 | This week, the Agency braved the heat and went ahead with our DHH Summer Party, the first in quite a few years... It was a great opportunity to get our clients and their publishers together to celebrate all the bookish goodness they bring to the world; and despite the risk of ending up as mere puddles on the floor, it was a wonderful night, and we are so grateful to everyone who came out to raise a glass. |
| Published last week was the paperback for Sarah Bonner's gripping psychological thriller, Her Perfect Twin (Hodder & Stoughton). When Megan discovers photographs of her estranged identical twin sister on her husband's phone, she wants answers. Leah already has everything Megan has ever wanted. Fame, fortune, freedom to do what she wants. And when Megan confronts Leah, an argument turns to murder. The only way Megan can get away with killing her twin is to become her. |  |
But then lockdown hits. How can she continue living two lives? And what happens if someone else knows her secret too?
Over the weekend, we received the fantastic news that Lightseekers, the debut novel Femi Kayode, hit the Saturday Times bestseller charts, with the recent paperback release charting at number two.
Published by Bloomsbury Raven in January 2021, the book is also Waterstones' Thriller of the Month for July.
Published by Bloomsbury Raven in January 2021, the book is also Waterstones' Thriller of the Month for July.
| Also published last week was the third in Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's 'Hidden Iceland' series, and Dagger Award-winning Night Shadows (Orenda Books). The small community of Akranes is devastated when a young man dies in a mysterious house fire, and when Detective Elma and her colleagues from West Iceland CID discover the fire was arson, they become embroiled in an increasingly perplexing case involving multiple suspects. What’s more, the dead man’s final online search raises fears that they could be investigating not one murder, but two. |  |
A few months before the fire, a young Dutch woman takes a job as an au pair in Iceland, desperate to make a new life for herself after the death of her father. But the seemingly perfect family who employs her turns out to have problems of its own and she soon discovers she is running out of people to turn to.
As the police begin to home in on the truth, Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life-changing event, finds herself in mortal danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets they’ll do anything to hide…
As the police begin to home in on the truth, Elma, already struggling to come to terms with a life-changing event, finds herself in mortal danger as it becomes clear that someone has secrets they’ll do anything to hide…
 | Over the last week, the highly-anticipated debut non-fiction book from Suzie Edge, Mortal Monarchs (September 2022, Wildfire), received some fantastic endorsements: "Mortal Monarchs is compelling, provocative, and utterly brilliant." Dr. Estelle Paranque, academic and author of Blood, Fire and Gold "A brilliant, funny and thought-provoking book." John Elledge, journalist and author of Conspiracy |
The cover for Noel O'Reilly's second book, The Darlings of the Asylum (December 2022, HQ), was revealed last week and we're a little bit in love:
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I must pull myself together. I had to find Dr Rastrick and demand my immediate release. My stomach knotted at the prospect, but I knew I was perfectly sane and that he must see reason.
In 1886, a respectable young woman must acquire a husband. But Violet Pring does not want to marry. She longs to be a professional artist and live on her own terms.
When her scheming mother secures a desirable marriage proposal from an eligible Brighton gentleman for her daughter, Violet protests. Her family believes she is deranged and deluded, so she is locked away in Hillwood Grange against her will.
In her new cage, Violet faces an even greater challenge: she must escape the clutches of a sinister and formidable doctor and set herself free.
In 1886, a respectable young woman must acquire a husband. But Violet Pring does not want to marry. She longs to be a professional artist and live on her own terms.
When her scheming mother secures a desirable marriage proposal from an eligible Brighton gentleman for her daughter, Violet protests. Her family believes she is deranged and deluded, so she is locked away in Hillwood Grange against her will.
In her new cage, Violet faces an even greater challenge: she must escape the clutches of a sinister and formidable doctor and set herself free.
| The final piece of 'publication day' news comes in the form of A. J. West's The Spirit Engineer (Duckworth Books), which was published last week in paperback. Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism, attending séances in the hope they might reach their departed loved ones. William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far? |  |
Based on the true story of Professor William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunted, twisted tale of power, paranoia, and one ultimate, inescapable truth...
 | With a forthcoming publication of August 2022, The Generation Killer by Adam Simcox (Gollancz) - the second in his Joe Lazarus series - has been selected by LoveReadingUK's Pick of the Month and has garnered a fabulous review along the way: "Action-packed and vibrantly vivid, hang on tight as it’s a bit of wild ride! Author Adam Simcox paints a moving picture with his pen, all my senses were fully engaged and on high alert. The Generation Killer cements this supernatural crime series as one to watch." |
| The Chicago Tribune reviewed the recent release of Ragnar Jónasson's Outside (April 2022, Michael Joseph PRH / St. Martin's Press), his new standalone Scandi-Noir thriller: "Jónasson and translator Victoria Cribb do a fine job of setting the scene, developing the characters and keeping the readers in suspense, with a tight, clean, noir prose style." |  |
Finally, Culturefly has reviewed Jo Thomas' recent gorgeous getaway novel, Retreat to the Spanish Sun:
"[A] delightfully summery ... What makes Jo Thomas' novel stand out is its exploration of friendship and the evocative descriptions of food. Whether you're trying to stay cool in a heatwave, lying on a beach abroad, or just dreaming of a summer adventure, you'll enjoy Retreat to the Spanish Sun for exactly what it is: a sweet and simple sun-baked adventure."
Read the full review here.
"[A] delightfully summery ... What makes Jo Thomas' novel stand out is its exploration of friendship and the evocative descriptions of food. Whether you're trying to stay cool in a heatwave, lying on a beach abroad, or just dreaming of a summer adventure, you'll enjoy Retreat to the Spanish Sun for exactly what it is: a sweet and simple sun-baked adventure."
Read the full review here.
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