by K.J. Charles
First published 2025
Zeb Wyckham travels to Lackaday House on Dartmoor, dreading whatever unpleasantness awaits him at his wealthy relative's Gothic estate. The gathering proves worse than expected. His estranged brother attends, along with his sneering cousin and Gideon Grey, the former lover who shattered his heart. The house's master announces his scheme: whichever guest marries his young ward will claim the entire family fortune. Zeb wants no part in this mercenary competition, but escape proves impossible. The gates stay locked, the walls tower too high, and thick Dartmoor mist engulfs the property. Inside the manor, unseen eyes watch from dark corners. Violence breaks out among the trapped guests as greed consumes them. Terror takes hold as the gaslight grows dim. Zeb realizes he can trust only one person in this deadly game: Gideon, despite their painful history. Together they must uncover the sinister secrets lurking within Lackaday House and survive until dawn.
Genres: romance, mystery, adult, adult-fiction, thriller, gothic
Vibes: atmospheric, claustrophobic, dark, gothic, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, mystery-to-solve, second-chance-romance, trapped-together
Setting: Lackaday House, Dartmoor
Period: 19th-century
343 pages · Paperback · Poisoned Pen Press
Content warnings: death, murder, violence