Viking wins seven-way auction for Elizabeth Arnott's The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives

Viking has won a seven-way auction for one of London Book Fair’s most hotly tipped titles, The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives, by journalist and author Elizabeth Arnott.

Editorial director Rosa Schierenberg acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Madeleine Milburn at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency as part of a two-book deal, following a seven-way bidding war. 

North American rights went to executive editor Kerry Donovan at Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in a seven-way auction and Canadian rights were won by Janice Zawerbny at HarperCollins Canada, with rights sold in 13 additional territories at auction and in “significant” pre-empts, The Bookseller understands.

The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives — tipped as one of this year’s "books of the fair" at London Book Fair — will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook in spring 2026.

The blurb reads: “Get ready to meet a new kind of sleuth: the wives who got shamed, got mad, and now want to get even. It’s a baking hot summer in 1960s California and three women have formed an unlikely friendship. With their husbands, some of California’s most infamous serial killers, dead or behind bars, they’re desperate for a fresh start. Beverley is falling in love again, Elsie’s climbing ranks in the patriarchal world of journalism and Margot’s a Hollywood sweetheart with a penchant for a morning margarita — anything to quell the shame of not having known what her politician husband was really getting up to that night. Then a string of killings occurs in the white-picket-fenced neighbourhood of Berryview. With the police dragging their feet, the women — underestimated and overlooked — decide to get to work. After all, who better to catch a killer than those who have shared their lives with one?”

Schierenberg said: “This is both an utterly addictive mystery, and a celebration of women — their friendships, courage and resilience — and what happens when they dare to break free of the mould that society has made for them. This is Big Little Lies meets Lessons in Chemistry, with the glamorous haze of a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. Everyone at Viking fell for this immediately and we can’t wait to bring our very ambitious plans to life.” 

Milburn said: “We have handled the most sensational string of auctions and pre-empts over the past few months. Elizabeth’s novel has resonated with publishers and producers on a global level; the original pitch of three overlooked women, the ex-wives of serial killers who take matters into their own hands, paired with Elizabeth’s stylish, cinematic prose and the atmospheric backdrop of sun-baked 1960s California, gives The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives every ingredient readers look for in upmarket, conversation-starting fiction.”

Arnott has written historical fiction under the name Lizzie Pook, published by Picador. Her work has featured in publications including the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph and Stylist.

She said: “Serial killers are so ingrained in our cultural consciousness their names are instantly recognisable — Dahmer, Bundy, BTK, Jack the Ripper. I wanted to give agency to the hidden victims of these men’s crimes: the women who have, unknowingly, shared their lives with a murderer, who straightened his tie in the morning, who kissed his cheek when he returned late from work and sat opposite him at the kitchen table.”

She added: “As soon as I met Rosa and the rest of the Viking team I knew, without a doubt, that they were the perfect publishers for this book. I was blown away by their drive and ambition, as well as Rosa’s astute and intelligent editorial vision. I’m so incredibly proud to be joining the iconic Penguin fold and can’t wait for the world to meet Beverley, Elsie and Margot.”