Faber wins Kim’s 'captivating' novel Happiness Falls in five-way auction

Faber has won Angie Kim’s novel Happiness Falls, which has already gained popularity in the US, in a five-way auction.

Publishing director Angus Cargill acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Peggy Boulos Smith (on behalf of Susan Golomb) at Writers House, and the book will be published in the UK on 1st February.

Happiness Falls is described as a "gripping missing-person story about family, the pursuit of happiness, and how far we might go to protect the ones we love". The synopsis says: "Mia Parkson’s life is turned upside down when her stay-at-home dad, the family’s anchor, goes missing. The only witness? Eugene – her younger, non-verbal teenage brother.

"As the police struggle for leads, and her mother and twin brother struggle to keep things together at home, Mia gains access to key clues about her father’s disappearance. Headstrong, hyper-analytical, and with secrets of her own, she decides to try and solve the case. But could Mia’s impulsive actions be putting her whole family in danger?"

Kim studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek (Hodder & Stoughton) won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award and the Pinckley Prize. In the US, Happiness Falls has been named a Barnes & Noble Book Club’s September pick, the Amazon Editors’ Best Books of the Month Spotlight pick and the September pick for Good Morning America Book Club.

She said: "I am in awe of Faber’s incomparable list of amazing authors and books I love, and I am overjoyed and deeply honoured to be working with Angus Cargill, who has edited some of my all-time favourite novels and provided keen insights that helped shape Happiness Falls into what it is today. I can’t wait to work with the rest of the Faber team to bring this book to readers in the UK and beyond."

Cargill added: "Happiness Falls, which has garnered the most incredible advance praise and support, is a novel which sees her more than deliver on the promise of her debut, Miracle Creek. It is an exquisite mystery and a profound and moving exploration of an unforgettable family."