John Marrs signs on for three more thrillers with Thomas & Mercer

Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer imprint has acquired three new titles from John Marrs. The first in the deal, Dead in the Water, will be published in 2026, with two as-yet-untitled novels following in 2027 and 2028.

Acquiring editor Victoria Haslam bought world all language rights directly from the author, whose previous books include The Family Experiment, Keep it in the Family and The Stranger in her House.

In Dead in the Water, Damon’s life flashes before his eyes when he almost drowns in a wild swimming accident. One particularly disturbing image stays with him – a boy being stabbed to death. In the days that follow, he realises everything else in that flashback was real, so could this stabbing be real too? In order to unlock this memory, Damon realises the only way to gain full recollection is if he almost dies again.

Previously a journalist for 25 years, Marrs began his career self-publishing on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform in 2013, before being discovered by Thomas & Mercer. He said: “I’m thrilled to be writing three more books for Thomas & Mercer. They published my debut When You Disappeared in 2017 and I never imagined then that I’d still be writing books for anyone. I assumed I would have run out of ideas.

“But this new contract means we will have worked with one another on 10 books for more than a decade. Our working relationship is very much an equal one and I enjoy trying to wrong foot my editors as much as the readers with my dark, twisty plots. I’ve been fortunate that readers of my speculative fiction have always embraced my psychological thrillers and enjoy them equally.”

Haslam said: “We are ecstatic to be continuing our relationship with John Marrs. John is electrifying writer, full of refreshing and enlivening ideas which we can’t wait to bring to readers across the world. His thrillers are beloved by his readers and all of us here at Thomas & Mercer. The last year has been huge for John and we’re excited to keep that momentum going.”

Mouncif Faqir from Amazon Books Europe added: “Thomas & Mercer is delighted to be bringing more gripping novels by John Marrs to readers and the wider literary world. It’s wonderful to have been working together for so many years, delivering thrilling fiction to the masses.”