'Atmospheric' Inverness-set crime series to Harvill Secker after auction

Harvill Secker has snapped up rights to a new "page-turning and atmospheric" crime series set around Inverness by G R Halliday following a "hotly-contested" auction.

Jade Chandler, editorial director at Harvill Secker, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to the first two books in the series from Camilla Wray at Darley Anderson. The series stars Detective Inspector Monica Kennedy and Harvill Secker will publish in hardback in April 2019.

Chandler said: "The whole team here at Harvill Secker fell in love with G. R. Halliday’s debut and we are very excited to be his publisher. From the creepy, compelling opening chapter to the action- packed conclusion – absolutely filled with twists and turns – we were all hooked! DI Monica Kennedy is a wonderful, refreshing series lead and I’m sure she will become a firm favourite with crime fans."

Halliday said: "I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Jade Chandler and the team at Harvill Secker. I’ve been blown away by all the interest in DI Monica Kennedy and the enthusiasm for the dark world she inhabits in the Scottish Highlands. I’m so excited about what the future holds for her! I’d like to thank my amazing agent Camilla Wray and everyone at Darley Anderson and Harvill Secker for making this happen. It’s a dream come true for me."

Wray added: "This is an incredibly exciting beginning to what we truly believe is the start of a huge career for G.R. Halliday and his crime series. To have his publishing home with Jade and the team at Harvill Secker is phenomenal; I cannot wait for readers to meet DI Monica Kennedy and fall in love with her as we all have."