Embla Books, the digital-first imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired two thrillers from debut author, Becca Day. Hannah Smith, Editorial Director, acquired world English language rights from Emily Glenister at the DHH Literary Agency.
The first book in the deal, The Girl Beyond the Gate, will publish in eBook and audio in March 2022 – it’s described as The Hunting Party meets Big Little Lies.
Set in an exclusive, gated community deemed to be the ‘safest in the UK’, a murder rocks the residents who know the killer must be amongst them. We are soon thrown into the story of two women fighting over one child, Lacey. One is her mother, the other is not. Slowly secrets are unravelled and as the tension builds, the fight for Lacey will end in death.
Smith said: “The moment The Girl Beyond the Gate landed in my inbox, I knew I had something special on my hands. Becca has masterfully woven a story full of tension; the relationship between the three central characters is heart-racing and the setting adds a level of claustrophobia that reminded me of The Hunting Party. This is going to be a terrific debut for early 2022.”
Day added: “I’m so excited to have signed a two-book deal with the amazing team at Embla and to have Hannah Smith as my editor. It’s a dream come true to work with an editor like Hannah, whose enthusiasm and passion for The Girl Beyond the Gate matches my own. It still feels surreal that this story will be read and I’m so excited for these characters to be released into the world.”
The second book under contract will publish in Autumn 2022.
