Close to Death was published by Century in 2024. In Riverside Close, an exclusive gated community in Richmond, London, every resident despises their neighbor Giles Kenworthy — a boorish property developer who has systematically antagonized the entire close through noise, boundary disputes, and general obnoxiousness. When Kenworthy is found murdered, every neighbor is a suspect, and Hawthorne must determine which of them escalated from passive aggression to violence.
The novel is Horowitz’s most socially satirical: the residents of Riverside Close are affluent, educated, and outwardly civilized, but their proximity to an intolerable neighbor has revealed something primitive beneath the surface. The closed community mirrors the locked-room mystery tradition while updating it for the anxieties of contemporary suburban life.
Collecting Close to Death
First edition (Century, London, 2024): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- Fine in dust jacket: $15–$25
- Very good: $8–$15
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest appreciation. Current releases are still widely available.
The Suburban Noir
Riverside Close is Horowitz’s version of the English village — the traditional setting for Golden Age mystery fiction, updated for the 21st century. Where Christie’s villages concealed murder behind hedgerows and parish councils, Horowitz’s gated community conceals it behind security cameras and neighbourhood WhatsApp groups. The upgrade is purely technological; the human dynamics — jealousy, resentment, snobbery, and the slow accumulation of minor grievances into murderous rage — are unchanged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Anthony Horowitz primarily a crime writer? Horowitz works across multiple genres. He is the author of the Alex Rider YA spy series, the creator of Foyle’s War, the authorized continuation author for both Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, and the writer of the Hawthorne detective series and the Susan Ryeland mysteries. He is one of the most prolific and versatile writers in contemporary British fiction.