Hawthorne & Horowitz · BOOK 6 OF 7
A Deadly Episode
Spoiler-free summary
A film adaptation of the first Hawthorne case runs into egos, money trouble—and murder. The newest case, published in 2026.
A screen production revisiting Hawthorne's first case. The pleasure lies in observation and privacy, shaped by a first-person detective chronicle in which the narrator is also a character and occasional suspect..
Get this book
Complete 2026 case file
Series position
Sixth in the official Hawthorne & Horowitz catalogue and first published in 2026.
Source-linked premise
The Word Is Murder is being made into a feature film inside the novel. Filming is under way in Hastings when the actor playing Hawthorne is stabbed, forcing the real Hawthorne to ask whether he was the intended target.
Production pressure
The official synopsis identifies conflict among the director, screenwriter, stars and a producer short of money. Those details establish the suspect-rich film-set world without naming a culprit.
Reality check
The film belongs to this novel’s metafictional plot. It is not, by itself, an announcement of a real-world screen adaptation.
Open the Hawthorne casebook for chronology, clue trails and adaptation status →
Can I start here?
Best read after Hawthorne & Horowitz 5; the central plot is approachable on its own, but continuing relationships and consequences carry forward.
What makes it different
A murder inside an adaptation of an earlier case is peak Horowitz: a hall of mirrors built for readers who remember every awkward Hawthorne exchange.
Setting
A screen production revisiting Hawthorne's first case.
Content guidance
Murder, death, grief and criminal investigation; the summary above withholds solutions.
Audio recordings on file
Source-linked extras
Horowitz on the craft
A publisher interview in which Horowitz discusses constructing murder-mystery twists; linked as series-level context, not misrepresented as a comment on this title alone.
Penguin — The Art of the Murder Mystery Twist ↗Continuity
A Deadly Episode is volume 6 of 7 in Hawthorne & Horowitz. Its central adventure has a resolution, while relationships and consequences can continue into later volumes.
If you liked this
These are affinity matches, not catalogue neighbours. Each card names the connection I used.