by Kerstin Hall
First published 2024
Karys Eska speaks with the dead for a living. She made a binding pact with Sabaster, a three-faced, hundred-winged entity that gave her this power. In her troubled city, she uses her abilities to solve suspicious deaths and pay her bills. A routine investigation goes wrong when she meets Ferain, a dying man with secrets who offers her enormous payment for help. To save his life, Karys accidentally ties him to her shadow. This binding threatens to destroy them both. Neither trusts the other, but survival demands they work together. They travel toward the center of a crumbling empire while arcane horrors pursue them. The ghosts of their past decisions follow close behind. Karys knows her debts to Sabaster will eventually come due, and the price may be more than she can bear.
Genres: mystery, fantasy, supernatural, urban-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Empire
432 pages · Hardcover · Tor Books
Content warnings: death