Harriet Evans moves to Hodder for new crime series under pen name 'Harriet F Townson'

Bestselling author Harriet Evans will move to the Hodder & Stoughton fiction list in 2024, under a pen name inspired by her grandmother, with a new crime series beginning with D is for Death.

Steph Thwaites at Curtis Brown sold English language rights to Jo Dickinson, executive publisher at Hodder. Hodder will publish the novel on 6th June 2024 in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audiobook under the name Harriet F Townson.  

Evans has been published at Headline for the last 10 years and was published by HarperCollins before that.

The blurb reads: “Set in pre-war London, D is for Death marries the quality of Dorothy L Sayers with the ingenuity of Janice Hallett – and in Dora Wildwood, Harriet F Townson introduces a character with the spark and gusto of Enola Holmes and the detective skill of Miss Marple.  

“Dora Wildwood is escaping a most unsuitable marriage. She’s on the first train to London, having smuggled herself out of the house on the milk cart. She plans to go straight to her godmother Lady Dreda Uglow, the only woman she knows who seems to live life on her own terms and ask to stay. As she alights at Paddington station it seems her dreams are in touching distance.  

“Until Dora hears a shout behind her and her fiancé snatches her from the crowd. As tries to outrun the loathsome Charles, she ducks into the London Library to hide, asking the kindly Ben Stark and the clever Miss Amani to help her in the process – and stumbles across her first dead body. 

“Having been thrown into the middle of a murder scene, it’s now impossible to walk away. Indeed, Dora’s certain she will prove an invaluable help to the gruff Detective Inspector Fox who swiftly arrives on the scene. For as everyone knows, it’s the woman in the room who always sees more than anyone else.”  

Dickinson said: “I’m delighted to be working with the amazing Harriet Evans. Dora Wildwood is a truly unique character and this novel is an homage to the joy of books, libraries and bookshops, and everyone at Hodder has fallen head over heels. We can’t wait for readers to meet Dora and discover her unusual but very effective sleuthing skills, along with her love for peppermint creams.” 

Evans said: “I’ve always wanted to try a detective novel, so last year when I was feeling in need of cheering up I started writing the first Dora Wildwood mystery in the evenings and on trains and on holidays. Initially I was doing it for myself, not only to solve the murder but to remind myself why I love my job: telling stories.  

“It is a total pinch-me moment to see this story become D is for Death and a huge honour to be published by the mighty Hodder and wonderful Jo Dickinson. I grew up on Golden Age crime novels; as a teenager I was even a proud member of the Dorothy L Sayers Society. There will of course be more Harriet Evans novels in the future, but until February 2024 cannot wait to see my grandmother’s name – Townson – on a shelf too, and I can’t wait for readers to meet Dora.”  

Thwaites said: “Harrie is a talented writer and it’s no wonder that she has created the truly memorable character of Dora Wildwood and a delicious, clever and funny novel in D is for Death which will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Magpie Murders and Lessons in Chemistry.”  

Evans began in publishing working as a secretary including stints for Tom Weldon, Louise Moore and Lynne Drew, before becoming an editor at Penguin and rising up to editorial director at Headline. She published her debut, Going Home (HarperCollins), in 2003 and became a full-time writer three years later.