Victoria Zackheim’s Level Best Books (LBB) has secured a three‑book mystery series featuring San Francisco journalist Aria Nevins and Paris Homicide Inspector Noah Roche. The first volume, The Curtain Falls in Paris, was drafted in the late 1990s and finally published after extensive revisions. The second book, Murder at Hotel Gloriosa, was released on September 15, and the third, slated for next year, is currently in progress.
In April, Ballantine published Death Times Seven, a posthumous Daniel Pitt novel completed by Zackheim after the death of author Anne Perry in December 2022. Perry had finished an outline and the first nine chapters before her passing. Ballantine’s editors, Susanna Porter and Anusha Khan, worked closely with Zackheim from outline to final draft, responding within hours and even on weekends.
Zackheim praised the responsiveness of both publishers, noting that LBB’s small team provided quick editorial feedback, while Ballantine’s experienced editors offered thorough support. She also highlighted the collaborative effort with Perry’s UK and US literary agents, Meg Davis and Donald Maass, to preserve Perry’s voice.
Marketing for the Ballantine title is handled by Perry’s literary estate, allowing Zackheim to arrange events such as Book Passage in Corte Madera and Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. She remains active in writing, teaching a UCLA course, and freelancing as an editor.