Bantam Books Acquires Two Frances Neagley Thrillers Co-Written By Lee Child and Yasmin Angoe

Bantam Books has acquired two new thrillers by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child featuring Frances Neagley, the iconic former U.S. Army Master Sergeant, from the bestselling Jack Reacher novels.

The first novel, ZERO MARGIN, co-written with acclaimed thriller writer Yasmin Angoe, will be published in March 2027. World English rights for the books were acquired by Kara Cesare from Darley Anderson of Darley Anderson Literary. Yasmin Angoe is represented by Melissa Edwards at Stonesong.

First introduced in WITHOUT FAIL, Frances Neagley quickly became one of the most enduring and beloved characters in the Reacher novels. Brilliant, fiercely self-reliant, and guided by an uncompromising sense of justice, Neagley has never been anyone’s sidekick—not even Reacher’s. She has always operated as his equal, earning readers’ admiration with every appearance. Now, Neagley takes center stage in a series of her own.

In ZERO MARGIN, Neagley lives by a simple set of rules: protect the innocent, expose the guilty, leave no one behind. When a desperate encrypted call reconnects her with her former commanding officer and now a wealthy CEO of a top security company, Neagley is drawn into a race to rescue her kidnapped son from a covert syndicate that operates beyond the reach of governments, borders, or the law.

“Readers love Neagley because she doesn’t need anyone—not even Reacher,” said Lee Child. “She’s smart, capable, and relentlessly effective. It was time she got her own story, and I loved working with Yasmin, who has done a tremendous job bringing that story to life.”

“Working with Lee has been a dream,” said Yasmin Angoe. “Opportunities like this don’t come along often so I was deeply honored to have the chance to learn from one of the great thriller writers. He welcomed me into the Reacher universe and trusted me with Frances Neagley, which is something I’ll always appreciate.”

In addition, this September 16 ^th, Amazon Prime Video will debut a brand-new Neagley television series, NEAGLEY starring Maria Sten, following the success of the Amazon Prime Video series, REACHER, now in its fourth season, debuting this August 12 ^th.

Lee Child is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages. The newest Jack Reacher thriller, CHAIN REACTION, will be published in hardcover on October 20 ^th.

Yasmin Angoe is the author of the critically acclaimed international espionage thriller Her Name Is Knight, the domestic psychological suspense novels Not What She Seems and Behind These Four Walls, and the young adult fantasy horror novel She Drinks the Light.

Bantam Books is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.