Peter James' standalone thriller ABSOLUTE PROOF, only his second to be written since he began his bestselling Roy Grace series, has been acquired by Pan Macmillan. Publishing director Wayne Brookes bought UK and Commonwealth rights and said of James, 'Peter is a master of the plot twist and this will be a huge title for us in 2015.'
James was the first to knock E.L. James' FIFTY SHADES trilogy out of its number one position with his latest title NOT DEAD YET which became a Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller in the week it went on sale. He had great success with his first standalone thriller PERFECT PEOPLE which was shortlisted for the prestigious Wellcome Trust Book Award in 2012. In that psychological thriller a heartbroken couple who have lost a child to a hereditary disease wish to make sure their next child will not suffer in the same way. They unwittingly enter the world of 'designer babies' and without realising it, find themselves being manipulated by an unscrupulous doctor.
Brookes said, 'PERFECT PEOPLE was a huge success in all formats for Pan Macmillan. Therefore, when Peter pitched the fabulous idea for ABSOLUTE PROOF we jumped at the chance to publish it.'
Carole Blake said, 'Peter's first stand alone novel since starting the Roy Grace series, was a phenomenal success. ABSOLUTE has an astounding plot, and will be a real treat for his huge fan base.
To read more about the deal, click here.
Praise for Peter James:
'He is best known for his No 1 bestselling Roy Grace crime novels, combining super-deft plotting, great characterisation and extraordinarily accurate procedure. But Peter James isn't just a superb popular writer, he's a great researcher...Now, his first stand alone novel since the extraordinary, though completely deserved, success of the Roy Grace series features all James' strengths, including his ability to capture a sense of real horror in a very real world.' -- Daily Mirror (Five star review)
'Peter James is one of the best in the world.' -- Lee Child
Praise for PERFECT PEOPLE:
'Peter James is acknowledged as being one of the top thriller writers in the UK, and his series of crime novels featuring DI Roy Grace are the best of the current genre. But in his new novel PERFECT PEOPLE he has proved he can depart from the formula and break the mould... From the moment they meet the sinister geneticist who offers to create a new child from their cells, the pages just keep on turning themselves. The ending is so horrifyingly scary that I was unable to sleep properly for several nights.' -- Joan Collins, The Mail on Sunday
"Brilliantly done, the emotional credibility of the characters is as good as it gets. There's a movie in this book." -- Jeff Park, 'Front Row', BBC radio