Hodder UK, part of Hachette, has acquired bestselling author John Grisham’s latest thriller, The French Illusion, for publication in September 2026.
The French Illusion is described as a “gripping, suspenseful page-turner” about a Paris honeymoon gone horribly wrong, and the nightmare that follows.
The blurb reads: “After Paul and Chelsea Tanner’s fairy tale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would target them, and why? It turns out this is not the first crime of its kind. The search for answers soon stretches across borders, with the FBI, CIA and French Intelligence trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Struggling to find answers, a young lawyer is recruited to be the bait in an elaborate CIA operation.”
Grisham said: “When I’m not reading legal thrillers, I enjoy espionage and spy stories. As a writer, I have been influenced by Ken Follett, John le Carré, Robert Ludlum and Len Deighton. Many of the elements that make legal thrillers compelling – high stakes, hidden motives, intricate plots and shady characters – also propel the best espionage fiction. The French Illusion is my first attempt to follow the craftsmanship of some of the great international suspense novelists.”
Hodder MD Jennifer Wilson and Oliver Johnson, Grisham’s longtime UK editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from David Gernert at the Gernert Company in New York. Doubleday will publish simultaneously in the US.
Johnson said: “As well as being the world’s bestselling thriller writer, John Grisham constantly surprises us. In The French Illusion he transports us to a country we think we know and love, but where dark secrets are hidden and where seemingly mundane events suddenly turn into life-or-death calamities. Propulsive and impossible to put down, The French Illusion will delight both the millions of Grisham fans and new readers alike.”
