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HarperCollins has beaten four other publishers in a "heated" auction to buy three books in a conspiracy trilogy called Sanctus by Simon Toyne.
Julia Wisdom, publisher for crime and thrillers, paid a substantial six-figure sum for UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in a deal brokered by Alice Saunders at LAW.
The first novel in the trilogy, entitled Sanctus, will be published in spring 2011. HarperCollins is planning a massive consumer campaign for the hardback launch.
Wisdom described the series as a "modern, massively high-concept thriller".
It is set in a city called Ruin in south Turkey. Inside the city is the Citadel, a massive pinnacle of rock closed off from the outside world.
The book opens with a man escaping from prison. He climbs to the summit of the Citadel and stands there in the shape of a 'T'. As the world's media watches, he plunges to his death. Hidden on his body is a clue to a secret he has discovered about the Citadel.
Wisdom said: "The opening chapters blew me away in their scope and ingenuity; it was one of the most evocative openings to any novel I have ever read. The premise for Sanctus, the author's extraordinary visual imagination, the cleverness of the plotting and the brilliant pay-off had me riveted.
"The in-house response was overwhelming—everyone who has read the novel agrees with me that Simon is a fantastic talent with an incredibly bright future ahead of him. Our sister companies across the world are equally excited about this acquisition and HarperCollins has the opportunity to make a global impact with Simon and the Sanctus trilogy."
North American rights have been bought by David Highfill at HarperCollins US imprint Morrow. Foreign rights have been sold into Holland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Spain and China.