In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, I am pleased to welcome back fan-favorite, Anthony Horowitz. His latest release, A DEADLY EPISODE, is the sixth book in the bestselling Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery series. If you’re a fan of dry humor and whodunits, this one is for you.
LIGHTNING ROUND
• What’s your favorite writing season: hopeful spring, beachy summer, reflective fall, or cozy winter, and why?
I write all year round but my favourite time has to be the end of winter: January and February. I sit in my tiny house in Suffolk and I watch the clouds racing past and the horizontal rain beating at the windows. I light a fire and make a pot of tea. What else can I do but write?
• What’s one snack or treat that always appears when you’re deep in writing mode?
Chocolate. Chocolate cookies. With green tea.
• What’s one small thing that instantly puts you in a creative mood?
My Tintin rocket. I have a model that’s 35 cms high and it always takes me into orbit.
THE SPRING SPARK
* May often signifies the start of something new. In what ways did this story represent a new chapter for you as a writer?
The seasons always inspire my writing and I saw A DEADLY EPISODE as a new beginning in my relationship with Hawthorne, so it seemed to be a good fit.
• What was the very first image, line, or idea that sparked this book?
I loved the idea of opening on a film set – it’s a world I know well. I saw a production in difficulties…over budget, out of time, the actors at war. And then, in the middle of it all, a murder and a young woman screaming a single name. “Hawthorne!”
• Tell us about a scene that changed significantly from your first draft to your final version. What made you rethink it?
There’s a long sequence that’s set in Reeth, in Yorkshire – which is where Hawthorne was born. I had half an idea of what had happened there but it was only when I travelled north and stayed there for a few days (with my dog) that the entire story came into my head – and I can assure you it wasn’t at all what I’d expected.
• Many authors say their characters “talk back.” Did any character surprise you or take the story somewhere unexpected?
I was quite shocked by the story told by Ralph Seymour, who is the actor playing me in the film that the book describes. From the moment you meet him, it’s clear that something terrible has happened to him but I have to say I was horrified his description of the BAFTA ceremony where he won a best actor award. I couldn’t believe I was writing it.
• Setting can shape a story in powerful ways. What role does the setting play in your book, and what inspired you to choose it?
I had filmed “Foyle’s War” in Hastings, which is a wonderfully shabby, lively, colourful, eccentric town on the south coast of England. It’s very much a character in the story. I even stayed in the Royal Victoria Hotel – which is where much of the cast have rooms. I can’t imagine the book being set anywhere else.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
• What’s a behind-the-scenes detail about writing this book that readers might never guess?
Foss Hall is inspired by Nunnington Hall, a gorgeous country house in Yorkshire. You can visit if you happen to find yourself there. I drove 30 miles across Yorkshire after seeing a picture of it on the internet. I thought it would be perfect for my needs…and it was. A kind gardener looked after my dog while I explored inside.
• Springtime is ideal for discovering new books. Which book is currently at the top of your TBR pile, and what other books are you looking forward to reading?
A lot of my reading connects with my work and I’m planning a book set in Berlin in 1945. So the book I’m reading at the moment is Aftermath (Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich) by Harald Jähner – which is breathtakingly good. Next up is Stay Alive (Berlin 1939-1945) by Ian Buruma. For my birthday, I was given “Howl” by Harold Jaconson and I’m looking forward to reading that too.
LOOKING AHEAD
• Can you give readers a sneak peek into your next project, minus any spoilers?
See above! Later this year, I’m going to start a book which is not a murder mystery and which is set at the very end of the war. It tells the story of a Special Operations agent sent into the maelstrom of Berlin to find a Nazi with a secret.
• Where can readers connect with you and keep up with your latest writing news? (Website, social media, newsletter, etc.)
My website contains various bits of news.
BONUS: The Author’s Playlist
Share songs that capture the mood of your book or that help inspire you while writing.
I never listen to songs when I’m writing. I can’t have someone else’s words in my head. But here are five pieces of music which inspire me. Do give them a try!Chopin – Berceuse
Philip Glass – Glassworks
JS Bach – Cantata: Es ist vollbracht
Franz Liszt – La Campanella
Libertango – Astor Piazzolla
Hawthorne and Horowitz #6
A Novel
They’re making a major feature film of the first Hawthorne/Horowitz mystery novel. Except—they’re behind schedule, they’ve run out of money and . . . oh! The star has just been murdered.
Ex-Detective Inspector Daniel Hawthorne is dead.
Or, rather, the actor playing him in the film adaptation of The Word is Murder is. Rising star David Caine has been stabbed, and it seems that everyone on the set had a motive.
Caine had just fired his PA. He had fallen out with his director, slept with the screenwriter, humiliated his co-star and dropped his agent days before he was about to sign a multi-million-dollar deal to appear in the next Spider-Man movie.
But what if Caine’s murderer had made a mistake? What if it was the real Hawthorne who was the intended victim? For it turns out that the brilliant detective may have got it wrong ten years earlier. An innocent man has died in jail. And perhaps someone has decided that Hawthorne must pay the price.
From the film set on the south coast of England, the story moves to Reeth, in Yorkshire, the village where Hawthorne grew up. A burned-down school, a car accident that isn’t what it seems, blackmail and murder in an Elizabethan country house . . . somehow they combine to unlock the secret of what has happened in Hastings.
For once, the local police are helpful. DS Sarah Milnes gives Hawthorne carte blanche to investigate and there may even be a hint of romance in the air. Which leaves his hapless sidekick, Horowitz, on his own, stumbling his way to the truth.
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, A Deadly Episode is an intriguing page-turner that once again demonstrates why Anthony Horowitz is the reigning king of the modern whodunit.
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Private Eye [ Harper, On Sale: April 28, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063305748 / eISBN: 9780063305762 ]
Anthony Horowitz is one of the most prolific and successful writers working in the UK – and is unique for working across so many media. Anthony is a born polymath; juggling writing books, TV series, films, plays and journalism.
Anthony was awarded an OBE for his services to literature in January 2014.
Jennifer Vido is the author of The Gull Island Series, sweet Lowcountry romances inspired by her love of coastal living and small-town charm. Serendipity by the Sea won Best First Book from the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Contest, and Baltimore Magazine readers named her Best Local Author in 2024 and 2025.
A Vanderbilt graduate, Jennifer traded in teaching French to follow her dream of becoming an author. She loves discovering and sharing literary gems through her Jen's Jewels column, celebrating the books that make her heart happy.
Jennifer lives in Maryland with her husband and is mom to two grown sons. Her rescue dog, Fripp, is her constant companion, though he's better at napping than editing. When she's not writing, you'll find her at the beach with her toes in the sand, dreaming about her next romance.
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