Meet the Author: Anthony Horowitz

Image © Anna Lythgoe

Anthony Horowitz, CBE is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series, which is estimated to have sold 21 million copies worldwide.

Anthony is also an acclaimed writer for adults and was commissioned to write two new Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk and Moriarty. He was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate to write continuation novels for James Bond with Trigger Mortis, Forever and Day, and With a Mind to Kill.

His new series featuring Detective Hawthorne and a sidekick called Anthony Horowitz has four books so far: The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, A Line to Kill and the recently published The Twist of a Knife. The fifth in the series, Close to Death, is due out in April 2024.

Anthony Horowitz will be one of the featured authors for our next Online Book Festival on Sunday 25 February 2024 to help raise funds for Suffolk Libraries. You can find Anthony's books on our catalogue.

You were always certain that you would become an author, and 50+ books later you are hugely successful. What gave you that initial belief that you could do it?

If there’s one thing that every writer needs, it’s self-belief. There’s no “why” or “how” about it. When you sit down and write, you’ve just got to believe that your book will be published, that it will sell, that people will enjoy it. I had no evidence at all that I would be a successful writer – in fact, when I was young, my teachers often told me how useless I was – but all along I was certain that I’d make it and though I’ve had many moments of doubt, I’ve never let them get me down.

What does a typical writing day look like for you if such a thing exists?

I try not to have “typical” writing days. For me, there’s a danger in writing so many words in so many hours…it can become routine, boring. I write for about eight or nine hours a day but I also walk my dog, see friends, visit Suffolk, go to films, theatres etc. I try to have fun!

It has been said that you have committed more (fictional) murders than any living author. What is it about the crime genre that keeps you coming back to it?

I’ve always liked puzzles, tricks, illusions and I love writing murder stories because in some ways they’re an elaborate game – me vs the reader. The first question I ask someone who’s read one of my books is not “did you enjoy it?” but “did you guess?”

Detective Daniel Hawthorne returns in April 2024 in Close to Death. Can you give us a flavour of what to expect?

It’s set in Richmond, London, in an exclusive private close (hence the title). Five sets of residents have all got on famously until a newcomer arrives with his family and suddenly they find themselves in a “nightmare neighbour” situation…until one of them murders him. It’s a very tricksy novel with (I hope) an ending that will surprise you.

What does Christmas look like in your household? Is it a season you enjoy?

I’m afraid Christmas was ruined for me by the realisation that all my relatives were at each other’s throats and that my parents didn’t really enjoy it at all. So my family has always gone away for Christmas and I have to say we’ve had some wonderful holidays over the past thirty years.

One book, piece of music or work of art that everyone should experience?

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. It’s a fantastic story, full of memorable characters and a perfect piece of writing.

Your love of Suffolk is well documented. What is it that you love about our county?

Everything! Let’s start with the amazing scenery, the North Sea, the huge skies, the pink and blue houses and ancient churches clustered together in unspoiled villages. Aldeburgh Southwold, Westleton, Dunwich, Earl Soham, Kersey, Framlingham... there are so many unique places. Rendelsham Forest! Walking, swimming, spotting seals and oyster catchers. The food, obviously. The many stories – of UFOs, sea creatures, world war and cold war secrets, ghosts and so on. Above all - the people.

I’m so proud to be a patron of the community charity, Suffolk Home-Start, and when you meet their small army of volunteers, it’s hard to believe how kind and committed Suffolk folk can be.

What is on your 'to read' shelf at the moment?

Becoming Dickens by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, recommended to me by a friend. And Kennedy 35, the latest spy novel by Charles Cumming. He just gets better and better.

The best piece of advice you were ever given?

Never give up.

You have been interviewed many times. Can you tell us one thing about yourself that your readers may not know?

I’m so scared of dying while I’m writing a murder story that I leave the solution in an envelope on my desk. That way, at least someone will know who did it!