The Dark Fable

by Katherine Harbour

Overview

Magical heists. Deadly secrets. Come along for the ride . . . if you dare. This heart-stopping, seductive fantasy is perfect for fans of Six of Crows.

Evie Wilder is an orphan who has gone through most of her life unnoticed . . . until she's caught up in a dramatic heist and captures the attention of the Dark Fable. They have chosen her for a reason: she can turn invisible. This skill would make Evie a treasured asset to the legendary group of thieves known for spiriting away obscure and occult artifacts.

Evie cannot resist their allure and is eager to join this newfound family. But she discovers there are more skeletons in the Dark Fable's past than she could have ever imagined. And these secrets might be the answer to her own tragic past.

No one is who they seem to be and the price of uncovering the Dark Fable's cryptic history just might be fatal . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547613755
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	411,382
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Katherine Harbour was born in Albany, NY, where she attended the Russell Sage Junior College of Albany and wrote while holding down jobs as a pizza maker, video store clerk, and housekeeper. She then attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and, after moving to Sarasota, Florida, sold her paintings in cafes and galleries. She now lives in upstate New York, where she works as a bookseller. She's a lover of nature, folklore, and ancient things. She's the author of the Thorn Jack series, an adult contemporary dark fantasy threaded with Celtic myth.
https://katherineharbour.com/
Instagram: @katharbour77
Twitter: @katharbour
Katherine Harbour was born in Albany, NY, where she attended the Russell Sage Junior College of Albany and wrote while holding down jobs as a pizza maker, video store clerk, and housekeeper. She then attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and, after moving to Sarasota, Florida, sold her paintings in cafes and galleries. She now lives in upstate New York, where she works as a bookseller. She's a lover of nature, folklore, and ancient things. She's the author of the Thorn Jack series, an adult contemporary dark fantasy threaded with Celtic myth.

Editorial Reviews

12/11/2023

A teen with the ability to turn invisible finds honor among magical thieves in this daring fantasy by Harbour (the Night and Nothing series). In modern-day Los Angeles, Evie Wilder, an orphaned 18-year-old who lives alone following a family tragedy, can inexplicably turn invisible at will. When a band of burglars robs a museum gala at which Evie is employed as catering staff, she’s forced to put her unpracticed ability to the test. But these aren’t ordinary thieves; they’re La Fable Sombre, the Dark Fable, an ancient society of magical bandits out to steal priceless occult artifacts. After Evie demonstrates her magical prowess, the Dark Fable recruits her, and she relishes in the easy acceptance of this found family. As Evie bonds with the group’s enigmatic members, she falls deeper into the danger that follows them—and the havoc they wreak—and learns that her past may be connected to the Dark Fable’s own fraught history. Overcrowded plotting and a reliance on expository description hampers a suspenseful and emotive plot. Nevertheless, witty dialogue, immersive world building, original magic systems, and emotionally rich characters culminate in a tale that celebrates the intimacy of being seen and accepted. Characters are ethnically diverse. Ages 13–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

The strong start and intriguing backstory quickly give way to rapid fire dialogue reminiscent of the 1930s film repartee.” —School Library Journal

“Fast-moving and twisty. . . . This YA fantasy is a great read for fans of magical heists and found family.” —Booklist

“Witty dialogue, immersive world building, original magic systems, and emotionally rich characters culminate in a tale that celebrates the intimacy of being seen and accepted.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

01/01/2024

Gr 9 Up—Evie Wilder belongs to nobody. She squats in a horrible apartment and works menial jobs to scrape by in the seedier parts of LA. She is grieving the death of her younger brother and sister, who died at their father's hand. At her catering gig she becomes embroiled in a high-end heist that brings her into contact with the mysterious and sophisticated young members of the Dark Fable, or La Fable Sombre (LFS). Loners and misfits, each member of the multinational group has a magic of their own. It turns out that Evie has a talent the group can use—the actual invisibility she so often craves. The LFS has existed for hundreds of years, stealing big-ticket items from Cleopatra, Leonardo, even Pandora. The crew whisks Evie into their realm of decadent parties, extravagant trips, and exotic locales. But Evie begins to wonder if some members are more interested in power and vengeance than theft. Her interaction and attraction to Jason Ra, a former member turned investigator, only increases her worries. The strong start and intriguing backstory quickly give way to rapid fire dialogue reminiscent of 1930s film repartee. Italics and exclamation points abound as the LFS, who all have numerous and confusing nicknames, race around the world fighting rival gangs and each other. A plot twist about Evie towards the end of the book is abrupt and underplayed. VERDICT Point readers of fantasy in this vein to Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, or more recently, Roshani Chokshi's The Gilded Wolves.—Lee De Groft

School Library Journal

2023-10-21
A glamorous world of heists and cons hides a dark evil that lurks beneath lavish lifestyles.

Eighteen-year-old Evie grew up in foster homes after an unspeakable tragedy took her parents and younger siblings 10 years ago. She now works three jobs and squats in the attic of an apartment building. When a glamorous crew of thieves cause mayhem at a gala where she’s working as a server and also make her an accessory to their crime, she’s fascinated. The members of La Fable Sombre each bring a special magical talent to their heists, and they need Evie’s newly discovered ability to turn invisible. She willingly joins their crew and soon considers charismatic leader Ciaran, frothy Mad, trickster Devon, and alchemist Queenie as family. She learns that LFS is one of several international gangs that, for centuries, have stolen artifacts for the Collectors. Evie quickly proves her worth, drawing the attention of fences Mother Night and Father Silence, the “royalty” of the syndicate. Evie’s conversations with several characters provide backstory, although the level of immediately forthcoming detail stretches credulity. These talks open Evie’s eyes to the participants’ varied motivations—and she discovers a startling truth that fuels her own sense of purpose, leading to a cinematic climax that unfortunately resolves fairly quickly, wrapping up with a neat ending that doesn’t feel earned. Most characters are cued white; Dev reads Black.

An imaginative heist fantasy bogged down in descriptions and expository dialogue. (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews