Close to Death

As always, my wife, Jill Green, was the first person to read the manuscript and gave me some excellent notes. I do wonder how I’d cope without her. With my sons, Nicholas and Cassian, my two daughters-in-law, Iona and Sophia, and now a new arrival – Leander Horowitz – I am extremely lucky to have a close family around me and one that fills the vacuum in which all writers live. My assistant, Tess Cutler, continues to organise my life and to stop me making commitments I can’t possibly fulfil. My agent, Hilda Starke, is often too busy to take my calls, but her assistant, Jonathan Lloyd, is always there for me.

The team at Penguin Random House is listed separately, but I want to extend a special thank you to Darren Bennett for the terrific map at the front of the book (I do like maps in murder mysteries) and to Glenn O’Neill for working tirelessly to create the new style for all the covers. My editor, Selina Walker, is the spider at the heart of the web, but not a poisonous one like Gemma Beresford’s jewellery. You wouldn’t be reading this without her.

Writers often feel isolated and alone but the truth is that producing a book is a huge team effort.

It’s my pleasure to acknowledge the fantastic support I’ve been given in the long journey from idea to manuscript to finished publication.

PUBLISHER

Selina Walker

EDITORIAL

Joanna Taylor

Charlotte Osment

Caroline Johnson

DESIGN

Glenn O’Neill

PRODUCTION

Helen Wynn-Smith

UK SALES

Alice Gomer

Olivia Allen

Kirsten Greenwood

Jade Unwin

Evie Kettlewell

INTERNATIONAL SALES

Anna Curvis

Linda Viberg

PUBLICITY

Sarah Harwood

Klara Zak

MARKETING

Sam Rees-Williams

AUDIO

James Keyte

Meredith Benson

About the Author

ANTHONY HOROWITZ is one of the UK’s most prolific and successful writers, unique in being active in both adult and YA fiction, TV, theater, and journalism. Several of his previous novels were instant New York Times bestsellers. His bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than nineteen million copies worldwide and has become a hugely successful show on Amazon TV. His breakthrough murder mystery, Magpie Murders, premiered in 2022 on PBS. He lives in London with his wife and dog.

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Also by Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk

Moriarty

Trigger Mortis

Magpie Murders

The Word Is Murder

Forever and a Day

The Sentence Is Death

Moonflower Murders

A Line to Kill

With a Mind to Kill

The Twist of a Knife