Arcadia snaps up ‘supercharged’ London crime trilogy by Thomas 

Arcadia Books has secured a new crime trilogy by Joe Thomas, beginning with White Riot.  

Editor Paul Engles acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Will Francis at Janklow and Nesbit. White Riot will be published in hardback and e-book in January 2023.  

The first instalment in the trilogy is set in Hackney in the 1970s and 80s and follows Detective Constable Patrick “Chance” Noble in his struggle against corruption and racism within the Metropolitan Police. White Riot is “supercharged by the music and counterculture of the era, all against the darker backdrop of far-right nationalism and virulent racism that were key markers of Thatcher’s Britain”.  

“It was  clear from its electric opening that White Riot was something special and we’re delighted to be working with Joe on this new chapter for his writing,” Engles said. “He brings the recent past to life with his knack for lacerating dialogue, giving us a perfect blend of crime and literary, fact and fiction and style and substance, and building a convincing picture of the rise of Thatcherism and how our political present came to be.”  

Thomas added: “White Riot—and the novels to follow in the trilogy—is my purest, fact-driven, overtly political and yet most personal work, exploring where and when I was born and grew up: Hackney in the late 70s and 80s. I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity with Arcadia to begin to build a body of work of which I’m proud and I am thrilled to continue this at their new home with the wonderful team at Quercus.”