Hodder acquires three new crime novels from Veste at auction

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired three new crime novels from Luca Veste, with the first, You Never Said Goodbye, to be published in February 2022.

Jo Dickinson, crime and thriller publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in a three-publisher auction, in a deal with Phil Patterson at Marjacq Scripts. North American rights will be handled by Nicole James at the James Literary Agency.

You Never Said Goodbye marks a new direction for Veste following his police procedurals and supernatural/crime crossover novels, the publisher said. The synopsis reads: "You Never Said Goodbye tells the story of Sam Cooper whose mother died when he was a child, leaving him estranged from his father. But on his deathbed his father makes a devastating confession that shatters Sam’s life and sends him on a search for answers."

Dickinson said: "I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Luca to Hodder. Luca is beloved within the crime-writing community and You Never Said Goodbye is his most ambitious book to date. He has captured such pace and suspense in this novel, delivering a story that will surprise and delight."

Veste commented: "I am overjoyed to be joining the team at Hodder and continuing my working relationship with the amazing Jo Dickinson. Hodder & Stoughton publish some of my favourite authors and I'm honoured to be joining the ranks there. I've wanted to write a book like You Never Said Goodbye for a long time and I'm incredibly excited to share this new direction with readers."

Veste's most recent novels include The Game (S&S, 2020), The Silence (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020) and The Six (S&S, 2019). He is the host of the podcast "Two Crime Writers and a Microphone", co-founder of the Locked Up Festival, and bass player in the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers.