Town of Shadows

“Town of Shadows kept me on my toes and up way too late. This engrossing historical fantasy brings a great twist on forbidden magic, has characters that are deliciously complicated, and a hard charging plot with plenty of twists. One of the best new series I’ve read in a very long time! Fans of Charlie N. Holmberg and Luanne G. Smith will want to hop on board this Victorian train.” — Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Invisible College series

In Victorian London, magic earns you a noose.

Eighteen-year-old Dorothy St. James can’t control her magic. To avoid arrest, she locks herself at home and buries her nose in her experiments. But a kidnapper called the Rook is on the loose, and his victims keep turning up insane. When Dorothy’s father is taken, she must exchange her beakers for bravery and find the Rook’s trail—the problem is, only one person ever has: a mysterious masked hero.

Ashley Gardner unabashedly casts illusions, using his charm to flit between the upper ton and the magical underbelly below. When Dorothy accuses him of knowing the masked hero’s identity, he flatly denies it. Until the clever beauty intercepts a communique he desperately needs.

They strike a bargain: she’ll give him the message in exchange for three clues to point her in the right direction. But Ashley won’t make them easy. In fact, he’ll make them impossible, because he has his own dangerous reasons for keeping Dorothy away—and Ashley always gets what he wants.

Through dazzling ballets, wild carnivals, and death-defying train rides, Dorothy must use her wits and magic to solve Ashley’s riddles and unravel her budding feelings for the illusionist mastermind behind them. The masked hero isn’t who she believes, and the Rook is closer than she suspects. While the game was always rigged against her, returning her father—mind intact—might just cheat her out of a heart too.