Thomas & Mercer swoops in on 'unputdownable' Curtis thriller

Amazon Publishing’s crime and thriller imprint Thomas & Mercer has inked a two-book deal with thriller writer Gayle Curtis.

Jack Butler, Thomas & Mercer editor, bought worldwide rights in all languages from Paul Feldstein at The Feldstein Agency with publication for the first, I Choose You, slated for December 2019 across digital and print. The second as-yet untitled book is scheduled for March 2020.

I Choose You follows Elise and Nathaniel Monroe, happily married with four children, “who are bound together by a terrible past,” Amazon said. Both of their mothers were victims of the infamous criminal known as the Suicide Watcher, a psychopath who manipulated numerous people into killing themselves, convincing each one to write their own obituary before playing along with a sadistic game. Years later, the family thought they had moved on but the Suicide Watcher returns.

Curtis is a Norfolk-based thriller writer who has been published previously by Twenty7 Books, Bonnier's début-only adult fiction imprint, among others.

Butler said: “I Choose You is a tour de force of Gayle’s depth of characterization and ability to deliver a twisty, unputdownable thriller. Gayle’s writing and her protagonists are so compelling, their voices were stuck in my head for weeks. We are so excited to bring her to the Amazon Publishing list, and we’re sure that this perfectly paced domestic suspense novel with a dark psychological heart will grab hold of the reader and refuse to let go until long after the last page.”

Dominic Myers, Amazon’s EU publishing director, described Curtis as "an incredibly talented author" and said that the "entire team shared Jack’s enthusiasm in bringing her to the list".