The town of Ambrose St. Clair, nestled in the greenery and warmth of the south, is a veritable paradise. The city is beautiful, the resources are bountiful, and the inhabitants are happy folk. The only downside to living there is the fact that, once a month, one of the townspeople turns up dead with their heart ripped out of their chest. Cursed by a previous lover, the town’s enigmatic and strangely immortal Lord Landry Rochuvart is to blame, but he’s made his plight workable through an unspoken agreement with the residents of Ambrose; he takes hearts to keep himself alive and in turn, he keeps the city running smoothly with his fortune. Leading a doomed existence where plagued by the memories of his past mistakes, Landry continues to dwell in the darkness of his world, only managing to continue taking lives to avoid the alternative: turning into a half-man half-alligator beast who is damned to haunt the marshes for eternity. It isn’t until there’s a newcomer – a bright, clumsy, and relentlessly curious baker named Magnolia – that Landry’s way of life is shaken up and he realizes there’s more to filling the hole in his chest than stealing hearts.
 
Content warning: death, murder, self-sacrifice, and suicide; graphic description of a dead body and body parts; reference to past abuse; cheating; mention of mental and physical health issues.
 
9 x 6 matte paperback by 48 Hour Books. Copies will be shipped at the end of March 2026.