June 2011
· General Fiction p.2
· Science Fiction / Fantasy p.15
· Series Fiction p.21
· Atom – Teenage / Young Adult p.21
· General Non-fiction p.22
· History p.27
· Memoirs / Biography p.30
· Self-Help/Popular Psychology p.34
· Parenting p.35
· Health p.37
· Mind, Body, Spirit p.41
· Futura Non-Fiction p.42
· Illustrated General p.44
ANDY HINE
Foreign Rights Director/Deputy Rights Director (for all rights excluding Turkish, Greek, Far Eastern and Dutch)
KATE HIBBERT
Rights Manager (for Far Eastern and Dutch rights)
HELENA DOREE
Rights Executive (for Turkish and Greek rights)
Little, Brown Book Group Ltd
100 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DY
tel: +44 (0) 20 7911 8078
fax: +44 (0) 20 7911 8100
email:
* Indicates new title since previous Rights list
GENERAL FICTION
THE EMPTY NESTERS by Nina Bell
General Fiction | 416 pp | Sphere | September 2011
The children have flown, the parents are free. Life is suddenly about to get very interesting indeed …
Clover, Laura and Alice have been best friends since their children were born, sharing holidays, sleepovers and childcare. They’re like family. But all families have their secrets. When the children leave home, Clover and Laura’s lives and marriages change forever and the old rules on love and loyalty no longer apply. And when Alice decides she wants what they’ve got, Clover and Laura have to find out who they really are. Without the children, can their marriages – and their friendship – survive? A meaty blockbuster aimed at the Penny Vincenzi market, this is addictive reading that will get under your skin. Nina Bell has written for most national newspapers and magazines, and has also written a number of radio plays, broadcast on Radio 4. She is the author of three previous novels, THE INHERITANCE (Sphere 200), SISTERS IN LAW (Sphere 2009) and LOVERS AND LIARS (Sphere 2010).
Praise for Bell’s previous novels: Its focus on the darker side of relationships and the shocking twists make this brilliant and sensitively written novel a winner ***** Closer; A sensitively written portrayal of psychological abuse and how families survive it - Daily Telegraph; Dramatic… daringly scandalous - Star magazine; Addictive, funny and scandalous read...Completely compulsive reading***** HEAT; Page-turning, perceptive and skilfully written – The Daily Mail
German rights Weltbild
Portuguese rights (Brazil only) Editora Novo Conceito
LOVERS AND LIARS by Nina Bell
General Fiction | 432 pp | Sphere | September 2010
Can you ever really save a woman from the wrong man?
A passionate love affair. A happy young family. And a successful thirty-year marriage. But which one will be destroyed by the truth? Sophie and her sister, Jess, grow up knowing that a few little lies are necessary: You look great. It was only a joke. He’s just stressed. It doesn’t matter. Everything’s fine. Everybody does it, don’t they? But what about the big lies – about love, power and money? When Sophie discovers her father’s secret, and Jess falls in love with the charismatic Jake, Sophie has to look at her own life again. Should she keep quiet or tear her family apart with the truth? And if she tells, who will pay the ultimate price? Nina Bell is the pseudonym for an author who has previously published five novels. Nina Bell is the author of THE INHERITANCE (Sphere 2008) and SISTERS-IN-LAW (Sphere 2009).
Turkish rights Artemis Yayinlari
THE ROAD BENEATH ME by Jessica Blair
General Fiction | 400pp | Piatkus | February 2012
In the early nineteenth century defiance, ruthlessness and intrigue compete with love and loyalty in a story that moves through Yorkshire, Shetland and America in an age of marked contrast. Merchants in Yorkshire seek expansion at the expense of others; lairds in Shetland expel their crofters to turn their land over to sheep in what became known as the Clearances, condemning them to lives of poverty or the hardships of passages to an unknown life in America. Ambition overrides family relationships, thrusting people into conflict that has far-reaching repercussions. And when the lives of two people, separated by over five hundred miles of land and sea, are plunged into upheaval, they must face uncertain futures – will their roads ever meet again? Jessica Blair grew up in Middlesbrough, trained as a teacher and now lives in Ampleforth. She became a full-time writer in 1977 and has written more than fifty books under various pseudonyms.
* THE DEAD SEA DECEPTION BOOK TWO by Adam Blake
General Fiction | 320pp | Sphere | August 2012
The sequel to THE DEAD SEA DECEPTION (Sphere 2011).
French rights Micro Application
German rights Ullstein Taschenbuch
Polish rights Hachette Polska
Portuguese rights (Brazil only) Editora Novo Conceito
THE DEAD SEA DECEPTION by Adam Blake
General Fiction | 320pp | Sphere | August 2011
If Jesus didn’t die on the cross, then who did?
Adam Blake takes biblical history, international intrigue, lost books of the Bible, personal tragedy and redemption, and weaves these disparate strands into a 21st century thriller of murder, conspiracy and the threat of Armageddon. With settings taking in the Old World and the New, from Europe to the Americas via the Holy Land, this is unusually well-written with an utterly relentless pace, not to mention a dark, wry sense of humour. Packed with suspense, secret societies, lethal rituals, and fascinating Dead Sea lore, THE DEAD SEA DECEPTION will thrill fans of THE DA VINCI CODE and ANGELOLOGY. For the last three or so years, Sphere has chosen two first novels a year for which we pull out all the stops for serious marketing and publicity. They must be compulsively readable, with absorbing plots and original ideas. Novels to which we have given this treatment include the wildly successful THE BRUTAL ART by Jesse Kellerman, THE SHAKESPEARE SECRET by J L Carrell, and THE BIRTHING HOUSE by Christopher Ransom. Sphere has an enviable record in making these specially singled-out novels sell in vast quantities. August 2011’s stand-out debut thriller will be THE DEAD SEA DECEPTION.
Bulgarian rights BARD
Chinese (simplified) rights Hachette-Phoenix
Croatian rights Skolska Knjiga
French rights Micro Application
German rights Ullstein Taschenbuch
Greek rights Dioptra
Hungarian rights Cartaphilus
Polish rights Hachette Polska
Portuguese rights (Brazil only) Editora Novo Conceito
Portuguese rights Dom Quixote
Romanian rights Editura TREI
Russian rights AST
Spanish rights MediaLive
Turkish rights Can Yayinlari
*THE DAY OF THE LIE by William Brodrick
General Fiction | 384pp |Little, Brown | February 2012
Two years in the making, the highly anticipated new novel from Sunday Times-bestselling author and international phenomenon William Brodrick - his first since winning the CWA Dagger for Best Novel. William Brodrick was an Augustinian friar before leaving the order to become a practising barrister. He is the author of A WHISPERED NAME (Little, Brown 2008), THE SIXTH LAMENTATION (Little, Brown 2003) and THE GARDENS OF THE DEAD (Little, Brown 2006).
THE BAD MISS BENNET by Jean Burnett
General Fiction | 432pp | Sphere | October 2012
The further adventures of Mrs Lydia Wickham - nee Bennet - as she seeks fortune and excitement in Regency London following her early widowhood. After all, she's never been afraid of scandal.
Mr Wickham turned out to be a disappointing husband in many ways, the most notable being his early demise on the battlefields of Waterloo. And so Lydia Wickham, nee Bennet, still not twenty and ever-full of an enterprising spirit must make her fortune independently. A lesser woman, without Lydia’s natural ability to flirt uproariously on the dance floor and cheat seamlessly at the card table, would swoon in the wake of a dashing highwayman, a corrupt banker and even an amorous Royal or two. But on the hunt for a marriage that will make her rich, there’s nothing that Lydia won’t turn her hand to. Taking in London, Paris and Brighton, THE BAD MISS BENNET details the charming, lively and somewhat dastardly further exploits of the youngest Bennet sister. Mr Darcy certainly won’t rescue her this time. Jean Burnett lives in Bristol. Over a long and interesting career, she has worked in advertising, won prizes for her writing and has travelled the world. She is an expert on all things Austen.
CHOKED by Tania Carver
Thriller | 352pp | Sphere | September 2012
To save the life of her daughter, she must first find out whose life she destroyed.
Detective Inspector Phil Brennan and criminal psychologist Marina Esposito have just got married. They’ve returned from their honeymoon and are spending the Easter weekend on Mersea Island with their daughter Josephina and Phil’s adoptive parents, Don and Eileen before returning to work for the Major Incident Squad at Colchester. But their rural idyll is cruelly destroyed when the cottage burns down on Good Friday, killing Don, injuring Eileen and putting Phil in a coma. Marina is spared but Josephina, their baby daughter, is missing. Marina realises she has been spared for a reason when the first note arrives. It says that Josephina is safe - for now. But if Marina ever wants to see her alive again there are things she has to do, and quickly. Because Josephina won’t be safe for long. Marina is given several tasks to undertake and they must be completed by Easter Monday. If she doesn’t do what she’s told, her daughter dies. If she involves the police, her daughter dies. Marina has no choice. Dark, disturbing, moving like a freight train and yet ultimately redemptive, CHOKED is the fourth in the internationally bestselling contemporary British thriller series featuring Phil Brennan and Marina Esposito.
CAGE OF BONES by Tania Carver
Thriller | 352pp | Sphere | September 2011
How can a killer never be caught? By growing his own victims.
Tania Carver, author of the smash hit THE SURROGATE (Sphere 2009) and THE CREEPER (Sphere 2010), returns with CAGE OF BONES, an electrifying thriller that pits cop Phil Brennan and forensic psychologist Marina Esposito against one of the most evil villains ever to stalk the pages of a book. During the demolition of an old building in Colchester, builders make a horrifying discovery: a cage made of human bones. And in that cage is a child – alive, but uncommunicative. As the investigation deepens, it threatens to expose a killer whose victims have never been reported missing. A killer who has been operating for decades. A killer who will let nothing and no one get in his way. A killer with a disturbing connection to Brennan’s father. Lightning-fast and razor-sharp, packed with jolting twists and breathtaking suspense, CAGE OF BONES is the strongest novel yet from this superstar in the making, a thriller to compete with the very best of Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs. Tania Carver is the author of THE SURROGATE (Sphere 2009) and THE CREEPER (Sphere 2010).
French rights Ixelles Publishing
German rights Ullstein
Russian rights FLC-Hemiro
THE CREEPER by Tania Carver
Thriller | 480pp | Sphere | September 2010
He stalks. He kills. He’s The Creeper.
Suzanne Perry is having a vivid nightmare. Someone is in her bedroom with her, and she can’t move a muscle. She wakes, relieved to see the morning light, gla d to put the nightmare behind her. Then she opens the curtains and see a Polaroid stuck to the window. A photo of her sleeping self, taken during the night. And underneath it the words: I’m watching over you. Her nightmare isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning. An addictively readable thriller that will keep you up all night, THE CREEPER introduces a serial killer who takes over women’s lives and the damaged, brilliant policeman determined to get justice. Following on from THE SURROGATE, DI Phil Brennan and profiler Marina Esposito return in THE CREEPER, a tense, thrilling page-turner of murderous obsession and long-buried secrets. Tania Carver is the author of THE SURROGATE (Sphere 2009).
French rights Ixelles Publishing
German rights Ullstein
Portuguese rights (Brazil only) Editora Novo Conceito
Romanian rights Litera
Russian rights Family Leisure Club – Hemiro Ltd.
Turkish rights Dogan Kitap
US rights Pegasus
THE TURIN SHROUD SECRET by Sam Christer
Thriller | 480pp | Sphere | March 2012
From the internationally bestselling author of THE STONEHENGE LEGACY - the world's most widely published debut novel of 2010 and 2011 - comes a relentless new thriller focused on human history's most controversial religious artefact, the Turin Shroud.
The most spectacular murder in the city's history has shaken Los Angeles - an elaborate crucifixion that the police swiftly link to the Turin Shroud. Journeying to Italy, two intrepid investigators - one a federal agent, one an expert in religious iconography - expose a demented killer and an intricate conspiracy that dates back to the death of Christ. Packed with fascinating information about the most controversial religious icon in the world, The Turin Shroud Secret is a thriller to rival Dan Brown's Angels & Demons and Chris Kuzneski's The Prophecy. Sam Christer lives in London. His debut novel THE STONEHENGE LEGACY was an instant bestseller and has been published in more than 40 countries.
THE STONEHENGE LEGACY by Sam Christer
Thriller | 496pp | Sphere | January 2011
Conspiracy thrillers have tackled Da Vinci, Atlantis and the Pyramids - but never Stonehenge - until now. With a concept to rival the very biggest books in the genre, this novel will dazzle anyone interested in one of the world's most fascinating mysteries.
Eight days before the summer solstice, a man is butchered in a blood-freezing sacrifice on the ancient site of Stonehenge before a congregation of robed worshippers. Within hours, one of the world's foremost treasure hunters has shot himself in his country mansion. And to his estranged son, young archaeologist Gideon Chase, he leaves a cryptic letter. Teaming up with an intrepid Wiltshire policewoman, Gideon soon exposes a secret society - an ancient international legion devoted for thousands of years to Stonehenge. With a charismatic and ruthless new leader at the helm, the cult is now performing ritual human sacrifices in a terrifying bid to unlock the secret of the stones. Packed with codes, symbology, relentless suspense, and fascinating detail about the history of one of the world’s most mysterious places, The Stonehenge Legacy is a blockbuster thriller to rival the very best of Dan Brown.