Anthony Horowitz: On Imagining Himself in a Murder Mystery
Bestselling and award-winning author Anthony Horowitz discusses continuing his murder mystery series with his new novel, The Twist of a Knife.
One of the world’s most prolific and successful writers, Anthony Horowitz may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author, working across so many media, from books, to TV, film, plays 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 19 million copies worldwide.
As a TV screenwriter he created both Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War on PBS; other TV work includes Poirot and the widely acclaimed mini-series Collision and Injustice. His award-winning novel Magpie Murders has been adapted into a six-part miniseries that’s now on BritBox, written by Horowitz himself and staring Lesley Manville. It will be on PBS Masterpiece this fall 2022.
He lives in London. For more, visit AnthonyHorowitz.com, and find him on Twitter.
In this post, Anthony discusses continuing his murder mystery series with his new novel, The Twist of a Knife, his advice for writers, and more!
Name: Anthony Horowitz
Literary agent: Jonathan Lloyd, Curtis Brown, London
Book title: The Twist of a Knife
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release date: November 2022
Genre/category: Murder mystery
Previous titles: The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, A Line to Kill, Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, The House of Silk, Moriarty, the Alex Rider series…
Elevator pitch for the book: Following the murder of a ferocious theatre critic, the author (Anthony Horowitz) is arrested. Only Detective Hawthorne can save him but the two are no longer talking.
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What prompted you to write this book?
It’s the fourth book in a bestselling series. It was prompted by my wrongful arrest following the murder of Harriet Throsby. Yes, it was my knife. Yes, my fingerprints were on the hilt. But it wasn’t me!
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I have 12 Hawthorne books in my head, and I had the idea for this one about two years ago. It is published very much as I intended with no serious changes. Each book takes about one year to complete: idea … structuring … writing … editing … publishing.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I learnt a great deal about the main character—Detective Daniel Hawthorne—which I hadn’t known before. With every book I find out a little more about him which for me, and the reader (I hope), is very much part of the fun.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Well, first of all, I hope they won’t guess the ending! I’m trying to write in the footsteps of Agatha Christie with fiendishly plotted puzzles, all the clues in plain sight, no cheating and lots of surprises. Basically, I hope readers will be entertained and baffled!
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Believe in yourself. Never put yourself down.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
