victim is revealed, Ben is confronted with a crime that is terrifyingly close to home. As he uncovers a web of deceit and destruction that goes back decades, Ben quickly learns that in this small town, everybody has something to hide.”

 

This book starts pretty much from where the last one left off. Whilst it isn’t strictly necessary to read the first book in the series, I would recommend it, mainly because it helps to understand who the characters are, how their relationships fit together, and what issues have affected them in the first book. That said, the plot of the book is straightforward enough to follow, in chronological order, and Gold adds bit of information from the earlier novel, so you can quickly pick up on the back story without it hindering the rest of the plot.

The action starts immediately when investigative journalist Ben Harper takes a shortcut home  through the local cemetery and saves the life of a man who is trapped in a burning building. Despite Ben’s heroics, the man flees the scene before Ben can recognise him. The next day a skeleton is found in the ruins of the burnt-out building. No-one claims to know the identity of the body, or how it ended up in the foundations of the church’s community centre.

#7. At Least Four Different POV – How Not to Murder Your Ex by Katie Marsh (Kindle)

This book was an option on Amazon Prime’s Nov 2023 First Reads list. I've not read the author before and I thought it looked like a light-hearted cosy murder mystery. I had already traded the book that I was originally going to use for “At Least Four Different POV” to a different category, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to read a book that had been sat on my Kindle for several months.     

“It is 5:30 am on Clio's forty-fifth birthday and her hated ex is lying dead on her doorstep. Even worse, this is no accident. Someone’s killed him...

 

When single mum Clio’s ex Gary turns up dead on the doorstep of her caravan – the one she’s been forced to live in ever since he stole every penny she had – there’s only one suspect. Her.

 

What’s more, she doesn’t remember much about the night he was killed – not just because of the forgetfulness that’s been plaguing her along with the hot flushes – but because she definitely had one too many cocktails with her two best friends Amber and Jeanie.

 

Clio does remember them talking about how much they all hated him though. And, in the frame for murder, she has to ask herself – if she didn’t kill Gary, who did? One of his many enemies? Or someone a little closer to home? And can she and her friends find the real killer before it’s too late?.”

Clio, Jeanie and Amber are celebrating Clio’s 45^th birthday in the caravan she now calls home (which belongs to her first ex-husband Bez, and is due to her second ex-husband Gary, stealing her home and business from her and leaving her as a single parent to look after her and Bez's teenage daughter Nina.)

As forty somethings, all three women are experiencing difficulties in life, and this night is a chance for them to really let their hair down and let things get messy.

“Maybe Amber's lethal margaritas had tipped her over the edge - cocktails mixed by someone doing the Macarena were always going to be a risk.”

After drinking and dancing the night away, Amber manages to lock herself in the toilet, Jeanie has passed out on the floor, and Clio has gone for a walk among the sand dunes. When she returns to the caravan, she finds her ex-husband Gary slumped on the doorstep with his head bashed in. Naturally, instead of ‘phoning the police, Clio immediately panics that she might have done the dirty deed. She is in the throes of the menopause and has become rather forgetful recently, plus it doesn’t help she’s drunk far too many cocktails during the evening. Roll on much hilarity as the three friends try to unravel the truth to clear Clio’s name!

Perfect ... The D I Callanach Novels by Helen Fields Books 1-6 (Kindle)

Perfect Remains by Helen Fields was a book and author I was not familiar with, however, as a free download on my Kindle App, it was worth a punt. I was in need of something to read on one of my journey's home from London, so I flicked through my 'phone and thought I would give it a chance. Two hours later, as the train rattled into Chester station I was hooked…thank goodness for the quiet taxi driver, as that meant more reading time until I got home!

The protagonist of the story, Luc Callanach, was raised in France, however, his career at Interpol was brought to an untimely close following a false allegation made against him. In a bid to make a new start he returned to Scotland, the land of his birth, for a job as a Detective Inspector in Edinburgh. No sooner had he started in his role, then he was plunged head-first into a murder investigation and I was plunged into a perfectly addictive series of books.

Elaine Buxton is missing. On a remote Highland mountain her body is burning. Soon the body of the once respected lawyer will be a mound of ash and only her teeth and clothing will identify her. Callanach wants to prove himself, but the Frenchman of unquestionable beauty riles the other men in the team. Will his good looks be the undoing of him, or will his colleague DI Ava Turner realise that the man has intellect as well as an attractive physique and Gallic charm?

Murder on Mulholland Drive, Theatr Clwyd (Mold)

OK, let’s get this straight from the start, this is not a stage version of David Lynch’s strange neo-noir 2001 film starring Naomi Watts. 

Mulholland Drive is a road that stretches 21 miles in Southern California, USA, which takes in scenic views of the Hollywood sign, Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley. It has some of the most famous and expensive houses in the world and is home to several Hollywood celebrities; and it makes the perfect setting for an Agatha Christie style whodunnit!

Who Killed Houston Ziegfried McCoy?

Murder on Mulholland Drive is a murder mystery play written and starring Richard Jones of Pheonix Theatre Company, Mold, a familiar name to those who frequent Theatr Clwyd. Set in the 1950’s, it is a cautionary tale of what could happen to a sleazy, middle-aged man, who happens to be head of one of the most powerful film studios in Hollywood. Houston Ziegfried McCoy has helped many hopeful starlets achieve their ambitions, but his methods have made him many enemies along the way.