Constable snaps up 'twisty' murder mystery from Jo Jakeman

Constable has snapped up One Bad Apple, a private school-set murder mystery from Jo Jakeman, in a two-book deal. 

Publishing director Krystyna Green acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Imogen Pelham at Marjacq. One Bad Apple will be published in September 2024 with the sequel, titled The Vanishing Act, scheduled to be published late 2025.

Pelham said: "One Bad Apple is the perfect antidote to that back-to-school feeling. It’s a twisty, smart mystery, and hugely funny, too, with Jo’s flair for complex characters and skewering of pushy parents. It marks a new direction for Jo’s writing."

The publisher wrote: "One Bad Apple is set at Aberfal Boys High School, independent jewel of academic and sporting excellence… until the headmaster is murdered in his study. And now the year seven school mums really do have something to gossip about."

Green commented: "It’s a crime book which made me laugh out loud, and I know it will appeal to anyone who has stood outside the school gates listening to the conversations of those alpha mums who dominate the playground. And Jo’s use of their WhatsApp group acting as a Greek chorus to the unfolding events in the school is nothing short of genius."

Jakeman added: "I couldn’t be happier to be working with Krystyna and the whole team at Constable, and Krystyna’s enthusiasm for One Bad Apple is unmatched."