Emad Akhtar, Publisher at Orion Fiction, has acquired World Rights for four WWII crime novels featuring Paris detective Eddie Giral by translator, travel writer and author Chris Lloyd.
The deal was done with Ella Kahn at DKW Literary Agency with the first, THE UNWANTED DEAD, to publish this September.
The series begins on the day the Nazis march into Paris in June 1940, and each book in the series will follow Paris police detective Eddie Giral as he navigates the new regime and the resistance – playing off both sides for his survival and losing himself in the process.
Perfect for fans for Philip Kerr, Alan Furst, Mick Herron and sophisticated, character-driven crime fiction – this is the first in a daring new series which in which the reader will follow the unravelling of Detective Eddie Giral.
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Blurb:
“War creates strangers of ourselves. We never come back from that.”
Paris, Friday 14 June 1940.
The first day of the Nazi occupation of Paris. It made headlines around the world. Forgotten amid the sanctioned killing of war, four Polish refugees are found dead – gassed in a railway container. A fifth commits suicide later that day.
Paris police detective Eddie Giral – a survivor of the last World War – watches helplessly on as his world changes forever. But there is something he still has control over. Finding whoever is responsible for the four dead refugees. The unwanted dead, who no one wants to claim.
To do so, he must tread carefully between the Occupation and the Resistance, between truth and lies, between the man he is and the man he was. All the while becoming whoever he must be to survive in this new, and terrible order descending on his home.
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Quotes
Emad Akhtar: ‘Eddie Giral is a character with enormous depth – a survivor of the first world war, who finds himself an unwilling participant in the second when it comes to his city. His inner struggle – which asks what justice is when the ruling order holds alien values – has a lot to say about what is going on in the world today. Beyond that, Lloyd’s WWII Paris is intensely researched, vividly drawn, full of memorable characters, gripping suspense, and hides many secrets for the reader to discover. I hope one day Eddie will deserve to be spoken of in the same breath as Philip Kerr’s inimitable Bernie Gunther, and I’m incredibly excited about what Chris has achieved here, and for readers to meet Eddie Giral.”
Ella Kahn: ‘In THE UNWANTED DEAD, Chris Lloyd has created a truly fascinating protagonist; Eddie has to carve a path between justice and darkness in unprecedented circumstances, and his journey makes for the most gripping story. Emad Akhtar instinctively understood his character from the start, and it is such a pleasure to be working with him and Chris to publish this magnificent and ambitious new series.’
Chris Lloyd: ‘I’m so delighted to be publishing THE UNWANTED DEAD with Orion. It’s such a privilege to work with Emad, whose vision for the series is incredibly exciting and inspiring; it’s wonderful to be with someone who understands Eddie so completely. And I’m extremely fortunate to be able to count on such an amazing team at Orion: I really couldn’t have wished for a more perfect home for Eddie as he fights to survive the desperate adversities of occupied Paris.’
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