Out on 18 June 2024

Daughter of Calamity

Rosalie M. Lin

18 June 2024
9781035011261
400 pages

Synopsis

Daughter of Calamity is an irresistibly dark and atmospheric reimagining of 1930s Shanghai filled with glamour, gods and gangsters - perfect for fans of S. A. Chakraborty and Fonda Lee.

In Shanghai, danger wears many faces . . .

Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit . . .

When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted—the attacker stealing their faces—Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.

Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers—women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends—Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones.

'Decadent, dangerous, and addictive' - A. Y. Chao, author of Shanghai Immortal

Rosalie Lin crafts a world dripping with atmosphere and intrigue where gods and shamans wreak havoc in mist filled alleys while dance girls spin on clouds of gold and desire. Lin’s Shanghai bursts from the page, decadent, dangerous, and addictive. A thrilling debut
Daughter of Calamity transported me to dazzling, blood-soaked Shanghai. I was swept away by the spectacle of vicious feuds between gangsters and gods, caught up in the heart-pounding twists and betrayals that kept me turning the pages. A dark and fantastical read
Lin’s Shanghai invites you in with an open hand or an offer to dance; here, every page is full of glamour, possibility, treachery. Daughter of Calamity will pull you in like a fever dream