Allison & Busby to publish Webb's 'dark and quirky' debut

Allison & Busby has picked up Liz Webb’s debut The Daughter, a "dark and quirky" thriller. 

Lesley Crooks, publishing manager, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Madeleine Milburn at the Madeleine Milburn Literary, Film and TV Agency. It will be published in hardback, audio and e-book on 19th May 2022. 

The synopsis reads: "Hannah Davidson has a dementia-stricken father, an estranged TV star brother, and a mother whose death opened up hidden fault lines beneath the surface of their ordinary family life. Hannah is losing her grip on both her drinking and a cache of shameful secrets. Now the spitting image of her mother Jen Davidson, and exactly the same age she was when she died, Hannah is determined to uncover exactly what happened to her mum, but soon the boundaries between Hannah and her mother become fatally blurred."

Crooks said: "What impressed all of the team at Allison & Busby was how strongly Liz conveyed Hannah’s voice, flawed and spiky as it is. Readers are in for a treat as they follow Hannah navigating the lingering aftershocks of her mother’s death. We cannot wait to share this assured debut next year."

Webb commented: "I am very excited to be publishing my debut novel with the wonderful team at Allison & Busby, after signing with the brilliant Madeleine Milburn Literary, Film and TV Agency. I have loved creating the intense offbeat central character of Hannah and using the prism of her idiosyncratic outlook to explore the themes of splintered siblings, the corrosive effect of family secrets and the agony of dementia in loved ones. I have used my roots in stand-up comedy to develop Hannah’s unusual voice, albeit with a dark lens, and my experience in radio drama production to heap pressure on her from all sides as she struggles against time to solve her mother’s murder… and is eventually forced to become her."

Webb was a stand-up comic for 10 years performing at clubs and festivals across the UK. She also worked as a radio drama producer for the BBC and independent radio production companies.