A Deadly Episode

Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Word is Murder, the first book in the Hawthorne series, is about to be made into a major feature film.

The actors have been cast, the script written, and filming has already started in Hastings.

But when Hawthorne and Anthony visit the set, they find a far from happy family.

The director’s pretentious, the screenwriter’s an eco-warrior, the two stars hate each other, and the producer has run out of money.

And things are about to get much, much worse.

In the middle of shooting, the actor playing Hawthorne is stabbed – which leaves the real Hawthorne with no choice. He has to step in and investigate his own murder.

Because the killer may not have got the right man. Was it Hawthorne himself who was meant to be the target?

A Deadly Episode is a wild ride through a world that the author knows only too well, and the most personal case Hawthorne has had to deal with so far.

I love the Hawthorne & Horowitz series. it’s become a favourite of mine, with its metafictional characters and inventive mysteries, and I was thrilled to receive an e-ARC of this!

This was another great entry in the series. The story goes mega meta, as Hawthorne and Horowitz investigate a murder on the film set of The Word is Murder, an adaptation of the first book in the series. It was so fun seeing the actors discuss people and events from way back in book one.

The movie set made for a great setting, and I read this fairly quickly, enjoying the humour and clever mystery I’ve come to expect. As always though, my favourite part was the relationship between Hawthorne and Horowitz. Like our narrator, I want to know more about Hawthorne. Six books in, he is still a mystery!

I’m already ready looking forward to the next in this fabulous series!