Zaffre acquires new crime series set in London morgue
Katherine Armstrong, editorial director for crime and thriller at Zaffre, has acquired world English language rights for a two-book deal with A.K. Turner. Rights were acquired from Jane Gregory at David Higham Associates.
The first novel, Body Language, will be published November 2020. The protagonist, Cassie Raven, is a deeply intuitive mortuary assistant who is convinced she can hear the last thoughts of the dead. When she comes face to face with someone she knew and cared about on the slab, Cassie senses there must be more to the ruling than accidental death.
Harbouring an innate distrust of the police, Cassie sets out to investigate the death and deliver justice for the woman who saved her life.
‘As a long-time admirer of Zaffre and editorial director Katherine Armstrong, I couldn’t be happier that such a brilliant team is bringing the Cassie Raven series to UK readers.’
A.K. Turner
The character of Cassie Raven was first introduced by Turner in Cut and Paste, a crime short for BBC Radio 4 in 2019. Rights for Body Language have already been sold to Germany and Russia.
On the announcement A.K. Turner said: ‘As a long-time admirer of Zaffre and editorial director Katherine Armstrong, I couldn’t be happier that such a brilliant team is bringing the Cassie Raven series to UK readers. It takes a distinctive publisher to see the potential in a super-bright maverick Goth girl mortuary technician as a series lead, and I hope that readers will love Cassie, too.
‘I am very excited to be publishing A.K. Turner at Bonnier Books UK. I’ve long been a fan of her writing, and with Cassie Raven she’s created an utterly compelling character.’
Katherine Armstrong, Editorial Director, Zaffre
Katherine Armstrong, Editorial Director at Zaffre, said: ‘I am very excited to be publishing A.K. Turner at Bonnier Books UK. I’ve long been a fan of her writing, and with Cassie Raven she’s created an utterly compelling character. Cassie’s intuitive, super smart and street wise and very much like a contemporary Sherlock Holmes. Readers will completely fall in love with this unorthodox sleuth, who knows the dead and knows we can learn a lot from them – if only we listen!’
Jane Gregory, literary agent at David Higham Associates, said: ‘I am so delighted that A.K. Turner’s new series has been bought by Katherine at Zaffre. Alison’s quirky heroine, Cassie, works in a morgue and takes an unusual approach to murder investigations.’
