Wildfire lands debut crime series from psychiatric nurse Sweeney  

Wildfire has landed a debut crime series from psychiatric nurse Elliot Sweeney, with The Next to Die as the first instalment.  

Fiction publisher Jack Butler acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown. The Next to Die will be published in February 2023.  

The book is a “whip-smart thriller” introducing former police officer, now private detective, Dylan Kaspar. “Five years after his daughter’s suicide, a stranger dies in the exact same circumstances, propelling Kasper to investigate and finally reckon with his own grief before more blood is spilled,” Wildfire wrote.  

Sweeney is a community psychiatric nurse specialising in adolescent mental health and post-traumatic stress. He was awarded the H W Fisher Scholarship to attend the Curtis Brown Creative novel-writing course. The Literary Consultancy has showcased him as a spotlight author and he has written for Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Switchblade.  

Butler commented: “Elliot is a real talent and someone we’re incredibly excited to be launching on the Wildfire list. His writing and characters are razor sharp, and his experience as a psychiatric nurse gives the novel authority and weight while dealing with the mental health issues at the heart of the book. The Next to Die is as gripping as it is timely, and we can’t wait for readers to meet Kasper.”  

Sweeney added: “I’m delighted to join forces with Wildfire. With this book I wanted to fuse my work in mental health with a long-standing love of fast-paced crime fiction. Dylan Kasper and the characters he encounters have been germinating in my mind for years, and I’m so excited to see what readers of the genre and beyond will make of them.”