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Harvill Secker acquires gripping thriller by practising GP Mahi Cheshire
Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage, has acquired the gripping thriller about a doctor with parasomnia by practising GP Mahi Cheshire. Deputy publishing director Katie Ellis-Brown and assistant editor Sania Riaz acquired rights to The Lying Guest, the story of London-based doctor Anika who flees back to her native Sri Lanka after a patient dies on her operating table.
World all-languages rights including ebook and audio were acquired from Isobel Gahan at Curtis Brown for publication in spring 2025. The novel follows Anika, who suffers from parasomnia, a condition that causes sleepwalking blackouts as she escapes back to Sri Lanka intending to lie low after a patient dies on her table.
Ellis-Brown said: “The Lying Guest is a fantastic escapist thriller with plenty of meat on its bones, perfect for sparking conversations and discussion book clubs. Sania and I love working with Mahi and we’re so looking forward to publishing this brilliant book next year.”
Cheshire added: “I am thrilled to share this story set in my birth country of Sri Lanka and I’ve so enjoyed writing this complex character whose experiences of living with two cultural identities are familiar to me. This book explores Sri Lankan mythology, family secrets and facing one’s past and I’m so excited to work with Katie, Sania and the team at Harvill Secker to bring it to life.”
