After a very successful debut, British-Nigerian author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé announces her second book. Titled Where Sleeping Girls Lie, the new book is a “YA mystery…pitched as Mean Girls with murder.” It will be published by Feiwel and Friends in Spring 2023. Àbíké-Íyímídé announced the news on Instagram, noting how thrilled she was.

Àbíké-Íyímídé grew up in South London and attended college in the Scottish Highlands where she studied English Literature. Her debut novel Ace of Spades is a thriller set in a private school for the wealthy and engages institutional racism against the backdrop of sex, lies, and decadence. It was an instant NYT bestseller,  won her the 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teens, and has racked up 42,737 ratings and 9,307 reviews on Goodreads.

Àbíké-Íyímídé initially signed a million-dollar two-book deal in September 2021, as reported by Publisher’s Lunch. Ace of Spades is the first book. Where Sleeping Girls Lie is likely the second book. It was acquired by Foyinsi Adegbonmire, the Nigerian acquisition editor who brokered the first deal. The novel tells the story of Sade, a home-schooled teenager who begins attending a boarding school, only to be the suspect in a murder case

After being home schooled all her life, Sade begins her third year at a prestigious boarding school and when her roommate goes missing, some suspect Sade, drawing the attention of the school’s three “it” girls. While investigating, Sade discovers there are a lot more secrets from the school and its students that she realized.

Àbíké-Íyímídé recently gave fans some details about the new book:

An elite boarding school in England
A Black muslim MC
Unfriendly Black and Asian Hotties solving crime
Sapphic tension
A stolen Guinea Pig named Muffin

Congrats to Àbíké-Íyímídé! We look forward to reading the new book. In the mean time, follow this link to read her first book.