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Erik Axl Sund, the pseudonym of Swedish writers Hakan Axlander Sundquist and Jerker Eriksson, whose new book ‘The Crow Girl’ will be out this summer.PHOTO:SANDY HAGGART
(THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) Every publisher dreams of putting out a book like Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” or Paula Hawkins’s “The Girl on the Train”—and not just because they have “girl” in the title.
These are breakout novels of a special kind. Distinct from the best-selling but familiar fare of writers such as Michael Connelly and Sue Grafton, the surprise phenomena tend to come from authors who are largely unknown, peddling high-concept stories narrated in compelling voices.
Worth up to seven figures to publishers, these novels capture international imagination, are ripe for film and television adaptation and appeal to the genre’s biggest fan base: female readers.
This year’s offerings aren’t just about girls, either. Femme fatales are joined by grieving mothers and widows, dogged reporters and detectives, and one very confused professor. Here are five contenders in the race to become the world’s biggest thriller of 2016.
‘The Widow’ by Fiona Barton (Feb. 16)
When a man accused of a hideous crime is killed, his widow is finally free to tell her side of the story. The January U.K. release of Fiona Barton’s debut novel, told primarily from the perspectives of the widow, a detective and a reporter chasing the story of her career, drew early comparisons to “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train.” Playground Entertainment, one of the production companies behind the “Wolf Hall” miniseries, optioned the television rights before the book’s release, and publication rights have been sold in 29 countries.
‘Maestra’ by L.S. Hilton (April 19)
An unpredictable London auction house assistant turned high-class escort slips effortlessly into the world of the glamorous and wealthy, crossing international borders and leaving destruction in her wake. G.P. Putnam’s Sons bought the North American publication rights to this steamy femme fatale story, to be a trilogy, in a seven-figure deal. The novel will be published in 35 territories, and the film rights have already been optioned by TriStar Pictures, with a screenplay in development by Erin Cressida Wilson, the writer behind the silver-screen adaptation of “The Girl on the Train.”
‘I Let You Go’ by Clare Mackintosh (May 3)
Drawing on 12 years of experience investigating crimes with an English police department, Clare Mackintosh weaves a twisty tale surrounding the fatal hit-and-run of a 5-year-old boy and a mother running from her grief. The seventh best-selling product—not just book—on Amazon.co.uk last year (with Adele’s “25” coming fourth and “The Girl on the Train” claiming first), this debut novel will be published in 27 territories.
‘The Crow Girl’ by Erik Axl Sund (June 14)
The murder of one child in Stockholm turns into three, and soon the lead detective teams up with a psychotherapist to track a serial killer, only to discover that the murders are part of something even bigger and more sinister. An international best seller already published as a trilogy in 38 countries, “The Crow Girl” will be published in the U.S. by Knopf as a 758-page doorstopper, as the author duo Jerker Eriksson and Håkan Axlander Sundquist (“Erik Axl Sund”) originally intended. The television rights have been optioned by Marty Adelstein’s Tomorrow Studios.
‘Dark Matter’ by Blake Crouch (Aug. 2)
A Chicago physics professor is held at gunpoint, kidnapped and drugged by a masked man. When he wakes up to an alternate version of his reality, he’s forced to determine which version of his life is real, and why he’s being hunted. Blake Crouch, best-known for his “Wayward Pines” trilogy and its Fox television adaptation, submitted a partial manuscript and scored a $1 million deal from Crown. Film rights went to Sony Pictures soon after, with Mr. Crouch set to adapt the novel and produce the film, for a total of over $2.5 million. The novel, which has drawn comparisons to “Inception,” is slated to be published in 20 territories.
