Ten strangers trapped in a television studio.
Forty-two remote cameras.
Five dead bodies.
One rule: Trust no one.
Penny Thomas, Publisher at award-winning children’s and YA publisher Firefly Press, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to YA thriller Lie or Die by debut author A.J. Clack, from Saskia Leach at Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd.
When a casting call is announced for new reality TV show Lie or Die, Kass is tricked into auditioning by her best friend, Thea. Billed as Big Brother meets Mafia, Lie or Die pits contestants against each other as they try to discover who is a murderous agent and who is an innocent player.
But when contestants start to turn up dead (the real kind, not the fake kind), Kass realises that winning the game is the least of her worries. No longer a game of truth and lies, Kass and her friends are in a fight for survival, believing the world watches in ignorance of their deadly reality.
Can Kass and the remaining contestants find the killer and escape the game before anyone else is murdered?
Firefly Editor, Hayley Fairhead said: ‘In a world where lies are the new truth, who would you believe? A dark, twisty thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat to the very end. I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on this one.’
And A.J. Clack added: ‘Mafia is the perfect murder mystery party game and I always imagined there to be a story in taking it to its extreme. Lie or Die was born from the question: in a game built on lies, when everyone is watching, would you have what it takes to survive? I am beyond excited that the novel has found a home with Penny and the Firefly team and can’t wait to share. So, buckle up: Reality TV just got real.’
The novel is slated for publication in March 2024.
A.J. Clack moved from a small village in Wales to London, to pursue a career in television. She worked on a wide range of shows from Teletubbies to Friends, while also writing plays for the Edinburgh Fringe and development scripts/pilots for children’s television. She now lives in Essex with a houseful of teenagers and can often be found freezing on the side of a rugby pitch.
Lie or Die was a SCWBI Undiscovered Voices 2022 winner and is featured in the UV2022 Anthology.