The Sharp Edge of Fate

The Sharp Edge of Fate is the first book in TF Johnson's Belladonna Trilogy, an industrial-fantasy series set in the city of Silversdale. Piper works in secret as the Belladonna, a hired assassin who leaves purple-black berries on her victims and lets no one see her face. When an assignment unravels, her target becomes a reluctant ally, and the two are drawn together to investigate a wave of disappearances that includes Piper's closest friend and a member of the ruling family.

With two children depending on her and a contract deadline closing in, Piper finds the case running far deeper than a missing-persons trail, into a plot that threatens the city and everyone she's tried to keep safe. The book pairs a fast-paced, action-driven plot with a slow-burn romantic subplot, and won Best Fantasy at the 2024 Page Turner Awards.