A brilliantly inventive murder mystery by the author of the New York Times bestselling The Word Is Murder.
“The author turns up the suspense, the sleuths turn up the clues, and crooks end up dead all while Moriarty’s specter hovers. Anything but elementary, this clever thriller is sure to please Sherlock fans.”—People
 
You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late. . . .
These, heard over the phone, are the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Château Lafite worth £2,000, to be precise.
Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why did the killer paint a three-digit number on the wall? And, most important, 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 Horowitz—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. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
ANTHONY HOROWITZ is the author of the US bestselling Magpie Murders and The Word is Murder, and one of the most prolific and successful writers in the English language; he may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author. His novel Trigger Mortis features original material from Ian Fleming. His most recent Sherlock Holmes novel, Moriarty, is a reader favorite; and his bestselling Alex Rider series for young adults has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. As a TV screenwriter, he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War on PBS. Horowitz regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines, and in January 2014 was awarded an OBE.