The Sharp Edge of Fate

Piper works in secret as the Belladonna, a hired assassin in the city of Silversdale. She leaves purple-black berries on her victims and never lets anyone see her face.

One job falls apart, and the man she was meant to kill becomes a reluctant ally. Together they start looking into a run of disappearances. The missing include Piper's closest friend and a member of the ruling family.

Piper has two children who depend on her, and a contract deadline is closing in. As she digs, the case turns out to be far more than a missing-persons search. It leads to a plot aimed at the whole city and at everyone she has worked to protect.

This is the first book in the Belladonna Trilogy, an industrial-fantasy series. The plot is fast and driven by action, with a slow-burn romance running underneath it. The book won Best Fantasy at the 2024 Page Turner Awards.

The question that carries it is whether Piper can stop the plot while keeping her identity, her deadline and her family intact.