The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 22 books · 2000 to 2026 · Mostly set in London

Anthony Horowitz

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspenseYoung adultPrivate eyeAmateur sleuthSpy and espionageYA mystery and thriller

Anthony Horowitz writes for children and adults. Alex Rider is a fourteen-year-old schoolboy recruited by MI6. In the Hawthorne books Horowitz writes himself in as the reluctant sidekick to ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne, and in the Susan Ryeland books an editor solves real murders hidden inside the manuscripts of a golden-age-style detective, Atticus Pünd.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The James Bond and Sherlock Holmes continuation novels are left out.

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Who appears in which book

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LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Anthony Horowitz books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Hawthorne and Horowitz

6 books · Set in LondonPrivate eye
  1. 1The Word Is Murder2017With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Sentence Is Death2018With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon
  3. 3A Line to Kill2021With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Twist of a Knife2022With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Close to Death2024With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon
  6. 6A Deadly Episode2026With Daniel Hawthorne and Anthony HorowitzBuy on Amazon

Susan Ryeland

3 books · Set in SuffolkAmateur sleuth
  1. 1Magpie Murders2016With Susan RyelandBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Moonflower Murders2020With Susan RyelandBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Marble Hall Murders2025With Susan RyelandBuy on Amazon

Alex Rider

13 books · Set in LondonYA mystery and thrillerSpy and espionage
  1. 1Stormbreaker2000With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Point Blanc2001With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Skeleton Key2002With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Eagle Strike2003With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Scorpia2004With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Ark Angel2005With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Snakehead2007With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Crocodile Tears2009With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Scorpia Rising2011With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Russian Roulette2013With Yassen GregorovichBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Never Say Die2017With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Nightshade2020With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Nightshade Revenge2023With Alex RiderBuy on Amazon

Characters

12 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Hawthorne and Horowitz

Susan Ryeland

Alex Rider