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Description
A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with reality-bending magic, and sapphic romance, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author, Melissa Caruso.
In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.
Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can’t help sniffing out trouble—she’s a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.
Everyone knows you shouldn’t get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it’s clearly too late.
Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble.
Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit.
As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can’t help Kem anymore. She’ll have to rely on her wits—and Rika—to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.
For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:
Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
The Unbound Empire
Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower
The Quicksilver Court
The Ivory Tomb
In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.
Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can’t help sniffing out trouble—she’s a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.
Everyone knows you shouldn’t get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it’s clearly too late.
Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble.
Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit.
As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can’t help Kem anymore. She’ll have to rely on her wits—and Rika—to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.
For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:
Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
The Unbound Empire
Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower
The Quicksilver Court
The Ivory Tomb
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Praise
"A charming fantasy mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page—I completely adored this book and would read a dozen more of Kembral's adventures."
—Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
“This book has everything you've been craving: sword fights, time loops, complicated feelings about parenthood, and banter with your sworn enemy. What an absolute delight!"
—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author
“The Last Hour Between Worlds is a masterpiece—filled with excitement, romance, and characters you would protect with your life. The wobbly time effects in this book reach past its pages, making hours of reading blink by in a moment. Unmissable!”
—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter
“To say The Last Hour Between Worlds hits the ground running would be an understatement: This book starts at a sprint and never slows down. It’s funny, and scary, and weird in the very best way. Melissa Caruso’s writing is razor-sharp and this book is one heck of a page-turner.”
—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld
"Equal parts sheer adventurous fun and creepy, dimension-bending tension, featuring a relatable and instantly engaging protagonist. This is totally unlike anything I've read before; Caruso has pulled off a wonderfully creative premise with skill and panache."
—Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light
"An addictive read with an incredibly sympathetic heroine and a delightful relationship. I loved it and can't wait for more in this world."
—Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library
"This twisty, locked-room mystery spans alternate dimensions, braiding romance and adventure into brilliant, time-looping fun. Perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle!"
—Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters
"Twisty, breakneck, and full of delightful surprises, The Last Hour Between Worlds is a book guaranteed to pull you out of a reading slump. Equal parts hilarious and poignant, this is Caruso's best work yet—a time-loop, murder mystery party like you've never read before. I dare you to put it down."
—Kritika H. Rao, author of The Surviving Sky
"A witty, tense and imaginative triumph of a book! I lost many an unplanned hour inhaling The Last Hour Between Worlds. With its compelling magic, reluctant hero trying (and failing) to be on leave, and one increasingly surreal party, this tightly paced story will be a lasting favorite!"
—Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies
"A fantastical locked-room mystery where every peal of the clock peels away another layer of reality . . . The Last Hour Between Worlds is an absolute adventure, with a queer lead, a snarky rival and breath-takingly poignant moments. Reader, I inhaled it."
—K. A. Doore, author of The Perfect Assassin
"Outrageously clever, with characters who are at times wantonly absurd, engaging, enraging, and intricate, this is a book for everyone who wants to escape reality – though beware, it gets weirder the deeper you go."
—Anna Stephens, author of Godblind
"This book is for those who dream of going to the ball inside the Goblin King’s crystal bubble, but struggle with work-life balance and finding a good babysitter. A jewelled swirl of dangerous magic, fabulous outfits and reluctant heroism, Caruso’s The Last Hour Between Worlds is fiendishly well-plotted, utterly enchanting and… surprisingly relatable."
—Leife Shallcross, author of The Beast's Heart
In this locked-room fantasy, Moira Quirk's vocal confidence and captivating talent are on full display. Just two months after giving birth, the famous Hound Guildmember Kembral Thorne attends a New Year's Eve party. But what's supposed to be a gathering of various public officials and guilds quickly becomes a bloodbath. Violent creatures come out of nowhere to kill guests and magically restart time, thrusting everyone into subsequent layers of reality, each more violent and bizarre than the last. Kembral and her nemesis, Rika Nonesuch, must determine what's restarting the party again and again before the deaths become permanent. Because of Quirk's vocal expertise, each partygoer is deftly crafted into a unique and richly realized player in the night's mystery. It's a true master class in narration. A.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2024]
—AudioFile Earphones Award Winner
