New 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Book Stolen By Thieves

Penguin Random House should have probably considered borrowing some of Christian Grey's cable ties to secure all those unpublished manuscripts to their desks, because the new Fifty Shades book has been stolen. Grey , E.L. James newest addition to the Fifty Shades of Grey empire is scheduled to hit shelves on June 18, but it may find its way out into the world sooner — the publisher discovered it missing on Tuesday. Now the Daily Mail reports that "it is feared thieves may be planning to release pirated versions of the novel, or sell extracts to media outlets."

Penguin Random House promises the book will still be available to readers next week on Christian's fictional birthday, as planned. Other than that though, according to The Guardian, they're not commenting “due to an ongoing police investigation.”

Inspired by readers eager to hear the story from Christian's point of view, E.L. James wrote Grey as a retelling of the first novel in the Fifty Shades trilogy through Christian's voice. "As anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story." James said, quoted by BBC News.

There are two sides to the all the buzz (really, more like a roar) around Fifty Shades of Grey, as well. The first film adaptation of the novel was released in theaters this past Valentines Day, amidst protests by domestic abuse prevention campaigns in the United States and around the world, which criticize the trilogy for romanticizing domestic violence. Other non-fans argue that, while there's nothing wrong with a mutually-enjoyed dose of BDSM, the suggestion that such a lifestyle stems from trauma, rather than a healthy sexual interest, is offensive.

Fans might win out on this one, though. The trilogy has sold more than 125 million copies since it was first released in 2011, and each book has spent weeks at the top of bestseller lists. The not-yet-released novel has already ranked at the top of Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's bestseller lists in preorders. So love him or hate him, Christian Grey is probably here to stay.