A&U acquires Jenkins’s “Bad Neighbours”

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to forthcoming crime novel Bad Neighbours by Joanna Jenkins via Gaby Naher of The Naher Agency.

Featuring Ruth Dawson, the main character from Jenkins’s previous novels, Bad Neighbours finds Dawson living in art deco building The Lumen in Sydney’s Potts Point.

When Ben – an unhoused man who has been living in the garden – dies, “the residents of The Lumen do little to hide their relief at this resolution of what they called ‘the Ben problem’.” “And they’re not happy when Ruth Dawson brings Detective Sharon Messer in. Ben was poisoned. And one of the residents was involved.”

A&U acquiring publisher Annette Barlow said, “Jenkins’s plot twists and red herrings kept me glued to the pages in this fabulous third crime novel and her ongoing main character, lawyer/sleuth Ruth Dawson, remains a delight – spiky, funny and smart at every turn.”

Jenkins said, “Writing books about the dark side of capitalism and Big Law is the best gig I’ve ever had. Working with Annette and the great team at Allen & Unwin makes it even better.”

Brisbane-based Jenkins graduated from the University of Queensland with degrees in English literature and law and practised as a solicitor, including for many years as a partner of an international law firm. She now writes full-time. Her previous books are How to Kill a Client (2023, A&U) and The Bluff (2025, A&U).

A&U plans to publish Bad Neighbours in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in August 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions