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Pushkin Press imprint Pushkin Vertigo has acquired The Trials of Lila Dalton, a high-concept legal drama with a psychological twist by L J Shepherd, in a two-book deal.
Harriet Wade, who has since left Pushkin, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. Pushkin Press publishing director Laura Macaulay is now the book’s publisher.
Pushkin Vertigo will publish in hardback and e-book on 1st February as its crime and thriller superlead of 2024.
Written by a barrister who has worked on several high-profile cases, the publisher says the “thrillingly inventive depiction of a UK courtroom” is rooted in the author’s extensive experience and is perfect for fans of Stuart Turton, Hanna Jameson and “Black Mirror”.
Shepherd has been a practising barrister since 2017 and has prosecuted and defended in many jury trials in the Crown Court. She is now a human rights barrister instructed in high-profile public inquiries. The Trials of Lila Dalton is her first novel.
In it, Lila Dalton finds herself in a courtroom with no memory of how she got there. The man in the dock is accused of mass murder, and she’s his barrister – but she can’t remember anything about the case. She can’t remember anything at all. Stranded on an island hundreds of miles from the UK, where they try domestic and foreign criminals for the most serious crimes, the next flight out doesn’t leave for days. And she’s being watched. Someone keeps breaking into her hotel room to leave cryptic notes, threatening her with deadly consequences if she doesn’t get her client off. Can Lila Dalton win her case and solve the mystery of her own identity?
Macaulay said: “This novel is so cunningly plotted, so mind-bendingly clever, and so fresh – it surprised me at every turn. We’re delighted to welcome the remarkable L J Shepherd to the Pushkin Vertigo list.”
Shepherd commented: “As soon as I met with the team at Pushkin, I knew that it was the perfect fit. They understood the book from the off and helped me to hone the manuscript so that Lila’s story could come to the fore."