Picador to publish second novel from the Secret Barrister
Picador has acquired the second legal thriller from the Secret Barrister, Kill All the Lawyers, scheduled for publication in hardback, e-book and audiobook in September 2027.
The Secret Barrister is the bestselling and prize-winning anonymous author of three works of non-fiction for Picador – The Secret Barrister, Fake Law and Nothing But the Truth – and one previous novel, The Cut Throat Trial.
In Kill All the Lawyers, Alyx is a bright young barrister of 12 years’ call, waiting for the case that will propel her career to the next level. One afternoon, her clerk calls with a dream offer: there’s a gangland murder trial in need of a prosecution junior, and it has Alyx’s name on it.
The only drawback is that Alyx is not the first junior to have been instructed. The previous junior has disappeared. And when the KC leading Alyx is involved in a terrible accident, she begins to realise that the real challenge in this case isn’t going to be winning the trial. It’s going to be staying alive.
Publishing director Andrea Henry acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Chris Wellbelove at Aitken Alexander Associates.
Henry said: “If you’ve read and loved SB’s agenda-setting non-fiction, it’s a mere side-step to fall in love with their exhilarating, twisty crime fiction. It’s propulsive storytelling at its very best, combining all their knowledge and expertise – accumulated from years as a very busy criminal barrister – with their enviable stylishness on the page and brilliantly sharp wit. SB’s first novel, The Cut Throat Trial, was a powerhouse of a courtroom drama. Hard to believe it’s possible, but Kill All the Lawyers is going to be even better.”
The Secret Barrister said: "I’m giddily excited to announce Kill All the Lawyers, and to dive back into the cesspit of Ableford Crown Court. I am grateful as ever to the wonderful Picador team for the opportunity to bring some wild new characters to life, to revisit some familiar warty faces from The Cut Throat Trial, and, ultimately, to kill off a bunch of lawyers in an act of selfless public service."
