Gollancz lands thriller from Nalini Singh

Gollancz has landed a “dark, suspenseful” first thriller from bestselling author Nalini Singh in a two-book deal.

Rachel Winterbottom, commissioning editor at Gollancz, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for A Madness of Sunshine, plus one standalone, from Nephele Tempest at The Knight Agency. It will be published on 5th December in trade paperback, e-book and audio.

The synopsis explains: “Golden Cove is a peaceful town. That is until one fateful summer, when tragedy shatters the trust holding the remote community together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement to never look back. But you can’t run from the past forever.

“Eight years later, a young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape. . . The town’s dark past and haunted present collide – in a murder mystery that’s been years in the making.”

Singh is most well known for her paranormal romances and, according to the publisher, has sold more than 7 million books worldwide. In the UK, she has sold 157,310 print books for £957,357 through Nielsen BookScan.

Winterbottom said: “Gollancz is beyond thrilled that, alongside continuing to publish Nalini’s hugely popular Guild Hunter and Psy-Changeling series, we are now home to her incredible new thriller titles too. Nalini has written a dark, suspenseful mystery set in a remote community where the rugged landscape is as much a character as the secretive locals. New readers and existing fans alike should prepare to get addicted to Nalini’s mystery-laden, twisty thrillers.”

Singh added: “I'm delighted that Gollancz will be publishing A Madness of Sunshine. I have a strong relationship with my editor Rachel Winterbottom, as well as the wider Hachette team and it’s wonderful to be continuing that relationship as I venture into a new genre. A Madness of Sunshine grew out of my awareness that my home, New Zealand, has many of the prerequisites that makes Scandinavia such a favourite for crime thrillers – the remote location, the lovely and lonely landscapes, the isolation and empty spaces. Once the thought took root, I couldn't stop turning it over and over in my mind. The end result is a book about secrets and hidden lives, about darkness concealed behind familiar faces, set in a landscape as deadly as it is beautiful.”