HarperCollins signs two standalone thrillers from Alex Lake

HarperCollins has snapped up two new standalone novels from After Anna author Alex Lake.

Editor Kathryn Cheshire signed world English language rights for both books, which will be released in autumn 2020 and 2021, from Rebecca Ritchie at A M Heath.

According to the publisher, the untitled novels will continue “the author’s signature high-concept, compulsive plots”. Both books will be preceded by Lake’s upcoming thriller Seven Days (HarperCollins) which is scheduled for release in November 2019.

The synopsis for Seven Days explains: “Seven Days tells the story of Maggie, who has spent the last twelve years held captive in a basement after being abducted at the age of fifteen. Maggie’s beloved son, Max, will turn three in seven days’ time, and she’s dreading it. Because in her world, third birthdays are the days on which the unthinkable happens… the man who is keeping her prisoner takes her child away.”

Cheshire said: “Alex’s books are fast-paced, gripping, and full of twists – they always send the reader on a real rollercoaster of emotions. Seven Days, which will be coming out this autumn, is Alex’s most compelling and emotional story to date, and I have no doubt readers will love it.”

Lake is a British novelist who was born in the North West of England. Top-ten Sunday Times bestseller After Anna (HarperCollins) was the author’s first novel written under this pseudonym. Lake now lives in the North East of the US.