The next Cornelia Read?

I say this because a) the acquiring editor is Kristen Weber and b) the agent in question is Rolph Blythe, who is Read’s agent:

Gabriella Herkert’s ANIMAL INSTINCT, about a legal investigator working

a seemingly straightforward missing pet case until it spirals into a

murder investigation, to Kristen Weber at NAL, in a three-book deal, by

Rolph Blythe at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (world).

Herkert has a fairly impressive background, as she’s been shortlisted for the Debut Dagger and the SMP/PWA Private Eye Contest and has written extensively for Writer’s Digest.