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?
