First published 2006
Lola Galley patrols empty streets under the full moon, hunting lycanthropes who break curfew. In this world, most people transform into wolves monthly and lock themselves away safely. But Lola was born different. She stays human always, drafted into DORLA at eighteen to police the others. The agency assigns her to defend a curfew breaker who attacked her friend. Lola hates the case but takes it anyway. Then someone murders her injured friend before the trial begins. The killer walks free while Lola's client faces charges for a lesser crime. Lola wants the real murderer caught. She digs into the case, but the truth splits her world further apart. DORLA has enforced these laws since the Inquisition created the department centuries ago. Citizens still hate the agency and its agents. They call people like Lola "barebacks" as an insult. She endures the slurs and the danger because someone must keep order. But this murder case forces her to question everything she believes about justice.
Genres: mystery, fantasy, action, urban-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: DORLA
Period: Inquisition
384 pages · Paperback · Jonathan Cape
Content warnings: violence