AUTHOR Simon McCleave has announced that he has just signed a deal with publishing giant Harper Collins (Avon) to write a new crime series based on the Isle of Anglesey.

The new series features former Detective Inspector, Laura Hart, an experienced hostage negotiator who gave up her successful career in the police following a personal tragedy.

In the first book in the series, she finds that the quiet life she sought after moving to Anglesey is hard to find as a drugs gang take passengers onboard a sightseeing cruise hostage, including Laura’s own son.

Helen Huthwaite, publishing director at Harper Collins, said: "I couldn’t be more delighted to tie up this deal with Simon. It is a huge privilege to welcome such a talented author to the list.

“He mixes the perfect amount of tension and suspense with memorable characters and equally memorable settings, all of which he paints in vivid detail.

“With legions of fans already hooked on his fantastic Snowdonia books, we know that the time is right to launch a new Welsh series from him and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of readers everywhere."

Simon, a bestselling crime novelist who lives in North Wales with his wife and two children, said: "I'm so excited to be working with the Harper Collins (Avon) team.

“Their vision for my new Anglesey crime series is brilliant and I knew from the very beginning that my work was in good hands.

“I can't wait for my readers to let me know what they think."

His first book, 'The Snowdonia Killings', was released in January 2020 and soon became a bestseller, reaching number one in the UK Kindle Chart and selling more than 250,000 copies.

He has sold over one million books to date. His highly successful London-based DI Ruth Hunter books, set in the late 1990s, have just been snapped up for an audiobook series by market leader WF Howes.

The Snowdonia-based DI Ruth Hunter books are now set to be filmed as a major new television series, with shooting to begin in North Wales in 2022.