Earlier today, Hypable announced a new crime series targeted for young adults (YA) that will read like a gritty detective novel focused on the Disney bad guys, City of Villains, written by Estelle Laure.
What’s Happening:
- Disney’s Villains meet Gotham in this gritty fairy tale-inspired crime series.
- Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City police department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar—once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.
- When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster lurking in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.
- This dark and edgy YA series explores the reimagined origins of Maleficent, Ursula, Captain Hook, and other infamous Disney Villains like you’ve never seen before.
- Estelle Laure has written other books in the crime genre with a focus on serial killers, This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, this would be an interesting viewpoint to bring to a YA crime novel focused on Disney Villains.
- The first book in the series is set to hit shelves on February 2nd, 2021.
What They’re Saying:
- Estelle Laure: “Everything about this series is unique for Disney. It features familiar characters as well as some brand new ones, and it’s darker and moodier and the world itself is so different. If you’ve grown up with Disney and now feel like you’ve aged out of it and are eager for something different and more mature in theme, while still getting those beloved and beloathed characters in the mix, this is for you. There’s something so magical about seeing familiar characters like Maleficent and Ursula as teenagers with teen problems and issues, who are ALSO dealing with magic and the problems it causes. There’s a new character at the heart of the story, Mary Elizabeth, who is ambitious and salty, like Buffy or Jessica Jones. Her story is a winding road as she unravels the central mystery of the series, so it functions differently than a lot of Disney stories. Plus there’s a fair bit of romance for a more advanced audience. It’s just the next level for people who are grown but not so grown they don’t welcome revisiting their childhood favorites in a form they can relate to.”