HarperNorth has acquired Claire Quinn’s The Games We Play, a ‘gripping debut thriller about friendship, rivalry and the long shadows of the promises we make when we’re young.’ Fiction Commissioning Editor Megan Jones bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Caroline Hardman. German rights have been pre-empted by Heyne.

The Games We Play will be published in paperback, ebook and audio next July.

The acquisition statement reads: ‘Ali, Erin and Sophie always make time to get away together. Friends since childhood, and now with a wedding looming, the three have moved on from the secret that bound them together as teenagers. Or have they?

‘As the annual couples trip looms, a drunken game and a weekend of revelations threatens to unravel everything. Has it been love or fear holding them together, and if one of them cracks, will any of them survive?’

Claire Quinn said: “I am absolutely thrilled that HarperNorth will be publishing The Games We Play. As a proud northerner, it feels like the perfect home for my book. It’s wonderful to be working with Megan and the rest of the dynamic team, and I can’t wait for readers to delve into the beautiful, toxic friendships at the heart of my debut novel.”

Megan Jones added: “Claire depicts the dynamics of friendship so brilliantly that I was hooked the moment I started reading. I can’t wait to publish her debut!”

The Bookbrunch article can be read here.