Harper
Published April 28, 2026
Reviewed by Meredith Frazier
A fast, funny, clever read, A Deadly Episode is the latest in Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne & Horowitz series. Written as though it’s lifted from Horowitz’s own life (and there’s more than a bit of a sense that it could be), the novel mingles fact and fiction into a metafictional tale that’s a great deal of fun to follow. And it’s a good mystery, too. In fact, it’s two good mysteries in one.
To begin, a production company is making a movie of the first Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery and, as might be expected, tensions run high on the set. Before long, the David Caine, main star, who was portraying Hawthorne, is murdered. Caine had made a lot of enemies on set, but was he murdered for his own actions, or was Hawthorne himself the actual intended victim? As Hawthorne and Horowitz assist the police in the investigation, they find themselves having to re-investigate Hawthorne’s very first case where he may or may not have made a mistake and accused an innocent man of a crime. Between the two cases, lots of red herrings crop up, interesting side plots ensue, and Horowitz the character wanders off on some trails of his own, only to be reeled back in in the end by Hawthorne’s razor-sharp reasoning.
Because the novel is both plot driven and character driven, it’s a fast read, but there’s enough depth to it to give it some heft. It’s not heavy, though. There’s plenty of humor throughout, and the clever clues and conclusion provide multiple levels of entertainment. If this is your first Hawthorne & Horowitz novel, there’s no need to have read the others—but you’ll want to read them by the time you reach the end.