HarperFiction signs Bhadreshwar’s ‘richly complex’ crime novel in four-way auction

HarperFiction has acquired Nina Bhadreshwar’s “remarkable, innovative, richly complex and gripping” new crime novel, set in and around Sheffield, in a four-way auction.

Julia Wisdom, publisher, crime and thrillers, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada in The Day of the Roaring plus a second DCI Diana Walker novel from Caroline Wood at Felicity Bryan Associates.

HarperFiction will publish The Day of the Roaring in spring 2025 as a lead title and the second novel in spring 2026. 

Told in different voices and “reflecting the multi-cultural world of contemporary Sheffield”, the publisher says, it follows the investigation into the murder of a teacher whose grisly remains are found in the grounds of an old school. 

The synopsis goes on: “DCI Diana Walker must navigate the many different communities touched by this crime, while also dealing with racism and misogyny among her own colleagues. And woven into the modern murder mystery is the violent history of colonialism in Kenya, and its ramifications for both those who went through it and their descendants.” 

Wisdom said: “The team at HarperFiction knew without a shadow of a doubt that Nina had a very special voice and was doing something quite different in the crime genre. Diana Walker is a fascinating protagonist, and the different, intersecting worlds she encounters are beautifully delineated. We feel really proud to be Nina’s publishers and are very much looking forward to bringing this exceptional novel to a broad readership.”

Bhadreshwar commented: “I am beyond thrilled to be working with the talented and enthusiastic team at HarperFiction and to have the expertise of Julia Wisdom as my editor. I wrote what I wanted to read but couldn’t find: a northern police procedural told from the diasporic point of view. To be publishing this with HarperCollins is an immense honour for me.”