Blink, the commercial non-fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired The Last Witness: One man’s fight to expose a chemical contamination scandal, and the conspiracy to silence him by Dan Ashby with Lucy Taylor.
Ciara Lloyd, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Oli Munson at AM Heath.
The Last Witness is the eye-opening account of one of the world’s first-ever whistleblowers on forever chemicals – and the scandal that goes from a British farm to abandoned American streets. It’s a David v. Goliath battle involving an eccentric British gentleman and the American corporate giant Monsanto, spanning multi-million-dollar court-cases, suitcases of cash and confrontations with organised crime. Now, half a century later, a husband-and-wife duo have been given the witness’s confidential evidence. It leads them to form an unlikely friendship with the film star Michael Sheen, who recorded the witness’ deathbed tape. Part-true crime thriller, part-investigative exposé, The Last Witness wrestles with science, scandal and truth, to bring to light an unseen, but simmering disaster.
The book follows on from the story featured in Buried: The Last Witness, an award-winning narrative podcast by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor, a break-out national hit that made Apple’s Top 10 Most-Listened to shows and was named by the Guardian as being in the top three podcasts of 2024. The story has also been adapted into a major BBC1 (Wales) and BBC2 (England) 2-part TV series featuring Michael Sheen along with Dan and Lucy, which will broadcast later in the summer.
Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor said: “Imagine being left one man’s life in fragments – scraps of diaries, secret reports, confidential memos – and trying to piece it together. Then, in the cracks, you begin to see a terrifying scandal. We’re inviting the reader to help us try to solve it together. Except, in this true crime thriller, you’re not searching for the perpetrator, you’re looking for the victims. And you might be one of them.”
Ciara Lloyd, publishing director, said “I was gripped by The Last Witness as soon as I read the proposal, having already listened to Dan and Lucy’s sensational podcast, Buried. Their story feels so large and untenable but it’s one that has grave effects for us all. Lucy and Dan have gone to great lengths to break this story open, and I’m so proud to be their publisher to continue their efforts and make sure we learn its lessons before we’re too late.”
Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor are an award-winning journalist husband-and-wife team, who have lived and reported across the world. They became dedicated environment journalists after losing a friend in the war against the ivory trade and their work includes confronting organised crime, publishing deathbed confession tapes, undercover reporting and evading authoritarian regimes, among much else. They have published stories that have sparked inquiries and military press conferences, and forced them to flee across borders, with a passion for turning environment stories into genre-bending narrative thrillers that draw in mass audiences.
The Last Witness: One man’s fight to expose a chemical contamination scandal, and the conspiracy to silence him will be published by Blink in hardback, eBook, and audio on 10th September 2026
