'Atmospheric' crime trilogy to Point Blank

Oneworld’s literary crime imprint Point Blank has signed a trilogy from Helen Sedgwick beginning with an "atmospheric" murder investigation entitled In Whitehorn Cave.

The publisher acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the Burrowhead Mysteries from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown.

The plot starts with psychotherapist Alexis Cosse, who is found murdered in the playground of the sleepy northern village of Burrowhead. The local police force of Georgie, Trish and Simon investigate, with leads taking them from Alexis’s recent clients to local bullies, exposing a maelstrom of racism, misogyny, abuse and homophobia that has been simmering beneath the surface of the village.

Shaken by the revelations and beginning to doubt her relationship with her husband Fred, Georgie starts to realise something bad is lurking under the soil in Burrowhead, while someone (or something) equally threatening is hiding in the strange and haunted cave beneath the cliffs.

Point Blank publishing director Jenny Parrott described In Whitehorn Cave as having "the gripping and fast-paced appeal of Broadchurch but delivered with Helen’s trademark other-worldly sensibility and captivating voice that combine to carefully construct a surreal ghostliness while delivering a cracking crime story that feels really original and will push the boundaries of the genre."

She added: "This is a smart and sassy whodunnit poised on the cusp of nightmare, and it will sit perfectly on the Point Blank list."

Sedgwick said: "I am thrilled to be joining the Point Blank imprint at Oneworld. With my love of independent publishing, compelling novels and unexpected stories, I couldn't have imagined a better home for my new crime series."

Sedgwick lives in Scotland has a MLitt in Creative Writing from Glasgow University and is the recepient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Her debut, The Comet Seekers (Vintage) was selected as a best book of 2016 by the Herald and Glamour. Her second novel, The Growing Season (Harvill Secker), was published in 2017 and featured on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book.

Point Blank will publish In Whitehorn Cave in June 2019.