Maxine Hitchcock, publishing director for fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights including audio. North American rights were snapped up by Sarah Stein at HarperCollins in a six-figure deal via Jenny Bent at the Bent Agency. 

The first book, The Wrong Sister, will be published in spring 2024 and will be Douglas’ first outing in hardback. Set between Bristol and Venice, the novel follows two sisters whose lives become dangerously entangled. 

Claire commented for The Bookseller: “I’m delighted to have signed for a further two novels and my first hardback. The brilliant team at Penguin Michael Joseph, led by the wonderful Maxine Hitchcock, are a dream to work with and have taken my career from strength to strength with their hard work and dedication. I’m also so grateful to Juliet and everyone at Mushens Entertainment for all the amazing work they do behind the scenes. It’s been such an exciting few years in my writing career and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.” 

Maxine added: “It’s been sheer pleasure to see Claire become the number one bestseller she so deserves to be. Her novels marry almost unbearably tense plots which could be ripped from the headlines with characters who engage on a deep emotional level and it’s why she is building such a wide and loyal readership. We know that Claire can achieve even more success, in the UK and across the globe, and are so proud to be her publishing home.”