According to Deadline, Universal Pictures has landed City of Saints and Thieves, Natalie C. Anderson’s bestselling debut novel. Melina Matsoukas (HBO’s Insecure) is being eyed to direct. Will Packer’s Will Packer Productions and Kerry Washington’s Simpson Street are in talks to produce.

The story follows Tina and her mother who flee the Congo as refugees. They arrive in Kenya where Tina’s mother finds work as a maid for a prominent family, the Greyhills. Tina discovers that the Greyhill fortune is built on dirty money, and her mother winds up being murdered. Tina joins a local gang and plots revenge. The thriller follows the twists and turns as Tina finally uncovers the startling truth about who killed her mother and why.

Washington, star of TV’s Scandal, is set to star in a new film also based on a thriller novel – The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy. Washington will also produce along with Amy Pascal.