In the UK, Mark Billingham is a national treasure, one of the most popular and celebrated crime writers on the island. Though he came to mystery novels only after turns at acting, stand-up comedy, and television writing, his Tom Thorne novels have all been best-sellers across the pond, and he  was the first two-time winner of the prestigious Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award.

The Thorne novels are now being reintroduced in print to mystery fans on this side of the Atlantic by, appropriately enough, Atlantic Monthly Press. Last month, HighBridge published the most recent, The Dying Hours, thrillingly read by Billingham himself, on audio. Now I’m hugely pleased to announce that we’ve also acquired rights to three more Thorne titles, including the first two in the series, Sleepyhead and Scaredy Cat (the latter a winner of the Sherlock Award). Those two audiobooks will release the end of October 2013, while From the Dead will pub simultaneously with the new Atlantic Monthly print edition in January 2014.

Start with any of them, but do start. The Daily Mirror calls Billingham “a real contender for the title of nation’s top crime writer.” Have a listen, and you’ll find out why.