September snares Ray's 'gripping' thriller

September Publishing has signed Good Husbands, a thriller exploring consent, friendship and inequality, by Cate Ray.

The publisher acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the novel from Nelle Andrew at the Rachel Mills Literary Agency. US rights were sold at auction to Erika Imranyi at HarperCollins US psychological thriller imprint Park Row.

Having previously published four novels with Little, Brown under the name Cath Weeks, Ray's debut takes the domestic noir genre and moves it onto a new level of "relevance and empathy," the publisher said. The story centres on three women, all in good partnerships, who each receive a letter accusing their husband of rape 20 years ago.

Publisher Hannah MacDonald said of the acquisition: "From the first page of the manuscript I was gripped not only by the unfolding plot but by the characters - three very different women, diverse personalities and backgrounds, who are thrown together by an accusation of a historic rape. I was gripped too by the moral dilemma at its heart. It builds with tension, warmth and revelation to a gripping end, leaving us thinking, what would you do? What would you forgive? How much would you sacrifice to do the right thing by another woman?''

September will publish the book as a hardback in July 2022. Park Row will launch it in June 2022.