Michael Joseph pre-empts true crime podcaster Urquhart's serial killer thriller

Penguin Michael Joseph has pre-empted an “addictive” serial killer thriller by true crime podcaster, autopsy technician and debut novelist Alaina Urquhart.

Editorial director Clio Cornish acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for The Butcher and the Wren from Suzannah Ball at WME within hours of the thriller being announced in North America. More international offers have already begun to come in, with auctions underway in Brazil and Spain.

It will publish in hardback, e-book and audio in September 2022, simultaneously with the US where it is being published by Zando on a list founded by Gone Girl editor Molly Stern, in a deal brokered by Sabrina Taitz at WME.

The Butcher and the Wren is the debut novel from Urquhart, an autopsy technician and co-host of “Morbid”,  a true crime podcast which has more than 920,000 followers across social media. The thriller follows a twisted serial killer and the brilliant but troubled woman on his tail, deep in the Louisiana bayou.

The synopsis states: “Forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of crime and years of experience, she’s never encountered a case she couldn’t solve. Until she encounters a methodical killer known as the Bayou Butcher, who has a taste for medical experimentation and is getting more brazen by the day.

“As case after case lands on Wren’s examination table, she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase. And the depraved mind she’s hunting is still one step ahead.”

Urquhart said: “I’m over the moon to join the Penguin family. To be able to work with such an iconic team is a dream come true. When I started writing The Butcher and The Wren I never imagined I would be in this position. Although The Butcher and the Wren is set in Louisiana in the US, I feel like every reader will feel the creeping sensation of being knee-deep in the bayou amidst the screaming cicadas. I’m so excited to share my spooky book baby with UK readers.”

Cornish added: “A thriller written by an autopsy technician who hosts a true crime podcast . . . I had high expectations for this. And my goodness, did it deliver. Alaina has proven her knack for bringing dark deeds to life in her podcast and she carries all that through The Butcher and the Wren. An exhilarating game of cat and mouse led by a twisted killer who rivals ’Silence of the Lambs’’ Buffalo Bill, this is a must for fans of serial killer thrillers, true crime or indeed anyone looking for their next addictive read.”