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Hodder will publish a new novel by Stephen King in June next year.
Mr Mercedes, a serial killer tale described as being “as scary as any supernatural horror story”, was acquired from Chuck Verrill at Darhansoff & Verrill. Hodder has UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada.
The book follows retired homicide detective Bill Hodges, who is haunted by cases he left open, in particular one where a driver in a stolen Mercedes drove through a crowd of hundreds of desperate unemployed people who were lined up for a spot at a job fair in a distressed Midwestern city.
Eight people were killed and 15 wounded, but the killer escaped.
Months later, Hodges gets a letter from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. Brady Hartfield, who lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born, is preparing to kill again, and Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, must apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time.
Editor Philippa Pride said: “Once again King shows the range and versatility of his writing as well as the sheer power of his storytelling.
"We are excited to be publishing a thriller by Stephen King in which he paints a brilliantly insightful portrait of a serial mass-murderer. The result? It is as scary as any supernatural horror story.”
Hodder will publish Mr Mercedes on 3rd June 2014, simultaneously with the US edition, and shortly after the release of the paperback edition of most recent novel Doctor Sleep in May.
Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining, has sold 87,171 copies in hardback via Nielsen BookScan since publication in September.