Boston, MA — December 19, 2025
Ruadán Books is delighted to announce that it has signed a nice deal with author Libby Cudmore, via Jim McCarthy of Dystel Goderich & Bourret LLC, for a novel and a short story collection. The works will continue her award-winning Wade & Jacks series begun with the neo-noir thriller Negative Girl and a series of short stories appearing in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine,andTough.
“We are delighted to sign Libby. Negative Girl was one of my favorite reads in 2024 and I am so happy that we can continue the Wade & Jacks series—so many fans want to see what adventures the pair get up to next!”
R. B. Wood, Founder and CEO of Ruadán Books
About her signing, Libby says: “It’s such a thrill to be able to work with Ruadán and continue writing about Martin Wade & Valerie Jacks. I can’t wait to share these stories!”
Previously launched into the novel space with Negative Girl, Cudmore’s PI duo of Martin Wade and Valerie Jacks model a fresh new take on the genre that still embraces bittersweet characters and delivers prime thrills. Combine sharp and superb storytelling with the author’s penchant for infusing music and band references into her work, and you have the literary equivalent of a prized mix tape.
Works in the Wade & Jacks series have won the 2023 Black Orchid Novella Award (Alibi in Ice) and the 2023 Shamus Award for Best PI Short Story (“Charlie’s Medicine”). Negative Girl was a finalist in the Best Standalone Mystery Novel category for the 2025 ITW Thriller Awards.
“We are delighted to sign Libby,” says Ruadán founder and CEO R. B. Wood. “Negative Girl was one of my favorite reads in 2024 and I am so happy that we can continue the Wade & Jacks series—so many fans want to see what adventures the pair get up to next!”
Look for these Wade & Jacks tales to hit Ruadán’s slate in 2027.
About Ruadán Books
Ruadán Books, founded in 2024 to publish unique stories from underappreciated talent, is bringing readers character-driven storytelling in dark speculative fiction, including dark fantasy, horror, thrillers, and crime fiction.
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About Libby Cudmore
Libby Cudmore is the author of novels The Big Rewind and Negative Girl, as well as short fiction published in 120 Murders: Dark Fiction Inspired by the Alternative Era, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Bowery Gothic, and Eleventh Hour Literary, among others. She co-edited the Anthony Award-nominated Lawyers Guns & Money: Crime Fiction Inspired By The Songs of Warren Zevon with Art Taylor. Libby is an alumni of the Barrelhouse Writer’s Camp, the recipient of the Eleventh Hour Inaugural Literary Prize, the Shamus Award, and the Black Orchid Novella Prize, among other honors. She lives in Upstate NY with her husband and two cats.
