A CASE OF MATRICIDE – Graeme Macrae Burnet’s moving, witty and startling conclusion to the Chief Inspector Gorski trilogy – will be published by Saraband on 3 October 2024. Twice nominated for the Booker Prize for his previous standalone novels HIS BLOODY PROJECT and CASE STUDY, in A CASE OF MATRICIDE Graeme Macrae Burnet pierces the respectable bourgeois façade of small-town life, injecting a wry humour into the tiniest of details and delves into the darkest recesses of his characters’ minds, while above all provides an entertaining, page-turning and entirely satisfying read. UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canadian) rights were acquired from Isobel Dixon by Saraband’s publisher, Sara Hunt.

‘It’s a moment of huge satisfaction to bring the Georges Gorski trilogy to a conclusion with A CASE OF MATRICIDE,’ said Graeme. ‘I hope readers will enjoy this final sojourn in the streets and bars of Saint-Louis as much as I have. I’m also delighted to be working once again with Saraband Books who have seen this ten-year project through from its inception with exceptional care and sensitivity. Au revoir, Saint-Louis.’

Publisher at Saraband, Sara Hunt says, ‘I was confident I’d enjoy reading Graeme’s latest manuscript, but nothing prepared me for the range and depth of emotion it evoked. A CASE OF MATRICIDE is insightful, clever, brilliantly original and funny, succeeding in simultaneously providing a fantastic standalone read and an ingenious tying up of the Gorski trilogy. But it’s also profound and in places desperately sad. It deserves its place alongside the classics of existentialist literature.’

‘I read THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ADÈLE BEDEAU and THE ACCIDENT ON THE A35 in quick succession and with relish some years ago, and ever since I’ve been eager to see what Inspector Gorski does next,’ added Isobel Dixon. ‘With A CASE OF MATRICIDE I found myself, gripped, surprised and moved. I’ve been a bit haunted since I reached the last page, and am so glad readers around the world will be able to appreciate Graeme’s artistry and the allure of the complete trilogy soon – but new readers can also dive straight in.’

In the unremarkable French town of Saint-Louis, a mysterious stranger stalks the streets; an elderly woman believes her son is planning to do away with her; a prominent manufacturer drops dead. Between visits to the town’s hostelries, Chief Inspector Georges Gorski ponders the connections, if any, between these events, while all the time grappling with his own domestic and existential demons.

About Graeme Macrae Burnet

Graeme Macrae Burnet was born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire and now lives in Glasgow. He has also lived in the Czech Republic, France, Portugal and London.

His first novel, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ADÈLE BEDEAU (Contraband, 2014), received a New Writer’s Award from the Scottish Book Trust and was longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. A second Inspector Gorski novel, THE ACCIDENT ON THE A35, was published in 2017.

HIS BLOODY PROJECT (Contraband, 2015) won the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and the Vrij Nederland Thriller of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the LA Times Mystery Book of the Year and the European Crime Fiction prize. It has been published in over twenty languages. His latest novel CASE STUDY was published in October 2021 by Saraband (UK), Text (ANZ) and Bolinda (UK audio) to wide critical acclaim. The North American edition was published in November 2022 by Biblioasis. It has been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 and the Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Ned Kelly International Crime Prize. It is due to be published in fifteen languages.

Graeme was named Author of the Year in the 2017 Sunday Herald Culture Awards and has appeared at festivals and events in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Russia, Estonia, Macau, Lithuania, Ireland, Germany and France, as well as in the UK.

Praise for the Inspector Gorski series

‘Games within games – and names within names... with characteristic trickiness, Macrae Burnet has constructed a fake mystery novel that may reveal the truth about a fictional novelist. He is extravagantly talented.’ — Mark Lawson, The Guardian

‘The whole is both a classy detective story and a stylish meditation on agency and existence. If Roland Barthes… had written a detective novel, then this would be it.’ — Literary Review

‘Gripping and intelligent.’ — Phillip Pullman, The Observer

‘Unusual, distinctive and delightful.’ – Alan Massie, The Scotsman

Praise for Graeme Macrae Burnet

‘The defining essence of Burnet’s work to date is to be found in this kind of literary gamesmanship, a brand of metatextuality that is as much about exploiting the possibilities of the novel form as it is about blurring the boundaries between appearance and reality. In throwing us into doubt about which – and more crucially whose – story we are supposed to be following, Burnet encourages us to look more closely at the inherent instability of fiction itself. The painstakingly assembled, predominantly mimetic fiction of the 19th century has trained us to trust the author; Burnet has always delighted in undermining such easy assumptions’ – Nina Allan, Guardian

‘A writer of great skill and authority.’ – Barry Forshaw, Financial Times

‘Darkly engaging.’ – Sally Magnusson, The Herald

‘Utterly enthralling.’ – Angie Harms, Sunday Mail

‘A writer to watch.’ – Malcolm Forbes, Literary Review

‘An ambitious and accomplished writer.’ – Richard Strachan, The National

‘A strikingly singular talent.’ – Will Mackie, Booktrust