Viking to publish ‘taut, atmospheric’ new novel by Tana French

Viking has acquired The Keeper by Sunday Times bestseller Tana French, author of In the Woods and The Searcher.

Harriet Bourton, publishing director at Viking Fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Darley Anderson at the Darley Anderson Agency, with publication scheduled for 2nd April 2026.

Set in rural West of Ireland, The Keeper tells the story of a young woman found dead in the river that runs through the townland. Cal Hooper, the retired Chicago detective featured in French’s two previous novels, is pulled into a mystery that unravels generations-old grudges, buried secrets and longstanding power struggles in a conflict that endangers the whole village.

Bourton said: “The Keeper is Tana French at her very best: taut, atmospheric and alive with psychological depth. It is a story about love, loyalty and the corrosive pull of obligation, told with Tana’s signature mastery of suspense and character, and an incredibly satisfying conclusion for readers who have followed Cal’s story so far. Tana is unrivalled when it comes to excavating the moral and emotional heart of crime, and The Keeper cements her place as one of the greatest novelists working today.”

French said: “Cal came to this townland as an outsider, but now he’s learning what it means to be an insider, in a tight-knit community that’s under threat both from inside and out, and where generations of history are part of every relationship and every conflict. I wanted to write about what it means to belong somewhere – the rewards that it offers, the demands it makes and the intricate bargains it can require when things get rough."