JK Rowling anticipating X-cellent sales of new book

X MARKS the spot for JK Rowling’s first book since she called time on the Harry Potter saga.

Publishers Little, Brown released a cover shot yesterday ahead of the publication of The Casual Vacancy on 27 September showing what looks like an X on a ballot paper on a red background.

The 512-page novel, the writer’s first for adults, is about an idyllic town ripped apart by a parish council election.

A spokesman for booksellers Waterstones said: “While it is great to see such a bold cover image, it’ll cause frustration among those desperate to find out more about the plot. There are no clues here.

“As ever, the JK Rowling guessing game continues.”

The book is set to be a bestseller with shops already reporting big pre-order demand.

It begins with the unexpected death of Barry Fairbrother, whose demise in his early 40s leaves a space on the parish council.

Little Brown said it would be a “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising” novel, her first novel since the final Potter book in 2007.