You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Orion Fiction has signed two more thrillers from Capital Crime Book of the Year winner Mari Hannah.
The Longest Goodbye is the first in the two-book deal, acquired by Sam Eades for Orion Fiction from Oli Munson at A M Heath in a deal for world rights. Orion Fiction will publish it as a lead title in spring 2024.
In The Longest Goodbye, DCI Kate Daniels is pushed to breaking point after the shocking murders of two young men suspected of slaying a female police officer three years earlier. Described as “a highly charged and emotional thriller set in Northumberland”, Orion says Hannah “deftly explores the nuances and challenges of modern policing.”
The Kate Daniels series is currently in development with Stephen Fry’s production company Sprout Pictures and Atlantic Nomad in the US, with the second book in the deal continuing the Stone and Oliver detective series. Her book Without a Trace (Orion) won Capital Crime’s Crime Book of the Year in 2020.
Eades said: “The Longest Goodbye is a compulsive and sophisticated thriller with an unforgettable female lead, written with so much heart and authenticity, as well as an evocative sense of place.
“Mari Hannah is a writer at the top of her game, much loved by the crime-writing community for her support of authors, bookshops, libraries and readers. I am so proud to be her publisher, and look forward to reaching new fans with this breakout thriller.”
Hannah said The Longest Goodbye was a story born out of an experience she buried long ago. “Years back, I heard the tail end of a radio broadcast about a Northumbria police officer who’d been shot in the back on duty, causing life changing injuries,” she said. “Her name was Maureen. I froze. My partner (Mo, a Northumbria detective) was at work. I called her office and was told that no one knew where she was. She was not that unfortunate officer, but the experience stayed with me.
“I know what it’s like to fear a copper’s knock, to dread an officer standing on the doorstep with the worst news possible. In 2021, I read about a female PCSO being murdered not far from home. It brought back unimaginable pain I could no longer ignore. The Longest Goodbye concerns the death of PC Georgina Ioannou, a friend and ex-colleague of my fictional detective, DCI Kate Daniels. It’s written with love and respect for the police family whose tragic deaths touch us all.”