Daughter of Calamity

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What to expect

An irresistibly dark reimagining of 1930s Shanghai filled with glamour, gods and gangsters, perfect for fans of S. A. Chakraborty and Fonda Lee.

‘I was utterly swept up . . . seductive, sprawling, full of malice’ – Kendare Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns

In Shanghai, danger wears many faces . . .

1932, Shanghai. By day, Jingwen delivers bones for her grandmother, an exclusive surgeon who works for the most formidable gang in the city. By night, she dances at the Paramount, a lavish cabaret club, competing ruthlessly to charm its wealthy patrons.

Then mysterious attackers start to target the dancers, stealing the faces of their victims and selling them on to the powerful elite. Jingwen fears she could be next. To protect herself and her fellow performers, she has no choice but to delve deeper into the city’s glittering underworld.

In this treacherous realm of cut-throat businessmen, silver-limbed gangsters and vengeful gods, Jingwen soon learns that she must become something far stranger and more dangerous than she ever imagined if she hopes to survive . . .

‘Decadent, dangerous and addictive’ – A. Y. Chao, Sunday Times bestselling author of Shanghai Immortal

Critics Review

Darkly atmospheric and richly layered, Daughter of Calamity fuses the luxury of 1930s Shanghai, its criminal underbelly, and the powers of the gods themselves. This is a story that seeps into your imagination and persists to the very last page

Andrea Stewart, author of the Drowning Empire trilogy

Unfolding against a backdrop of shadowy club interiors, steam-filled alleys and overlooked temples, Daughter of Calamity is a novel that demands you turn the pages. I was utterly swept up in this tale of glittering cabaret girls and deadly gangsters, and Lin’s incarnation of Shanghai-seductive, sprawling, full of malice-is a character in itself

Kendare Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns

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

A. Y. Chao, author of Shanghai Immortal

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

Judy I. Lin, author of A Magic Steeped in Poison

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

Grace D. Li, author of Portrait of a Thief

This debut is a genre blend of mystery and fantasy with some amazing world-building . . . Fans of fantasy will want to know Lin’s name

Booklist, Starred Review

The author’s love for Shanghai is clear from the early pages, and her descriptions of the Jazz Age and its effects on the city unfold in gorgeous, vivid detail

Kirkus

Lin successfully creates a world that is as much a character in the novel as the people who live in it . . . historical fantasy enthusiasts will be delighted by the worldbuilding

Library Journal

Superb world-building. Characters are vividly believable and vastly diverse . . . A splendidly imaginative debut

Historical Novel Society

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