Feeney moves to Pan Mac with 'ultimate locked room thriller'

Alice Feeney is moving to Pan Macmillan in a two-book deal, starting with “ultimate locked room thriller”, Daisy Darker.

Associate publisher Wayne Brookes acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. Daisy Darker, which pomises “a twist like no other”, will be published in hardback, e-book and audio on 18th August 2022, and in paperback on 27th April 2023.

The synopsis reads: “Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart and was never expected to live very long. So, when her family gathers to celebrate her Nana’s 80th birthday on Halloween at the family mansion, a crumbling house set on crumbling cliffs, it’s a complete surprise when one by one the others start dying.”

Daisy Darker has already been acquired in the US and Canada by Flatiron, a US imprint of the Macmillan Group. Flatiron recently published Feeney’s latest novel, Rock Paper Scissors, which was an instant New York Times bestseller and published in the UK by HQ. It is currently being adapted for television by the producer of “The Crown”.

Brookes said: “I have been a fan of Alice Feeney since reading her debut novel, Sometimes I Lie (HQ). That book was a real tour-de-force of psychological suspense. Now here I am about to publish Daisy Darker, another triumph and the thriller I’ve been looking for, for years. It of course has that killer twist, but it’s also incredibly gothic, and creepy. The pitch letter was one of the best I’ve ever read and after meeting Alice I knew instantly that we had to work together. I am so incredibly excited for everyone to read this genre-defying masterpiece and this will be one of our biggest titles of the summer of 2022.”

Feeney commented: “I first had the idea for Daisy Darker in 2015. It took longer to write than any of my other books and is also the one I am most proud of. I'm thrilled to be working with Wayne and the wonderful team at Macmillan. I am in love with everything they have planned for Daisy Darker, and over the moon that the book has found the perfect home in the UK.”

Geller added: “Alice Feeney is queen of the twisty psychological thriller and it's no surprise all her novels get snapped up for TV as soon as they are printed. Daisy Darker is her best yet, dark, tense, with a nod to Agatha Christie and we are thrilled to be working with Wayne and the team at Macmillan to launch this brilliant book.”