Canelo Crime swoop for two crime thrillers by Morgan Greene

Commissioning Editor Kit Nevile has acquired World English language rights to Savage Ridge, and follow up standalone Hope Springs, by Morgan Greene from Viola Hayden at Curtis Brown in a two-book deal. 

Combining the captivating small-town feel of We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker, with the cold case whydunit intrigue of Scrublands by Chris Hammer, Savage Ridge is a dual timeline narrative, set in the American Pacific Northwest. It follows three friends who murder their high school classmate, Sammy Saint John, getting away scot free. Ten years later, private investigator Sloane Yo, funded by the victim’s family, has them in her sights. But as the net tightens around the friends, it does too around the tyrannical family who’ve run the town of Savage Ridge for years, the Saint Johns. What is it they aren’t telling Sloane… and what if Sammy isn’t the only victim she should be avenging?

Morgan Greene is the pen name of British author Daniel Morgan. He grew up in Wales and studied Creative Writing and English Literature at Swansea University with a focus on narrative structure and theory. Author of the bestselling Jamie Johansson series, Daniel currently lives in southern British Columbia, Canada, with his partner and snow-loving collie.

Nevile says: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that Savage Ridge is going to be a huge success. Already a runaway bestseller in the self-published space, Morgan’s writing is a mesmeric blend of simmering atmosphere, tightly wound mystery plotting and profound characterisation, examining the critical flaws that exist in us all. It is a dark and suffocating crime story in all the most enrapturing ways, and one of the best books I’ve read in a long, long time.’

Greene says: ‘Savage Ridge is definitely a different type of book to the Jamie Johansson series, placing its focus on the characters and the far-reaching aftershocks of their actions, rather than the crime itself. It operates on both sides of the moral scale, tipping it one way and then the other. Everyone knows the regular beats of a crime novel, but this story, hopefully, takes the reader somewhere they might not have been before. I really wanted to make the book distinct from the types of stories I’d already put out there. And when Canelo came back to us with such positivity, echoing all of the things I really wanted readers to experience, I knew they were the right choice. I can’t wait for readers to sink their teeth into the story.’

Hayden says: ‘I am absolutely thrilled that Canelo will be publishing Savage Ridge and Hope Springs, and grateful to have found a true champion in Kit. From the first moment I opened the manuscript, I was totally hooked by Daniel’s writing – he is a major talent, and I can’t wait for readers to be introduced to these incredible new crime novels.

Savage Ridge will be published in March 2024 in ebook and mass market paperback, with Hope Springs, another small-town crime thriller, to follow in September 2024. For more information please contact [email protected]