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