Hodder Fiction has acquired two new books by Robert Rutherford, a founding member of the Northern Crime Syndicate crime writers’ group who has been shortlisted twice for the CWA Short Story Daggers.
Crime and Thriller publisher Phoebe Morgan bought world all language rights to Seven Days and a second novel from David Headley, with the first title due to publish in spring 2024. The second novel will publish in 2025.
Seven Days is described as “a fast-paced, high-octane crime novel about Alice, whose world is shattered when her estranged father is put on death row for murder and given seven days to live". The publisher added: “Alice knows her father is guilty of abandoning her. She knows he’s guilty of being unfaithful to her mother. But is he guilty of murder? She has one chance to save him from execution – but after the childhood she had, does she want to?"
Rutherford said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working with an editor of Phoebe’s calibre, and can’t wait to get started with her and the rest of the team. Hodder feels like the perfect home for Seven Days. With the passion and enthusiasm they’ve shown for it already, I can’t wait to work together on this and other projects."
Morgan said she fell in love with the pitch for Seven Days and then was “blown away by the manuscript". “What stood out for me is the fact that not only is this a high concept novel with a brilliant clear hook, it’s also a layered, deeper story about a daughter’s complex relationship with the father that abandoned her,” she said.
“This story feels so wonderfully global in scope, too – Alice’s journey takes her from Newcastle to America, with a whirlwind ride in between, and reading it was a very visual, cinematic experience. I can’t wait to share it with readers in 2024. It’s also a privilege to share a book with David Headley and the wonderful team at DHH and Goldsboro.”
Headley commented: “I’ve been keen to share a book with Phoebe for quite some time and when Rob delivered the utterly gripping read that is Seven Days, I immediately thought of her. I am thrilled that Rob, who is such a talented author, has found his new publishing home with Phoebe and Hodder. Their immediate passion for the book blew Rob and me away — I can’t wait to see what they do.”
From The Bookseller article | Lauren Brown
Crime and Thriller publisher Phoebe Morgan bought world all language rights to Seven Days and a second novel from David Headley, with the first title due to publish in spring 2024. The second novel will publish in 2025.
Seven Days is described as “a fast-paced, high-octane crime novel about Alice, whose world is shattered when her estranged father is put on death row for murder and given seven days to live". The publisher added: “Alice knows her father is guilty of abandoning her. She knows he’s guilty of being unfaithful to her mother. But is he guilty of murder? She has one chance to save him from execution – but after the childhood she had, does she want to?"
Rutherford said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working with an editor of Phoebe’s calibre, and can’t wait to get started with her and the rest of the team. Hodder feels like the perfect home for Seven Days. With the passion and enthusiasm they’ve shown for it already, I can’t wait to work together on this and other projects."
Morgan said she fell in love with the pitch for Seven Days and then was “blown away by the manuscript". “What stood out for me is the fact that not only is this a high concept novel with a brilliant clear hook, it’s also a layered, deeper story about a daughter’s complex relationship with the father that abandoned her,” she said.
“This story feels so wonderfully global in scope, too – Alice’s journey takes her from Newcastle to America, with a whirlwind ride in between, and reading it was a very visual, cinematic experience. I can’t wait to share it with readers in 2024. It’s also a privilege to share a book with David Headley and the wonderful team at DHH and Goldsboro.”
Headley commented: “I’ve been keen to share a book with Phoebe for quite some time and when Rob delivered the utterly gripping read that is Seven Days, I immediately thought of her. I am thrilled that Rob, who is such a talented author, has found his new publishing home with Phoebe and Hodder. Their immediate passion for the book blew Rob and me away — I can’t wait to see what they do.”
From The Bookseller article | Lauren Brown
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