Welbeck picks Calvey's first novel The Locksmith

Welbeck Publishing Group has acquired The Locksmith by Linda Calvey, to be published with a foreword from Martina Cole.

Editorial director Tara Loder acquired world all language and audio rights from Kerr MacRae, literary producer and agent at Kerr MacRae LPA, in a two-book deal. 

Calvey is the author of true crime autobiography The Black Widow (Mirror Books, 2019). The Locksmith, billed as a "gritty, fast-paced and addictive family crime drama", will be her first novel.

The Locksmith will combine Calvey's own experience of living at the heart of the criminal world for a generation with "a supreme gift for character and storytelling", says the publisher. The story will follow Ruby Murphy and will invite readers into the criminal underbelly and a world of empire-building that will give readers a "unique insight into how a villain is made".

Loder said: "Linda Calvey is a born storyteller. Not once have I managed to walk away from a conversation with her without being absolutely captivated. Her stories are filled with twists and turns, and are based on a dark reality that few of us ever encounter. Linda writes what she knows, and what she knows is fascinating. With Ruby she has created a character that is strong, loyal and ruthless. Ruby's a woman that will find her own path to power, fuelled by a determination to protect those most important to her."

Calvey added: "I’ve always loved hearing and telling stories, so once I had the character of Ruby and the world she inhabits fleshed out in my mind, I knew it was a story I had to tell. I’ve certainly had an interesting life and although it’s been dangerous at times, I also come from a world where people are truly authentic, they look out for each other and often do what they have to do to survive. It was this world, my world, and those people I wanted to write about. I’m so pleased Welbeck is publishing my first novel and hope readers will love The Locksmith as much as I loved writing it."

The Locksmith will be published on 18th March 2021.