Harvill Secker Acquires Stunning Literary American Thriller in Pre-Frankfurt Deal

Debut The Stand-In by Tanen Jones will publish in February 2020.

In a pre-Frankfurt acquisition, Harvill Secker Editorial Director for Crime & Thrillers Jade Chandler has snapped up UK & Commonwealth rights to a stunning literary thriller from debut American author Tanen Jones from Lorella Belli at the Lorella Belli Literary Agency Ltd on behalf of Erin Harris and Melissa Sarver White at Folio Literary Management. The Stand-In will be published in February 2020.

The Stand-In follows the story of estranged sisters Leslie and Robin Voigt who must reunite in order to claim a substantial inheritance from their recently deceased father. However, there’s a problem: Leslie tracks down her sister, only to find her dead.

When a chance encounter brings Mary, an aspiring actress, who spends her nights waitressing at a seedy restaurant, and Leslie together, they strike a risky bargain: Mary will impersonate Robin for a week, and in exchange, Mary will receive Robin’s half of the cash. But once Mary steps into the life of a dead woman, she quickly discovers Leslie is not the person she claims to be. 

A tangled web of deception and betrayal, The Stand-In’s dramatic twists and shocking conclusion leave the reader chilled to the bone.

US rights were sold to Ballantine, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, with

auctions for other territories on going.

©Rachel Thalia

Jade Chandler, Harvill Secker Editorial Director, says: ‘I was completely hooked from the opening line of Tanen’s outstanding debut novel. The story she weaves is clever, complex and utterly chilling, with huge twists that I didn’t see coming. If you loved The Girls by Emma Cline, or Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, then this is for you. I’m delighted to be publishing Tanen Jones from the start of what promises to be long and lustrous writing career.’

Author Tanen Jones says: ‘I couldn’t be happier to join Harvill Secker’s incredible list of crime and thrillers.  Thank you to Jade and the rest of the team at Harvill Secker for putting your trust in The Stand-In – this is a dream come true.’

Pre-Frankfurt, Frankfurt and Other Book News

With the Frankfurt Bookfair starting today there has already been lots of bookish news emerging with pre-emptive book deals already taking place.

According to the Bookseller, Simon and Schuster won the auction for the UK and Commonwealth rights to a psychological drama by former Guardian journalist Sarah Vaughan.  Anatomy of a Scandal will be published in January 2018.

Michael Joseph won the auction rights to a new debut thriller by C J Tudor called The Chalk Man.  The book is due to be published in hardback on 11^th January 2018 and according to publishing director Maxine Hitchcock in the Bookseller it has all the ingredients to become one of the great contemporary thrillers.

HarperCollins UK and Harper Collins US (William Morrow) have snapped up the rights to the debut psychological novel The Woman in the Window.  Written by William Morrow’s own vice president and executive editor Daniel Mallory it was submitted under the pseudonym A J Finn.  The film rights have already been sold to Fox 2000.

According to the Bookseller, Corvus are to publish Troll a psychological thriller by David Thorne as part of a three book deal.

If you have not heard the news already then according to the Guardian Irvine Welsh’s 2009 novel Crime is being adapted for the television. Crime is about a detective inspector who has fled to Miami following a mental breakdown. In Florida, a coke-fuelled binge brings him into contact with 10-year-old Tianna, a victim of a sex crime, which brings back memories of a harrowing child-sex murder case back in Edinburgh.

Un-agented author T A Cotterell’s debut novel has been acquired by Transworld.  What Alice Knew, will according to the Bookseller be published on 20th April 2017.

The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle a debut novel by Stuart Turton has been sold to Bloomsbury. According to Harry Illingworth of DHH Literary Agency in the Bookseller, The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle has been described as Gosford Park meets Groundhog Day, by way of Agatha Christie.

 

Julia Wisdom has according to Booktrade info acquired two more thrillers from best-selling Swedish writer Lars Kepler. Both thrillers will feature Joona Linna, the maverick detective first introduced in the Sunday Times Bestseller The Hypnotist.

 

According to World Screen Laurence Bowen’s newly formed indie company has acquired the rights to adapt the novels of bestselling author Alastair Maclean. Maclean’s best known novels include The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare.  The first novel to be turned into a four or six part event mini-series will be San Andreas.