Ebury lands undercover cop memoir

Ebury Press has landed a memoir by actor, screenwriter and former undercover police officer Liam Thomas.

Robyn Drury, commissioning editor, acquired world languages rights for Undercover from Richard Pike at C&W. It will be published in hardback and e-book in spring 2022.

In Undercover, the author weaves the story of his covert surveillance work together with his family history, “exploring the unique psychological challenges of the job and the complicated code of honour in both our professional and private lives”.

Dury said: ‘Whether onscreen or on the page, the complexities of undercover policing are perennially fascinating. But what really marked out Liam’s story was his extraordinary narrative voice — in his hands a professional memoir goes beyond the day job to become a deeply personal, lyrical exploration of family, honour and psychological limits that speaks to universal truths. I’m delighted to be publishing the book, which I know will leave readers on the edge of their seats.’

Thomas grew up in a northern fishing town and left home aged 16 to work at sea before embarking on a circuitous route that led him to a career as an actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. Along the way he joined the Metropolitan Police, where he served as a detective for several years. In 2018 he was the subject of a documentary for Vice about his life as a detective. He recently completed his first stage play, "God’s Work", based on an incident witnessed as a young detective and is currently writing a feature-length screenplay “Coco”, a political conspiracy thriller. His first BFI backed-short film, “Tide”, about the life and death of a North Sea trawler, will be released in 2020.

He said: “I hope to shine a light on policing from a different perspective, and tell a story of how a boy from dysfunctional family and a broken home became a successful Level One undercover detective."