Headline pre-empts Webbe’s ‘compulsive’ debut thriller in two-book deal

Headline has acquired Liv Webbe’s “compulsive” debut thriller, Lucky Girls, in a two-book deal.

Lucy Dauman, deputy publishing director, pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Hellie Ogden at Janklow & Nesbit. Lucky Girls will be published in summer 2024. Told from the perspectives of two women, Willa and Dee, it “explores what secrets can do when they fall into hands determined to even the scales".

Describing the novel as “a bold, provocative thriller” and “a timely story of unimaginable shame and unstoppable rage”, the publisher goes on: “When these two apparent strangers meet in the days leading up to a wedding party on the idyllic Île de Ré, shocking truths are revealed, relationships fracture and no one will emerge unscathed.”

Dauman said: "Lucky Girls is enraging and empowering and confronting all at once, with an irresistible setting and beautifully drawn characters. It’s exactly the kind of book I’ve been looking for: one that has all the ingredients of a great thriller – tension, twists, pace – but also feels like a conversation starter; tackling difficult, timely issues, with strong female characters at its heart.”

Webbe worked for more than a decade in journalism and communications before studying on UEA’s Creative Writing MA. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the Bridport and Fish short story prizes. Currently she is a freelance writer, editor and journalist.

Webbe said: “My aim was to write a thriller that kept people gripped while tackling some very thorny issues, and I really hope readers connect with the themes, but most of all that they enjoy the story.”

Ogden added: “Lucky Girls is full of fire and rage and beauty. I love this novel and am delighted to have matched the talented Liv with the equally brilliant Lucy.”