Amazon Publishing to Launch Brand New Series from Bestselling Author Patricia Cornwell

International bestselling, award-winning, and ground breaking author Patricia Cornwell will introduce a new heroine for the technological age with Quantum, coming from Thomas & Mercer in 2019

Thomas & Mercer, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, announced it has closed a two-book deal with #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell, and will launch a new series from the groundbreaking writer beginning with Quantum in late 2019.

Thomas & Mercer acquired World English rights in the deal and will launch Cornwell’s new series with Quantum in 2019, with a second book planned for 2020. Cornwell is represented by Jeremy Barber, Partner, United Talent Agency. Thomas & Mercer Editorial Director Grace Doyle will serve as Cornwell’s editor.

Quantum weaves military action, espionage, and space age technology into the story of a young NASA test pilot/aerospace engineer, Captain Calli Chase, whose quest to uncover the secrets behind her fighter pilot twin sister’s murder takes her to the highest echelons of power: from NASA’s Langley Research Center to the White House to Scotland Yard to INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France. And beyond.

“Patricia Cornwell’s all-in approach to writing her iconic Dr. Scarpetta series catapulted forensic science into pop culture, paving the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring all things forensic across film, television, and literature, and if her current adventures at NASA are any indication—she’s learning to spacewalk—we’ll all be experts on space science and exploration very soon,” says Mikyla Bruder, Publisher, Amazon Publishing. “We can’t wait to introduce Patricia’s new heroine to readers next fall.”

“I wanted the very best publisher in the galaxy to launch Captain Chase,” says Patricia Cornwell. “I couldn’t be more excited about taking this journey with Amazon Publishing.”

“Patricia is a groundbreaking author and a leader in her field. The emergence of Amazon Publishing as a global presence marks a significant shift within the publishing landscape,” says Jeremy Barber, Partner, United Talent Agency. “I'm excited by the potential this relationship has to reach readers worldwide.”

Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, in 1990, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. It went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventure prize—the first book to claim all of these distinctions in a single year. Today, Cornwell has sold over 100 million books, and her novels and iconic characters are known all over the world.

Also known for her investigation into the Jack the Ripper case, Thomas & Mercer published Cornwell’s #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert, a FutureBook Book of the Year winner.