Mountain Leopard Press Buys Two More Destination Thrillers from Kate Gray
Headline’s Mountain Leopard Press has signed up two more destination thrillers from author Kate Gray. Kate’s debut thriller, The Honeymoon, published in 2023 and her second, The Summer Party, recently published in paperback. Editorial Director Beth Wickington bought UK & Commonwealth rights in Welcome to the Family and an untitled fourth novel from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment. Welcome to the Family will publish in hardback in Spring 2026.
For sisters-in-law Rosie Riley and Fenna Fraser, the summer holiday to Italy can’t come soon enough. Rosie will meet the Fraser family for the first time and Fenna is craving some respite from being a full-time mum. But when everyone has arrived and the niceties have been performed, dark secrets start to creep out from the shadows. The idyllic Tuscan village has been haunted by the mystery of a missing girl for years and all of the locals’ eyes have been turned on the Fraser family ever since. What starts as the perfect holiday will end with one of the two women arrested for murder. Who is guilty? Who is the victim? And did they deserve it?
Kate Gray said: ‘I am delighted to be working with the talented Mountain Leopard Press team, especially my editor Beth Wickington, for two more destination thrillers. Welcome to the Family is set during a sweltering family holiday in Tuscany – where every guest has something to hide and not everyone will return home. I was inspired by the idea of a fortnight with your in-laws turning into a nightmare beyond belief. After all, sometimes the perfect family is the perfect lie. It’s been so much fun coming up with even more twists than my previous two psychological thrillers. I can’t wait to share these sunny suspense stories with readers.’
Juliet Mushens said: ‘I love how Kate takes us to a gorgeous destination before shocking us with twist after turn – her books are addictive as well as aspirational and I’m delighted to have two more signed up with MLP.’
Beth Wickington, Editorial Director at Mountain Leopard Press, said: ‘Kate is the master of turning the most gorgeous and luxurious destinations into a twisty, turny murderous nightmare. She has had readers on the edge of their seats with her first two thrillers and she is taking her addictive writing to a whole new level with Welcome to the Family. Meeting the in-laws in the stunning Tuscan countryside ends in a shocking murder? Sign me up! I am thrilled to publish Kate on the Mountain Leopard Press list and I can’t wait to see her turn every holiday destination into a deadly paradise.
Before becoming a full-time author, Kate Gray worked in public relations and was a freelance journalist. Her work has been featured in Stylist, Marie Claire, and national newspapers. She runs writing workshops and offers coaching for debut novelists. She has published two thrillers, The Honeymoon and The Summer Party, and has also written six commercial women’s fiction novels as Katy Colins. She lives in North Yorkshire.
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