Richard Osman has signed a new four-book deal with publisher Viking including two books in a new series, after he smashed sales records this week with his third book in the Thursday Murder Club series, The Bullet That Missed. The book has become the fastest-selling adult fiction hardback by a British author since BookScan records began, beating the figure previously set by J K Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. Authors Harper Lee and Dan Brown have sold more books, but aren’t British, and E L James was never published in hardback.

Viking snapped up two further Thursday Murder Club novels and two in a new series to launch in 2024. Harriet Bourton, publisher, acquired UK rights from Osman’s agent Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment. 

The fourth book in the series, currently untitled, will publish in September 2023, with the Thursday Murder Club to return in subsequent adventures.

To date Osman has sold 3.1 million books for £25m through Nielsen BookScan TCM, with The Thursday Murder Club on 1.1 million copies sold in paperback.  

Osman will begin a new series in 2024, starring a father and daughter-in-law duo who run their own private investigation company which takes them around the world, solving mysteries that nobody else can. He told BBC News in July that his new series will be "a sort of Thursday Murder Club meets The Da Vinci Code", inspired by a recent visit to a bookshop.

Bourton said: “Since the launch of his debut in 2020, Richard Osman has been entertaining millions of readers around the world who have taken his characters into their hearts. While the gang’s sleuthing will continue in future instalments of The Thursday Murder Club, we are extremely excited that with this new deal Richard will also be introducing us to a new series. The entire Viking team believe in Richard’s longevity as an exceptional storyteller, and this four-book deal marks Penguin’s long-term partnership with him: a career we are endlessly ambitious about.” 

Osman added: “I’m so thrilled to be writing more Thursday Murder Club books at Viking, the gang couldn’t wish for a happier home. And I’ve been secretly excited for a while now about my new series, which I think readers will love. More details soon, I promise, but for now here’s a toast to more Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron, and to some brand-new friends too.”

If you'd like to find out what all the fuss is about, you can order the first three books in the series below, with 10% off RRPs.

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