Simon Beckett signs with Trapeze for new crime series

Simon Beckett, who has published with Bantam since his 2007 debut The Chemistry of Death, is moving to Trapeze in a two-book deal. 

Publishing director Sam Eades acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to The Lost plus one other thriller from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown. Rights were sold by Curtis Brown in a "major" deal to Rowohlt in Germany, which launched Beckett’s David Hunter series and where he was Germany’s second biggest author of translated fiction in 2019.

The Lost is the beginning of a new crime series, and introduces readers to Jonah Colley, an armed response officer with the Met. Ten years ago, the abduction of Colley’s young son ended his career as a police detective and almost destroyed him. A plea for help from an estranged friend leads Jonah to a scene of carnage, and a brutal attack from which he’s the only survivor. Discharged from the force and under suspicion himself, his search for the truth throws doubt on everything he thought he knew—and forces him to question what really happened all those years ago.

Eades said: "I have been a fan of Simon Beckett since his debut novel, The Chemistry of Death, and it is a dream come true to bring his ambitious new series to the Trapeze Books list. The Lost will be a superlead title for summer 2021, and we can’t wait to introduce a whole new generation of readers to his writing."

Beckett said: "I’m thrilled to be joining Sam Eades and the team at Trapeze to launch my new Jonah Colley series. After six novels featuring forensic anthropologist David Hunter, I felt it was time to branch out with a different character that would allow me to broaden the scope and range of my stories. But although Colley might be more at home on the mean streets than in the mortuary, he’s no less complex than his predecessor, and I’m looking forward to giving him just as hard a time."

Beckett’s Dr Hunter series is in development for television with Cuba Pictures in the UK and Nadcomm/ BBC Worldwide for a global market.

Trapeze Books will be publishing The Lost in hardback, audiobook and e-book in July 2021 with a paperback in 2022.