Description
Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. And when the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.
About the Author
Holly Black is the bestselling author of contemporary fantasy novels for teens and children.
Her first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, was published in 2002. Holly has since written two other books in the same universe, Valiant (2005), and the sequel to Tithe, Ironside (2007). Valiant was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award for Young Readers and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.
Holly collaborated with her long-time friend, Caldecott award winning artist, Tony DiTerlizzi, to create the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles. The first two books, The Field Guide and The Seeing Stone were released together in 2003, with the next three, Lucinda's Secret (2003), The Ironwood Tree (2004) and The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004), following in rapid succession. The five-book serial has been called "vintage Victorian fantasy" by the New York Post and Time Magazine reported that "the books wallow in their dusty Olde Worlde charm."
The lavishly illustrated Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to The Fantastical World Around You (2005), The Notebook for Fantastical Observations (2005), and Care and Feeding of Sprites (2006) expanded the Spiderwick universe. To date, the books have been translated into 32 languages. There are three more chapter books in the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series, The Nixie's Song (2007), A Giant Problem (2008) and The Wyrm King (2009).
Holly has also been a frequent contributor to anthologies, and has co-edited three of them: Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci, 2009), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier, 2010), and Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner, 2011). Her first collection of short fiction, Poison Eaters and Other Stories, came out in 2010 from Small Beer Press. She is also the auhor of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel series, The Good Neighbors. White Cat, the first in The Curse Workers series, came out in 2010, followed by Red Glove, the second novel in the series, in 2011.
Holly lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.
