Abell to pen two further Jake Jackson novels for HarperCollins

HarperCollins has acquired two further crime novels featuring ex-detective Jake Jackson by Stig Abell, the first of which will publish in spring 2025.

Julia Wisdom, publisher for crime and thrillers, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown. The second newly-acquired novel will follow in 2026.

The first novel in the series, Death Under a Little Sky, will publish this April and introduces ex-Met detective Jake Jackson who leaves the city for life off-grid when he inherits a remote country estate. But, the synopsis reads, this rural idyll is interrupted by a suspected murder – and Jake finds himself pulled back into the world of criminal investigation.

Wisdom said: “Stig has already shown that he is a master of the classic crime plot, and he also has a wonderful ability to bring the countryside in all its seasons and moods to vivid life.”

Abell commented: “In the first two books, I have been given the chance to explore Little Sky – a beautiful if slightly dangerous place that now exists fully feathered and furnished in my mind – and introduce readers to Jake, a decent man who wants to get away from the world and finds it keeps trying to drag him back in. There’s a whole cast of characters ready to come back to help him along, lots more crimes that need solving, as well as plenty more swims in the lake, walks in the magnificent countryside and much more. It’s a dream to have the chance to keep writing these stories.”

Summerhayes added: “There is something rewarding when a publisher commits to new books in series before the first is even on the shelves.”