While Horowitz may be a main character, he is not the main character. That would be Daniel Hawthorne, a former police officer who now gives police officers fits by being smarter than them. The author plays the hapless Watson to Hawthorne's Sherlock.
The idea of the partnership is for Hawthorne to solve perplexing murder cases while Horowitz observes and then writes books about them. The two have parted ways at the beginning of this story, Hawthorne being a difficult man to get along with. But when Horowitz writes a play and when a severe drama critic is then murdered with his dagger after opening night, he begs Hawthorne for help.
The evidence against Horowitz is substantial. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon. One of his hairs is found at the scene. And so on.
The novel becomes more Agatha Christie than Sherlock Holmes, complete with a final scene where all the suspects, plus the investigating officers, are present while Hawthorne makes the great reveal.
This is an engaging murder mystery, one of the best in the series.
