Avon nets Serial Killer's Wife from Hunter

Avon Books has netted The Serial Killer’s Wife, an “addictive and disturbing” new thriller by Alice Hunter.

Commissioning editor Katie Loughnane acquired world all language rights from Anne Williams at KHLA.

The publisher said: "The Serial Killer’s Wife opens with Beth Hardcastle answering her front door, expecting it to be her husband, Tom. When she sees it’s the police, she panics. Has Tom been involved in an accident on his way home from work? She fears the worst – but the worst is beyond imagining. As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she knew about her husband. They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew…”

After completing a psychology degree, Hunter became an interventions facilitator in a prison. There, she was part of a team offering rehabilitation programmes to men serving sentences for a wide range of offences, often working with prisoners who committed serious violent crimes. Hunter also writes psychological thrillers under the name Sam Carrington.

She said: “I was excited to write a novel exploring the growing obsession with true-crime cases while, at the same time, using my background working in a men’s prison. During my time facilitating rehabilitation programmes, I’d often wondered about women who continued to support their partners despite the evil acts they’d been convicted of. Then, having watched documentaries centring on serial killer Ted Bundy and his relationship with Elizabeth Kendall, I became intrigued by the question, ‘How could they possibly not have known?’ This led to some interesting research and I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Avon to bring the resulting story to publication.”

Loughnane commented: “The Serial Killer’s Wife is one of the most addictive and disturbing thrillers I’ve read in years. Beth and Tom’s story is one of toxic love and obsession – it’s sinister, twisted, and terrifyingly plausible. It’s a totally compulsive read that had me gripped right up to the final line and left chills down my spine for hours after. I can’t wait to publish it on the Avon list next summer.”