The sixth in The Hawthorne and Horowitz series (for newbies, the two main characters are the fictional Detective Hawthorne and the author himself. It can get kind of twisted in a brain that holds too firmly to reality). In this episode, the duo are involved in supporting a production company in making a movie out of the first book — The Word is Murder — when the actor playing Hawthorne is found stabbed in his trailer part way through filming.
A set of irritating and suspicious characters who all had ample reason to want the (thoroughly unpleasant) actor dead, a fair amount of hero worship for Hawthorne alongside a dismissive disinterest in poor Anthony (our real life author co-starring with his fictional detective), and a deeply rooted and surprisingly related mystery of Hawthorne’s past all give this story plenty of spice.
Horowitz’s books are always engaging and well-written with excellent pacing. This one adds some interesting inside scoops on movie making (which Horowitz knows about deeply through his work on Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders). Good read.
Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 28th, 2026.
Books to look forward to ... 