Ann Turner's The Lost Swimmer.
The Dressmaker's Sue Maslin will produce The Lost Swimmer, adapted from Ann Turner's novel by the author herself, with script development funding from Screen Australia.
Published by Simon and Schuster in June 2015 and immediately optioned by Film Art Media, The Lost Swimmer is described as "a tense psychological thriller about the secrets in a marriage and the consequences of love and trust."
The novel's central character is Rebecca Wilding, an archaeology professor who fears her husband Stephen is having an affair.
After she is accused of serious fraud in the workplace, Rebecca leaves with Stephen for Greece, Italy and Paris, where she can uncover the conspiracy against her and hopefully rekindle her relationship.
But on the idyllic Amalfi coast, Stephen goes swimming and doesn’t come back. Rebecca falls under suspicion for his murder. As Don LaFontaine would have put it: Rebecca must uncover the truth or lose everything.
Maslin described Turner's debut novel as a "brilliant suspense thriller, and we are delighted to be working with her to adapt The Lost Swimmer into a film with international audience appeal."
"The Dressmaker was also an adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s novel of the same title, and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that audiences embrace films based on highly visual and emotionally engaging novels begging to be told on the big screen. The Lost Swimmer is exactly this kind of story."
As well as writing the screenplay, Turner will co-produce. The novelist said she was "absolutely thrilled to be working with Sue Maslin and Film Art Media."
"Sue is such a talented creative producer with a fantastic understanding of script and storytelling. I really look forward to developing, with Sue, a tense and cinematic psychological thriller, with great roles for actors and stunning locations. I’m keen to bring all that I have learnt through writing the novel, with help from my wonderful Managing Editor at Simon and Schuster, Roberta Ivers, and take that into the creative process of writing the screenplay. It’s exciting to live in a world where careers can flow between mediums.”
The Lost Swimmer will be published in the UK this month.