Piatkus scoops Ballantyne's 'chilling' teacher novel

Piatkus has bought two new books from The Guilty One author Lisa Ballantyne including a “mesmerising” domestic crime novel.

Emma Beswetherick, associate publisher at Little, Brown, has signed the UK and Commonwealth rights deal with Sophie Lambert at C+W.

Ballantyne is best known for her Richard and Judy tipped The Guilty One, published in 2012, now under option for TV, which sold 54,170 copies according to Nielsen BookScan.

The first book in the new deal is Trust Me which focuses on an allegation of abuse by a teacher.

Beswetherick said: “For anyone gripped by “Liar” or “Dr Foster”, Trust Me brings crime into the home in the most shocking and unsettling of ways. It follows a teacher accused of abusing a pupil at his school and delves in brutal detail into the fallout of such a high-profile allegation.”

She added: “It is, quite simply, mesmerising, and we are absolutely over the moon to be welcoming Lisa back onto the Piatkus list.”

Lambert said: “Trust Me shows off Lisa’s brilliance as a storyteller and I’m thrilled that Emma is as passionate as I am about this unputdownable, urgent and chilling novel.”

French rights have been acquired by Paris-based Belfond and all other rights are being handled by C+W.

Publication dates are yet to be confirmed.