Cover image of "A Deadly Episode," a novel about a murder on a film set

In A Deadly Episode, the sixth book in his Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Anthony Horowitz delivers a belated sequel to the novel that launched the series, The Word is Murder. And, true to form, he delivers a baffling story with a devilishly clever premise. Yes, Horowitz does it again. The author and the detective are on the set of a film in production based on their first book. And not long after production is underway, the A-list star portraying Hawthorne is stabbed to death in his trailer. Except that it was Hawthorne’s name on the trailer door, not that of the star who resembled him. So, who really was the target, and why?

Confusion galore in an unconventional whodunit

If you’re a fan of English whodunits, you’ll find the experience familiar. Again and again, the author leads you astray with cogent explanations for why this or that person on the film set might have murdered the star.

Then the whole story takes a radical turn into confusion as Horowitz introduces a parallel plotline in which the daughter of a killer Hawthorne put away really did harbor an intense desire to kill him. And she, too, was in the vicinity of the set. So, what on earth is going on here? Who’s on first? And what’s on second?

A Deadly Episode (Hawthorne and Horowitz #6) by Anthony Horowitz (2026) 384 pages ★★★★☆

Photo of Old Town, Hastings, England, setting for this novel about a murder on a film set
The Old Town in Hastings, England. The town was the setting for much of A Deadly Episode as it was for Horowitz’s long-running WW2 series, Foyle’s War. Image: TripAdvisor

Too clever by half?

Anthony Hawthorne delights in baffling readers. He’s done it over and over again in the Magpie Murders, the Marble Hall Murders, and once again in the Hawthorne and Horowitz books. If you revel in the suspension of disbelief that he foists on you as he introduces yet another plausible murder suspect, you’ll love this book and its companions in the series. If, like me, you’ve long since tired of contrived whodunits, you’ll pass this title by. After all, there’s a limit to how much cleverness can entertain.

About the author

Photo of Anthony Horowitz, author of this novel about a murder on a film set
Anthony Horowitz at home in London in 2021. Image: Chris McAndrew – New Statesman

Anthony Horowitz has written three series of mysteries for children and young adults as well as 16 adult novels of suspense plus scads of short stories. He has also written scripts for three films, three TV miniseries, and three plays in addition to the 31 episodes of Foyle’s War, which his wife produced for ITV.

Horowitz was born in 1955 in Middlesex, England. He graduated from the University of York with a degree in English literature and art history. He lives in Central London with his wife, Jill Green. They have two sons.

Earlier I reviewed the first of the six Hawthorne and Horowitz novels to date: The Word is Murder: A Mindbending Metafictional Murder Mystery (The first in a series of uniquely clever detective novels).

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