Dark Time

by Dakota Banks

Overview

Three hundred years ago, she sold her soul to a demon. Now she wants it back.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life—as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.

But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable . . . and neverending.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061892691
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Mortal Path Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	322
Sales rank:	216,713
File size:	910 KB

About the Author

Growing up in a converted 1890s funeral home, complete with blood gutters in the basement floor, fueled Dakota Banks' interest in the paranormal. She's no ghost whisperer, but she keeps an open mind. She's fascinated with both archaeology and the paranormal, especially when the two intersect, as they do in Mortal Path.

Dakota is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers. She lives in a St. Louis suburb with her husband, two sons adopted from Peru and Ethiopia, and a couple of cats who keep her writing on track.

Editorial Reviews

Growing up in a 19th-century funeral home might have set the tone for Dakota Banks's life. In her debut fiction, she proves the point by conjuring up an infernal tale about a burned-at-the-stake witch who refuses to let bygones be bygones. Two hundred years of savage carnage later, the demonically inclined Susannah Layton, now known as Mialha, decides that she wants to retire, but unless she can perform some good deeds quickly, she will be consigned to the very hottest parts of hell.

Fans of the supernatural and dark fantasy will be intrigued by Maliha Crayne's quest to save her soul, though it has more flash than substance. Susannah Layhem, burnt at the stake in 1692, was posthumously recruited by a demon. She served as his pet assassin for more than 300 years before her refusal to kill a baby revealed a loophole in her contract. Now, as Maliha, she writes mysteries and tries to balance her assassinations by saving human lives, the only route to paradise. While there is an actual story centered on the murders of two hackers, this is mostly an introduction to Maliha, her eclectic group of friends and her uncanny ability to attract violence and death that somehow never counts against her efforts toward salvation. Perhaps the next book will have more plot to go with all the action. (Aug.)

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