Rowling reveals plot, title of new book

LONDON, April 12 (UPI) -- British author J.K. Rowling says on her Web site her first novel for adult audiences will be called "The Casual Vacancy" and published in September.

Rowling is the author of the best-selling Harry Potter series of children's fantasy books.

"When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock," a synopsis of Rowling's latest effort said on her official Web site Thursday.

"Seemingly an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war," the synopsis said. "Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?"

The book is set for release Sept. 27 in the United Kingdom and United States.