S&S UK snares two more AI thrillers from Jo Callaghan

Simon & Schuster UK has bought two more high-concept procedurals from the Sunday Times bestselling author Jo Callaghan.  

Deputy publishing director for crime and thriller fiction Katherine Armstrong bought UK and Commonwealth rights in two more DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) books from Sue Armstrong at C&W. 

In the Blink of an Eye, Callaghan’s debut, was a BBC Two “Between the Covers” pick and an instant Sunday Times bestseller in paperback, as well as Waterstones Thriller of the Month for January 2024. Leave No Trace, the second in the series, is scheduled for 28th March 2024. 

Katherine Armstrong said: “What impressed me when I first acquired In the Blink of an Eye was not just Jo’s ability to plot a great story, but the humanity in her writing. With Blink and Leave No Trace, she gets to the heart of serious issues without losing the reader’s engagement of every character – but she also manages to allow readers to have sympathy for and understand the killer’s motives, without taking away from the brutal reality of their actions.  

“While some of the abilities that Lock enjoys are fictional, the technology surrounding AI is very much real and with Jo’s background in this area, she is perfectly placed to have created the first fictional AI detective and explore real issues that the development of AI will bring to society.” 

Callaghan said: “It has been an absolute joy to work with Katherine and the whole team at Simon & Schuster UK, who have been such passionate believers in Kat and Lock’s story from day one. This year has been beyond my wildest dreams, and I am so excited to have the chance to build on this with two more books in the series.” 

Sue Armstrong commented: “It’s been such a joy to see In the Blink of an Eye reach and be loved by so many readers and I’m thrilled we will be continuing on with two more Kat and Lock novels with Katherine and the incredible team at Simon & Schuster UK.”