DHH News Roundup 4th - 10th December 2023
Jo Thomas
We're kicking off this week's DHH News Roundup with a wonderful short story written by Jo Thomas for The Mail on Sunday, published on the 10th December.
A perfect story for the season, will a charming Welsh market town manage to get their annual Christmas market off without a hitch?
Jo's latest book, Countdown to Christmas (Transworld), is out now!
Gareth Brown
Turkish rights for Gareth Brown's forthcoming debut, The Book of Doors (Transworld), have been sold to Örme iş Merkezi.
This marks the fifteenth foreign language territory for the book, which publishes in February 2024.
Katrín Juliusdóttir
The debut novel from Katrín Juliusdóttir, Dead Sweet (Orenda Books), was published last week.
A murder is just the beginning…
When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn't until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar's shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís's own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
Mel Sherratt
A very warm welcome to new client, Mel Sherratt, who joined David Headley's list last week.
Shortlisted for the CWA Daggers, Mel is the author of the Detective Allie Shenton series, as well as a host of other edge-of-your-seat crime thrillers.
Ragnar Jónasson
Congratulations to Ragnar Jónasson, whose most recent book, Reykjavík (Penguin Michael Joseph), co-written with Iceland's Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, was selected as one of the New York Times' best crime books of 2023.
The book, published in August of this year, has garnered countless praise since its release, including:
"A beautifully constructed mystery by two super smart partners in crime."
Anthony Horowitz
"Nordic noir at its most authoritative."
The Financial Times
"Seamlessly plotted. Qualifies as a breakout ... with terrific characters and plenty of surprising, earned twists."
The New York Times
M. W. Craven
Also published last week was the paperback for M. W. Craven's Fearless (Little Brown), the first in his new series starring Ben Koenig, the man who can feel no fear.
Everyone is looking for Ben Koenig. Be careful what you wish for.
Ben Koenig is a ghost. He doesn't exist any more.
Six years ago it was Koenig who headed up the US Marshal's elite Special Ops group. They were the elite unit who hunted the bad guys - the really bad guys. They did this so no one else had to.
Until the day Koenig disappeared. He told no one why and he left no forwarding address. For six years he became a grey man. Invisible. He drifted from town to town, state to state. He was untraceable. It was as if he had never been.
But now Koenig's face is on every television screen in the country. Someone from his past is trying to find him and they don't care how they do it. In the burning heat of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a town called Gauntlet, and there are people in there who have a secret they'll do anything to protect. They've killed before and they will kill again.
Only this time they've made a mistake. They've dismissed Koenig as just another drifter - but they're wrong. Because Koenig has a condition, a unique disorder that makes it impossible for him to experience fear. And now they're about to find out what a truly fearless man is capable of. Because Koenig's coming for them. And hell's coming with him...
Suzie Edge
The cover for the first children's book from Suzie Edge, History Stinks: Poo Through the Ages (Wren & Rook, April 2024), has been revealed!
Did you know that you can discover loads about history just from the loo? Or piles about the past just from a poo? If not, then get ready to discover everything from Henry VIII's dodgy diet and poo-tastic Roman plumbing, to the stinky secrets of Victorian sewers and how life, death and everything in between can hang on the humble number two.
From Saxons and Tudors to Ancient Greece, the Indus Valley, Aztecs and beyond, Poo Through the Ages features mighty monarchs, bonkers battles, deadly diseases, fossilised faeces and poo, poo, poo. Packed with fascinating facts, hilarious illustrations and the smelliest stories from our pongy past, get ready to dive into the smelliest corners of history!
Phillipa Ashley
Finally, we are over the moon for Phillipa Ashley, whose most recent book, Four Weddings and a Christmas, hit the no.2 overall Kindle spot this past weekend.
We could not be happier for you, Phillipa!