Orion Acquires Ian Rankin’s First Standalone Thriller in 20 Years

The Orion Publishing Group has acquired The Heights, the first standalone thriller in nearly two decades by Ian Rankin. The novel is an expanded version of a short story originally published as The Rise by Amazon Original Stories.

Publisher Emad Akhtar acquired UK and Commonwealth, including print, e-book and audiobook rights in a deal with Jon Wood at Rogers, Coleridge & White.

The blurb reads: “The Heights: a gleaming, high-end high-rise looming over Hyde Park. Newly built from steel and smoked glass, a billionaire’s playground offering sumptuous suites for the global elite. But when a night concierge is found murdered in the lobby, the building’s rarefied atmosphere is shattered, and the gilded lives within come under intense police scrutiny.

“In a world designed to keep prying eyes out, where the residents are not used to being held to account, born-and-bred Londoner Detective Gillian Gish must find a way past their power, wealth and unimaginable influence. The rules may be different at the top – but is anyone truly above the law? Or could it be that the higher you rise, the further you fall…?"

Rankin said: “I hope readers have as much fun with this as I had writing it. A web of charismatic characters, all with something to hide; the darkness lying just below the glittering surface of monied London; and a young streetwise cop who is ready to pick apart their lives and reveal their demons. This is a city few of us will ever inhabit and one of the most exciting writing experiences of my life.”