One of the publishing world's most closely guarded secrets -- the latest book in the best-selling Harry Potter series -- has been let out of the bag and left in a field.

Publishers of author J.K. Rowling's latest boy wizard saga launched an investigation Tuesday after The Sun newspaper reported that advance copies of the much-anticipated fifth instalment were found in a field in eastern England.

They believe two first editions of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' -- due for release June 21 -- had been stolen from a nearby printworks.

"The matter is currently under investigation, with the suspicion that theft is involved,'' Rowling's publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing, and agent said in a joint statement.

Bloomsbury said it had not reported the incident to police and declined to give more details, Reuters reported.

The Sun said the copies were found Monday by a 40-year-old father-of-two as he walked near a printworks in the small town of Bungay, Suffolk. It said the man contacted the paper and handed over the books.

The copies will be returned to the publishers and no details of the plot will be printed in the paper, the Sun said.

Printer Clays Ltd. -- located close to where the discovery was made -- is printing hundreds of thousands of copies of the new book. The company declined to comment on the incident, Reuters reported.

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