UK auction underway for Finnish crime novelist Max Seeck

Max Seeck’s Finnish Noir novels are under auction today (Monday 4th November), with up to five publishers said to be involved.

Rhea Lyons at Hannigan Getzler Literary will broker the deal for The Faithful Reader and its standalone sequel on behalf of Elina Ahlback Literary Agency in Finland. The rights to the book have already been bought in 24 countries including the US and Canadian rights to both books which were acquired by Michelle Vega at Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House. German rights have gone to Bastei Lübbe, in a two-book deal.

The synopsis for the first book explains: “Bestselling Finnish crime novelist Max Seeck's US debut The Witch Hunter, published internationally as The Faithful Reader, follows detective Jessica Niemi as she tracks down a mysterious killer seemingly driven by occult forces, a hunt which also threatens to expose Jessica's own horrific, long-buried secret past."

The as-yet-untitled sequel will see Jessica Niemi investigate the disappearance of two famous Instagram bloggers when a strange picture is uploaded on both of their accounts. "Jessica starts to investigate the disappearances and soon she finds out that the two bloggers have been sharing a secret, the one that got them involved in something very mystical and dark,” the synopsis reads.

Ahlback said: “We have had a lot of interest. We are having an action at the moment where the UK rights will be sold. We are hoping to sell rights in China, Japan and all the big territories where we haven’t sold rights yet. But with 24 territories sold, there’s not that many left."

More than 20 UK publishers have submitted interest, and the agency is anticipating more than five publishers to bid in today's auction.

The full manuscript for The Faithful Reader - renamed The Witch Hunter in North America - has already been translated into English. The book will be released to the US and Canadian market in August 2020.