William Ryan's acclaimed debut novel, The Holy Thief, is the first in a series of cases and adventures for Alexei Korolev, a detective working for the Moscow Criminal Investigation Division in 1930s Russia. The Holy Thief was a finalist for the 2010 Crime Writers' Association John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, and shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award and the 2011 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The Holy Thief was followed by the second Korolev novel, The Bloody Meadow, published in 2011. William lives with his family in west London.

RIGHTS SOLD: UK: Macmillan; US: St Martin's Press; Germany: Heyne; France: Editions des Deux Terres; Serbia: Alnari; Poland: ZNAK; Spain: Editorial Roca; Italy: Cairo; Czech Republic: BB Art; Greece: Dioptra

Author photo © Kate Eshelby