Simon & Schuster swoops for C B Everett's 'jaw-dropping' gothic thriller

Simon & Schuster has swooped for The Other People, a high-concept gothic thriller from C B Everett, the pseudonym for Martyn Waites. 

Deputy publishing director Katherine Armstrong acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and EU rights, in a two-book deal from James Wills at Watson, Little. US rights sold to Lara Jones at Atria Books, Simon & Schuster US. The Other People will be published in the UK on 10th April 2025. 

"Martyn’s high-concept take on the classic country house mystery had me hooked from page one with its brilliant puzzle plot, singular wit and delightful spin on the genre’s favourite conventions", said Jones. 

"The Other People is a brilliant, breathless race of a read and has a simply jaw-dropping, head-spinning twist ending that left me speechless", Wills said.  

Billed as Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None meets "Shutter Island", The Other People follows ten strangers who wake up in an old, locked house with no memory about how they got there. 

The synopsis continues: "In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman. But a killer also stalks the halls of the house and soon the body count starts to rise. Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them? And who—or what—is the Beast in the Cellar? Forget what you think you know. Because while you might think you can trust yourself, can you really trust the other people?" 

Armstrong, who worked with Everett previously at Bonnier Books, commented: "Martyn is a brilliant writer of twisty thrillers and I am so pleased to welcome him back to the Simon & Schuster list with this fantastic slice of high-concept gothic, for fans of ’Shutter Island’, Catriona Ward and Stuart Turton. This is high-concept novel that is dark, audacious, funny, strange and incredibly gripping. I can’t wait for readers to discover The Other People." 

Everett said: "I love Gothic thrillers and an old dark gothic house mystery is miles away from anything I’ve done previously, hence the new name. I can’t tell you how excited I am to share the news about this book and for it to be unleashed on an unsuspecting crime fiction community!"