Jo Dickinson, Executive Publisher at Hodder & Stoughton, has acquired two new high-concept standalone thrillers by Will Dean, to be published in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Dickinson bought UK and Commonwealth rights including audio from Kate Burke at Blake Friedmann. The first of these new books is set on a cruise ship, where a woman wakes up in the morning to find she is the only person left on board.
Will’s first standalone novel, THE LAST THING TO BURN was published in January 2021 and received widespread praise. The paperback format publishes in February 2022. The film rights have been optioned by Sigma Films (whose credits include OUTLAW KING, RED ROAD and STARRED UP).
Dean’s second standalone, FIRST BORN, will be published in hardback in April 2022 and will be backed by an ambitious campaign in both the UK and US. A tale of rivalry and deceit, it follows the story of Molly Raven who is attempting to uncover what happened to her twin sister Katie. Could it be murder? She travels to New York City to find out.
Will Dean says: ‘I feel so fortunate to continue working with Jo and the wonderful team at Hodder. I’m glad THE LAST THING TO BURN resonated with readers, and I’m grateful to each and every librarian and bookseller who recommended it. The fact that the amazing people at Sigma Films can now bring the story to screen is a dream come true.’
Kate Burke says: ‘I’m delighted to have this new deal in place with the fantastic Hodder team! It has been a great journey so far and this is just the beginning – I predict amazing things for Will’s next books.’
Jo Dickinson says: ‘Working alongside Will on the brilliant THE LAST THING TO BURN and FIRST BORN has been an absolute joy and I’m delighted to have acquired two new novels. Will is an exceptional writer. He has so many fans already and I believe these new books will take him to even greater heights.’
Will’s Tuva Moodyson series will continue to be published by Oneworld.
Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN and FIRST BORN:
‘MISERY meets ROOM… a triumph!’ – Marian Keyes
‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, Observer
‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is a remarkable exploration of the misery of life on the fringes of society. Unrelenting tense and chilling, yet impossible to put down, the reader lives every second with Thahn, desperately hoping she can escape the monstrous Lenn. This thriller is a level above anything Dean has written before and an early contender for one of the best books of the year.’ — Sunday Express
‘Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won't be able to look away until the final, shattering page.’ – Julie Clark
‘Tiptoes into Highsmith territory here. Pacy, exhilarating and jaw-dropping, it's a meditation on identity and loneliness as well as a bloody good page-turner. New York buffets the characters about its ruthless streets, just as the reader is propelled from one twist to the next’ – Erin Kelly
Photo: Rosalind Hobley
About Will Dean:
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.
DARK PINES, the first in the Tuva Moodyson series, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2018, shortlisted for Not the Booker prize, selected for Zoe Ball’s TV Book Club and named as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. The second Tuva Moodyson mystery, RED SNOW, won Best Independent Voice at the Amazon Publishing Readers' Awards, 2019, and was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2020. His third novel, BLACK RIVER, was chosen as Observer Thriller of the Month.
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