A villainous, bloodthirsty heroine finds herself plunged into the dangerous world of power, politics and murder in the court of the vampire king in this dark romantic fantasy debut.
Murder, blood.
Spice level: 3/5 open door.
Fate is a cruel mistress.
The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.
Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he’s drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he’s worked so hard to avoid – and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.
Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Blood Worker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan’s plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.
Don't just take our word for it...
“Mistress of Lies is a dark, twisting fantasy that grabs you by the throat with claws and refuses to let you go– a blood-stained, heart wrenching romance balanced on the knife’s edge of revolution. Luxurious and beautifully cruel.”
– Andrew Joseph White, NYT bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us
“[A] riveting and remarkably assured dark fantasy debut. Enright’s richly atmospheric prose immerses readers in a meticulously crafted world, where familiar vampire tropes are skillfully subverted. The high-stakes romance subplot, featuring a polyamorous relationship and trans representation, adds depth and tension to the narrative. Calling to mind the works of both Anne Rice and V.E. Schwab, this tale of magic, murder, and ambition will captivate fans of dark, political fantasy.”
– Publishers Weekly (Starred🌟)
“Mistress of Lies held me captive from the very first page. What a story—dark and gripping, raw and beautifully imagined. With their stunning prose, compelling morally gray characters, inventive magic system, and knack for piercingly heartfelt moments amidst all the horror and intrigue, K.M. Enright is definitely one to watch.”
– Thea Guanzon, USA Today, New York Times, and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars
Taste the very first page
It should have been more difficult to assassinate her father.
Not in the actual execution of it: that Shan had prepared for. Her father was a powerful Blood Worker and had once been considered the brightest of his generation. That had been many years ago, though, and Lord Antonin LeClaire had fallen quite far indeed. But still, he had guards, magical wards and a lifetime of training at his disposal. And she had accounted for all these things.
No, there should have been something—anything—in her heart that railed against this. Despite everything he had done over the two decades of her life, patricide was still the most despicable of all crimes; it ought to twist her stomach and fill her with guilt. She shouldn’t relish this kill, shouldn’t feel this boundless relief.
But she did.
She was a shattered, broken thing, and this only proved it.
Her father lifted the glass to his mouth, the amber whisky sloshing in the finely cut glass, and took another deep drink as he shifted through the papers in front of him. Shan watched as he licked his lips, taking in more of the poison that would give her power over him.
It was a potent poison, frightfully expensive, but she had learned long ago that secrets were worth far more than coin. It had taken…
You might also like
Blood on Her Tongue
Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate.
Any Trope But You
A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead.
Tilt
Annie is nine months pregnant. She’s shopping for a crib at IKEA. That’s when the massive earthquake hits. There’s nothing to do but walk.
Hungerstone
A compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the queer novella that inspired Dracula.
Junie
A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms.
Good Girl
An electric debut novel about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of self-discovery and a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history.
Dead Money
Featuring jaw-dropping twists and a wily, outsider heroine you can’t help rooting for, Dead Money is a brilliant sleight-of-hand mystery.
Unromance
A recently dumped TV heartthrob enlists a jaded romance novelist to ruin romance for him—one rom-com trope at a time—so he never gets swept off his feet again…
Motheater
In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.
Private Rites
A speculative reimagining of King Lear, centering three sisters navigating queer love and loss in a drowning world.
The Resurrectionist
A twisty gothic debut set when real-life serial killers Burke and Hare terrorized the streets of Edinburgh, as a young medical student is lured into the illicit underworld of body snatching.
The Serpent and the Wolf
A thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.
What It’s Like in Words
A dark, intense, and compelling account of what happens when a young woman falls in love with the wrong kind of man.
American Rapture
The instant USA Today bestseller from CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly—a scorching and sweeping new novel about the end of the world as we know it.
Eleanore of Avignon
The story of a healer who risks her life, her freedom, and everything she holds dear to protect her beloved city from the encroaching Black Death.
A Dark and Drowning Tide
A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor’s murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance.
Bury Your Gays
Bury Your Gays is a heart-pounding new novel from bestselling author Chuck Tingle about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead.
The Truth According to Ember
A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.
Catalina
A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college.
Masquerade
Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.
Whoever You Are, Honey
This darkly brilliant debut novel explores how women shape themselves beneath the gaze of love, friendship, and the algorithm—by a thrilling feminist voice for the age of AI.
You Know What You Did
In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present...
Evocation
From The Sunday Times bestselling author of B&N's best books of 2022 A Dowry of Blood, comes a spellbinding and vibrant new series. The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.