Hamish McAlpine's expanding production outfit Tartan Films has teamed with Mike Downey and Sam Taylor's F&ME to board Killer On The Road.

The project is an adaptation of legendary crime novelist James Elroy's classic serial killer novel about "sexecutioner" Martin Plunkett and a policeman who himself has a murderous past.

The team have yet to appoint a director and cast but are aiming to see the film in production by next Spring with a budget under $10m.

"Working with Hamish's Tartan, which has make films of this genre such as Suspicious River and Ted Bundy, means we don't have to reinvent the wheel," said F&ME' managing director Downey. Previous adaptations of Elroy books have included LA Confidential, Cop and Dark Blue and the forthcoming My Dark Places.