61 pages 2 hours read

Anthony Horowitz

Close to Death

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Symbols & Motifs

Stickers

Stickers are a motif of the Horowitz and Hawthorne series and this novel in particular. Hawthorne identifies stickers as “the crimes that are like no others because there’s an intelligence behind them” (360). He says that these crimes are the product of “the genius, the killer who’s not going to get caught, who sits down and works it all out” (359). He continues, “That’s where I come in. That’s sort of my specialty” (360). The cases that Hawthorne takes Horowitz along on are always stickers; it is Horowitz’s ability to solve them that keeps the police reluctantly hiring him when they find, as Khan does, that they are “out of [their] depth” (101).

The stickers, and Hawthorne’s ability to solve them, illustrate Hawthorne’s unique perspective. Khan knows Hawthorne by reputation alone as “a hard-working, solitary, difficult man who somehow always manage[s] to pull the guilty rabbit out of the blood-soaked hat” (101). Hawthorne realizes immediately when Khan contacts him that “[the case] [i]s a sticker if ever there was one, and frankly, the local plod ha[s] as much chance of solving it as […] well, [Horowitz]” (93). This quote highlights another fundamental aspect of Hawthorne’s character: He is successful in part because of his confidence in his abilities, as well as his unabashed knowledge that his skills exceed those of the police and of Horowitz as well.

Related Titles

By Anthony Horowitz

Plot Summary

logo

Ark Angel

Anthony Horowitz

Ark Angel

Anthony Horowitz

Plot Summary

logo

Eagle Strike

Anthony Horowitz

Eagle Strike

Anthony Horowitz

Study Guide

logo

Magpie Murders

Anthony Horowitz

Magpie Murders

Anthony Horowitz

Study Guide

logo

Moonflower Murders

Anthony Horowitz

Moonflower Murders: A Novel

Anthony Horowitz

Plot Summary

logo

Point Blank

Anthony Horowitz

Point Blank

Anthony Horowitz

Plot Summary

logo

Raven's Gate

Anthony Horowitz

Raven's Gate

Anthony Horowitz

Study Guide

logo

Stormbreaker

Anthony Horowitz

Stormbreaker

Anthony Horowitz

Plot Summary

logo

The House Of Silk

Anthony Horowitz

The House Of Silk

Anthony Horowitz

Study Guide

logo

The Word is Murder

Anthony Horowitz

The Word is Murder

Anthony Horowitz