Zaffre to publish gripping new mystery from international bestselling author Lynda La Plante

Zaffre, the flagship commercial fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, will publish Sudden Death, a gripping standalone mystery from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante, this November.

World All Language rights were acquired by Ben Willis, publisher, from Nigel Stoneman of LaPlante Global.

In her ninth decade La Plante shows no sign of slowing down. In 2024 she published her autobiography and completed her work with the unforgettable Jane Tennison. Last year she launched her new crime series The Scene of the Crime starring crime scene investigator Jessica Russell. And earlier this year she concluded her bestselling Detective Jack Warr series.

However, faced with a moment of acute and sudden grief, Lynda left her safe space of police procedurals and wrote something entirely different. Her first standalone novel in over a decade, involving a priceless treasure, a life-long obsession, and of course murder.

When Clara arrives in beautiful Paris, struggling writer Michael is tasked with escorting her to the city’s cultural gems. Wealthy beyond Michael’s wildest dreams, the young Clara is uptight, aloof and rude beyond belief. Yet there is something about her that intrigues Michael: a mystery he cannot solve.

As he reluctantly gets to know Clara, Michael begins peeling back the edges of an extraordinary family secret. A secret that has become a deadly obsession. An obsession that becomes Michael’s own.

Lynda La Plante said: Writing dark crime novels for many years, enjoying the authenticity gained from forensic scientists and the Metropolitan officers, as well as criminals and victims. Nothing prepared me for losing my beloved dog Hugo in the prime of his life. Having always owned dogs, Hugo was my constant writing companion in my office, and friend. I had never known such consuming grief. Unable to concentrate on the novel I was working on, something drew me to open a new document and write the title ‘Sudden Death’, and an energy took over that eased my grief. Before Hugo died, I was immersed in reading about The Romanovs, and I’ve had an endless fascination with Peter Carl Faberge’s designs specifically his stunning Easter eggs presented to the Czar family, all of this found a home in my new project. Sudden Death seemed to have a direction and focus of its own forcing me to finish it, and it ended with an uplifting joyous feeling and peace for me. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.”

Ben Willis, publisher said: “Lynda has written over fifty novels – but Sudden Death stands entirely alone. Sometimes you can feel the author’s deep passion for their subject in the pages of a manuscript, and this is absolutely the case with Sudden Death. It will transport the reader to contemporary Paris and thrust them into a mystery that explores faded aristocracy and deadly family secrets; generational trauma and lost treasure. And, of course, murder. Lynda has written a raft of bestsellers over a phenomenal, storied career, yet she continues to surprise with every new book – and Sudden Death is a priceless gem packed with obsession and intrigue.”

Sudden Death will be published in hardback, trade paperback, eBook and audio on 5th November 2026.