Del Rey scoops ‘chilling, original’ novel set in the world of comic series Something Is Killing the Children

Del Rey, an imprint of PRH, has acquired Hope Is a Knife, the first full-length novel set in the world of the comic series Something Is Killing the Children.

UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired by Kate McHale, editorial director at Del Rey, from Rachel Berkowitz at Crown. World English rights were negotiated by Christy Fletcher at UTA on behalf of BOOM! Studios and author James Tynion IV with Aaron Wehner, executive vice-president and director of business development for the Crown Publishing Group.

Lori Kusatzky at Crown will edit the novel. Horror author Kiersten White, Tynion’s co-writer, is represented by Wolfson Literary. Translation rights are being handled by UTA.

Hope Is a Knife serves as the prequel to Tynion and co-creator Werther Dell’Edera’s Something Is Killing the Children universe. The blurb reads: “As a Black Mask, Erica Slaughter has a very straightforward job: find the monster, kill the monster, then do it all again. But when she arrives in Badwater, Idaho, nothing is simple.

“She can’t determine whether the horrific death of a 12-year-old was caused by a bear, a person or something much worse. Complicating matters is the charismatic doomsday preacher who is quickly leading the small town to the verge of hysteria. If Erica wants to save the surviving children, she has to figure out which kid’s fears might have summoned a monster – and fast.”

Tynion said: “Something Is Killing the Children has always been about how we process and react to horror in the world around us, and it has been a thrill to work with Kiersten to use prose to dig into the deepest, darkest parts of Erica Slaughter’s psychology. I’m so excited for new readers to enter the Slaughterverse through this novel, and for long-time fans to experience an Erica Slaughter story unlike any they’ve seen before."

White added: “Erica Slaughter is one of the most compelling characters in modern horror. Writing Hope Is a Knife meant embracing the raw terror and moral complexity of her world – where children’s fears are deadly real and survival demands impossible choices. I’m thrilled to help bring the universe of SIKTC to life in a new form.”