Canelo acquire major new historical crime series from Dagger-shortlisted Alis Hawkins

Canelo Publishing Director Michael Bhaskar has acquired World Rights in a major new historical crime series by Dagger shortlisted author, Alis Hawkins. Hawkins is author of the critically acclaimed Teifi Valley series and a pivotal part of the Crime Cymru writing collective and festival.

Set in the Oxford of 1881, the Oxford Mysteries will follow the journey of Rhiannon ‘Non’ Vaughan, a fiercely intelligent and rebellious young Welsh woman newly admitted to university lectures, and Basil Rice, a Fellow of Jesus College with a secret to hide.  

The first title in the series, A Bitter Remedy, publishes in March 2023. When a college student is found dead in suspicious circumstances, everyone is keen to hush it up… But soon Non and Basil find themselves investigating what, it transpires, could be even more sinister than it first appears. 

Alis Hawkins said ‘It’s been an absolute delight to bring Non Vaughan and her opposite number, Basil Rice, to Oxford. I’ve had great fun watching Non get to grips with 1880s  gender-politics, with the darker side of Oxford life, and with murder.  As a character, she leapt into life as soon as I began writing the book and she really took control of the story.   I’m genuinely thrilled to be working with Canelo and can’t wait for readers to meet these new characters.’ 

Michael Bhaskar said ‘Alis Hawkins is an absolute master of historical mystery. Beautifully researched, richly atmospheric, and exceptionally well written, these are books readers will cherish and return to. I don’t say it lightly, but in Non and Basil, Alis has, hands down, created the best duo in crime.’

A Bitter Remedy will be published in March 2023 in mass-market paperback and ebook. For more information please contact publicity@canelo.co