I don’t need to have my hands slick with blood to feel alive. I’ve never been one to get my hands dirty, but when you really think about it, technically, I’m not the one killing them… the house is.
~Mrs. Isles
Magic can be used for good, but more often than not, it is held firmly in evil’s grasp.
Detective Rachel Dixon’s life is back on track. A new haunted apartment, a circle of friends that includes both the living and the undead, and her hard-fought sobriety. But when a missing person’s case lands on her desk, old habits begin to bubble up to the surface.
Daniel Ross, a sixteen-year-old elf, wakes in a strange house with nineteen strangers and a faded memory of how he got there. It becomes clear being kidnapped is the least of his worries when something in the house starts picking them off one by one. As if dealing with the mutilated corpses and severed heads of the other residents in the house wasn’t bad enough, the circus is in town and they need victims.
The Order of Mourire, a cult of serial killers, has come together for their monthly theme week. This month’s theme is Circus. Each member will perform a showcase where the bloodier the act, the louder the applause.
As Daniel fights for his life, Rachel is determined to find him, even if that means accepting help from a murderer who longs to add her to his collection.