Douglas Jackson signs with Canelo in a four-book deal.

Commissioning Editor Craig Lye has acquired WEL rights to a new WW2 historical crime series by Douglas Jackson from Stan at The North Agency in a four-book deal.

Set in Occupied Warsaw, The Warsaw Quartet will follow the double life of investigator Jan Kalisz from the fall of the city to the Nazis in 1939 to the Warsaw Uprising by the Home Army in 1944.

In the first novel, Blood Roses, war hero Jan is encouraged by his Resistance handler to return to his old job as a police investigator, working for their new Nazi overlords, to obtain useful intelligence. When a senior German general’s niece is killed, and her remains rearranged into a bizarre echo of a floral display, the pressure is on to find the killer. Only Jan realises this death may be linked to other, similar killings around the city that the Germans will not deign to investigate, setting him on the trail of the serial killer known as The Artist…

Douglas Jackson is the author of seventeen historical novels and mystery thrillers published by Transworld/PRH, including the critically acclaimed nine-book Hero of Rome series. He was born in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders and now lives in Stirling. Originally a journalist by profession he rose to become Assistant Editor of The Scotsman before leaving to be a full-time writer in 2009.

Craig Lye says: ‘Everyone at Canelo has been a fan of Douglas’ writing for many years, and so we are delighted to welcome him aboard with this incredible series of novels.

‘In Blood Roses, a dark serial killer investigation is married to an equally dark period in Poland’s history to create an unputdownable historical crime thriller. Douglas’ deft prose and dialogue pulled me in from the first page, and I felt as though I was living Jan’s experiences with him through the novel, so real does he seem. Fans of historical crime fiction are going to love this!’

Douglas Jackson says: ‘I’ve been hugely impressed by the enthusiasm shown by all at Canelo for Blood Roses and the Warsaw Quartet. The story of Jan Kalisz and Warsaw’s ordeal through five years of brutal occupation is close to my heart and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to bring it to the reading community with the support of such a forward-looking and innovative company.’

Blood Roses will be published in February 2024, in paperback and ebook, with the second novel to follow in November 2024. For more information please contact kate@canelo.co