Avon are thrilled to have acquired four novels to launch a brand new Liverpool-set crime series by Luca Veste!
The first two titles, LIAR LIAR and TELL TALE, are due for publication in Summer 2026 and early 2027 respectively.
Helen Huthwaite, Publisher at Avon, has acquired World English Rights from Kate Burke at Blake Friedmann and the four book deal marks a return to Avon for Veste, eleven years after they launched his first series featuring DI Murphy and DS Rossi.
Having been most recently published by Hodder, LIAR LIAR sees Luca return to Liverpool and features a disgraced detective who finds himself at the heart of a criminal investigation, facing a race not only to clear his name but for survival itself.
Helen Huthwaite said :”To say that I am delighted to bring Luca home to Avon is something of an understatement. I am over-the-moon to see him return and couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of publishing his brilliant new Liverpool-based series. As a proud northerner myself, returning to Luca’s familiar northwest stomping ground is an absolute joy – albeit one that’s peppered with plenty of bodies along the way! I know that we have an incredible opportunity to put Luca on the TBR pile of every crime reader in the country, with the potential for his new series to take him all the way to the top – where he rightly belongs.”
Luca Veste added: “I couldn’t be happier to be returning to Avon – going back home, where it all began – to work with the incredible Helen Huthwaite and the amazing Avon team. To be given the opportunity to start a brand-new series, set in my beloved Liverpool, is one I couldn’t turn down. I’m absolutely thrilled and can’t wait for the first book to be in reader’s hands.”
For a VERY limited time offer, you can pre-order through Waterstones and get 25% off! From 14th-17th October.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK BELOW!
When you’ve lost the trust of everyone around you, where do you turn?
Once hailed as Liverpool’s finest detective, Dan Butler brought a serial killer to justice and earned the city’s admiration. But when it’s revealed he falsified evidence in past cases, his legacy is shattered – and so is his life.
Now disgraced and spiralling, Butler wakes up in a hotel room with no memory of the last 24 hours… and a dead body beside him.
The evidence says he did it. His instincts say otherwise.
Hunted by the force he once served, Butler must uncover the truth – not just to clear his name, but to survive. Because someone wants him silenced, and they’ll stop at nothing to finish what they started…
A gripping thriller where the hunter becomes the hunted – perfect for fans of dark twists, morally complex heroes, and relentless suspense.
