"Diabolically clever."--New York Times "Horowitz dazzles with the brilliant third entry in his Susan Ryeland series . . . . [He is] is at the top of his game here, linking past and present in a virtuoso finale worthy of Agatha Christie."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) Murder links past and present once again in this mind-boggling metafictional mystery from Anthony Horowitz featuring detective Atticus Pünd and editor Susan Ryeland, stars of the New York Times bestsellers Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders. Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd's Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children's author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered--by poison. To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother's death inside the book. Desperately, Susan tries to prevent Eliot from putting himself in harm's way--but his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic. Another murder follows . . . and suddenly Susan finds herself to be the number one suspect. Once again, the real and the fictional worlds have become dangerously entangled. And if Susan doesn't solve the mystery of Pünd's Last Case, she could well be its next victim.

'My favourite literary hero at the moment is Anthony Horowitz' - SHARI LAPENA, author of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House _________________________ Death, deception, and a detective with quite a lot to hide: the second novel in the bestselling series starring Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne. _________________________ 'You shouldn't be here. It's too late... ' These were Richard Pryce's last words, overheard moments before the celeb divorce lawyer was bludgeoned to death with a £3,000 bottle of wine. Strange circumstances pile up. Pryce was teetotal, so why this bottle? Why those words? Why did the killer paint a number on his wall? And, most importantly, which of the man's many, many enemies did the deed? Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony , who's really getting rather good at this murder investigation business. But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. Anthony knows they must be exposed - even at the risk of death... _________________________ 'It's great fun and often hilarious to watch Anthony, as Hawthorne's biographer try to solve crimes while hopelessly out of his depth. This is meta-fiction I can get behind.' - SHARI LAPENA 'Anthony Horowitz gets away with murder in all sorts of ways and emerges triumphant ' - THE TIMES , Books of the Year 'Pure pleasure for readers ... A must-read delight. ' - WALL STREET JOURNAL 'This is crime fiction as dazzling entertainment , sustained by writing as skilfully light-footed as Fred Astaire' - SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB (STAR PICK) 'A crime story that keeps you up into the small hours... a page-turning mystery ' - METRO ' Sheer genius ... The narrative is hilarious and full of Holmesian clues and deliberate errors which will leave the eagle-eyed reader feeling just a bit smug. A joy from start to finish ' - INDEPENDENT 'With its teasing mix of real and fictional characters, Horowitz's fast-paced novel remains tantalising to the final page ' - DAILY MAIL 'Fans of traditional puzzle mysteries will be enthralled ' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'One of the most creative writers in the country today' - JEREMY VINE ' Huge fun ... It's hard to know why anyone who loves a good mystery wouldn't thoroughly enjoy the ride ' - IRISH INDEPENDENT 'A new Anthony Horowitz novel is always something to look forward to . Anyone who likes a good Midsomer -style murder mystery will love The Sentence is Death' - CULTUREFLY 'Succeeds on all levels ... Horowitz has the Midas touch ' - BOOKLIST 'This mystery is a worthy and witty follow-up to last year's best-seller The Word Is Murder ... brilliant and enigmatic ' - AARP 'No one currently working the field has anywhere near this much ingenuity to burn' - KIRKUS

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?

Pre-order the brand new Anthony Horowitz novel The Twist of a Knife , coming August 2022! 'EASILY THE GREATEST OF OUR CRIME WRITERS' Sunday Times 'A homage to the Golden Age of mystery - it is pure delight.' NEW YORK TIMES 'This is crime fiction as dazzling entertainment' SUNDAY TIMES 'Witty, wry, clever, a fabulous detective story and perfect summer reading' KATE MOSSE 'Funny, intriguing, thrilling and thought-provoking: a marvellous mystery' ADAM HAMDY 'A golden-age whodunnit on steroids' KIRKUS REVIEWS 'My favourite literary hero at the moment is Anthony Horowitz' SHARI LAPENA __________________ Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and the writer Anthony Horowitz have been invited to a literary festival on the island of Alderney to talk about their new book. Very soon they discover that dark forces are at work. Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour. And the visiting authors seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets. When the festival's wealthy sponsor is found brutally murdered, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows he doesn't have to look too far for suspects. There's no escape. The killer is still on the island. And there's about to be a second death... __________________ READERS LOVE A LINE TO KILL... 'I loved this smartly written whodunit.' 'If you like your mysteries clever and not run-of-the-mill, this one has your name stamped on it.' 'Highly entertaining.' 'This is an entertaining, easy, and relaxing read for anyone who enjoys an old-fashioned mystery.' 'I absolutely adore this series and cannot wait for more!' ***BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MOONFLOWER MURDERS***