Transworld snaps up two new spy novels from Gerritsen

Transworld has snapped up two new novels about a retired spy called Maggie Bird, from the bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

Sarah Adams, fiction publisher, bought UK and Commonwealth rights in two books from Meg Ruley and Rebecca Scherer at Jane Rotrosen Agency. The first novel, titled The Spy Coast, will publish in January 2024.

The synopsis reads: “Maggie Bird has lived many lives and many lies, right across the globe. Finally, she gets to hunker down in the bucolic town of Purity, with nothing but her chickens and her ‘Martini Club’ friends to keep her company. But her past is about to come back to haunt her when someone delivers a dead body to her door.

“Maggie and her ‘book club’ swiftly revert to espionage mode, burning a trail from London to Bangkok to Milan to stay one step ahead of those who want former agent Bird dead. Maggie knows that some parts of the past refuse to stay buried. And that sometimes an old spy must give up her ghosts.”

Adams said: “I couldn’t be more excited to be publishing The Spy Coast. It’s fun, it’s exhilarating, and it left me desperate for more. Tess has created a captivating new character in Maggie Bird, who spent her career navigating a world where no one can be trusted, and who now craves a quiet retirement. But whilst Maggie may be determined to hide away under her alias, readers are going to want to talk about her, and she is going to have to get used to that! Get ready to read this with a martini in hand, and one eye on the door.”

Gerritsen added: “When I moved to Maine 30 years ago, I discovered a startling secret: my quiet village harbours a number of retired spies. The silver-haired friends and neighbours I chat with in the grocery store or the post office have complex past lives, lives they can’t talk about. What might these unassuming retirees be hiding? What if their old skills are still there, ready to be put to use? That’s what inspired The Spy Coast, and its circle of old spies known as ’The Martini Club’. I’m delighted to be telling their stories, and so happy to once again join the wonderful team at Transworld to bring this new series to readers.”