Having stormed the New York Times bestsellers list and scooped an Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery, Kate Milford's Greenglass House is now, perhaps inevitably, heading for the screen. Paramount are in final negotiations to snap up the film rights in a six-figure deal, with Ian Bryce (Ninja Turtles, Transformers) set to produce and Joe Ballarini (The Babysitter's Guide To Monsters, My Little Pony) writing the screenplay.
Milford's novel takes place during an unusually busy winter season at the titular ye olde smuggler's inn. Expecting a quiet few months, the innkeeper's son Milo finds himself assailed by unexpected guests, each of whom has a story connected to the house. Teaming up with Meddy, the cook's daughter, he turns detective to start unravelling all the mysteries. Thefts, clues, maps, treasure and hauntings are all in the mix.
It's a standalone story, but Paramount reportedly has its eye on a franchise - and with the book's multiple-narrative structure you could see how that might work. It's early days yet though, with no timescale or director in place so far. Feel free to make Paul Greengrass jokes in the comments below.