The Last Hour Between Worlds

by Melissa Caruso

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

An interdimensional fantasy and a whirlwind mystery. The Last Hour Between Worlds is a breathless adventure — and unlike anything you've ever read.

A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with reality-bending magic, and sapphic romance, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author Melissa Caruso.

In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.

Star investigator Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she just wants to relax and enjoy the year-turning party. But when people start dropping dead, she’s got to get to work. Especially when she finds that mysterious forces are plunging the whole party down through layers of reality and into nightmare.

One layer down: It's no big deal. Stay alert, and you’ll be fine.

Two, three layers down: Natural laws are negotiable, and things get very strange.

Four layers down: There are creatures with eyes in their teeth and walls that drip blood. Most people who fall this far never return.

Luckily, Kem isn’t most people. But as cosmic powers align and the hour grows late, she’ll have to work with her awfully compelling nemesis, notorious cat burglar Rika Nonesuch, for a chance to save her city—though not her night off.

For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:

Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
​The Unbound Empire

Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower
The Quicksilver Court
The Ivory Tomb
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316303477
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	11/19/2024
Series:	The Echo Archives , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	15,657
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Melissa Caruso was born on the summer solstice and went to school in an old mansion with a secret door, but despite this auspicious beginning has yet to develop any known superpowers. Melissa has spent her whole life creating imaginary worlds and, in addition to writing, is also an avid LARPer and tabletop gamer.

She graduated with honors in creative writing from Brown University and has an MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Melissa’s first novel, The Tethered Mage, was shortlisted for a Gemmell Morningstar Award for best fantasy debut.

Editorial Reviews

09/09/2024

Caruso (The Tethered Mage) kicks off The Echo Archives series with this fast-paced interdimensional fantasy. Below the Prime reality are several Echo layers, alternate realms that get increasingly surreal and creepy the farther down they go, with ever more dangerous denizens. In the Prime city-state of Acantis, Kem Thorne is a Hound, responsible for investigating murders and finding Prime kids lost in the Echo layers. She’s currently going stir crazy, however, while on maternity leave. When she attends a New Year’s party at a City Elder’s mansion she notices strange objects she recognizes as Echoes. Then the party guests start dropping from poisoned wine and the entire mansion falls through a hole in the Veil between worlds into Echo 1. There, all the party guests are still alive, and Kem learns the whole thing has been orchestrated by “powerful Echoes who couldn’t meaningfully hurt one another” and so intend to “play out their conflicts through hapless human proxies in some twisted contest.” Kem must make amends with her nemesis, Rika Nonesuch, a thieving Cat, to free both of them before the clock strikes midnight. Caruso never takes her foot off the gas, marrying riveting action with meticulous worldbuilding and eccentric characters through effortless prose. Readers will be hooked. Agent: Naomi Davis, BookEnds Literary. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"A charming fantasy mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page—I completely adored this book and would read a dozen more of Kembral's adventures." —Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“This book has everything you've been craving: sword fights, time loops, complicated feelings about parenthood, and banter with your sworn enemy. What an absolute delight!"—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author

"A brilliant, breathlessly twisty fantasy adventure that I utterly adored. Melissa Caruso is a powerhouse." —Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne

“The Last Hour Between Worlds is a masterpiece—filled with excitement, romance, and characters you would protect with your life. The wobbly time effects in this book reach past its pages, making hours of reading blink by in a moment. Unmissable!”—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

“To say The Last Hour Between Worlds hits the ground running would be an understatement: This book starts at a sprint and never slows down. It’s funny, and scary, and weird in the very best way. Melissa Caruso’s writing is razor-sharp and this book is one heck of a page-turner.”—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"Equal parts sheer adventurous fun and creepy, dimension-bending tension, featuring a relatable and instantly engaging protagonist. This is totally unlike anything I've read before; Caruso has pulled off a wonderfully creative premise with skill and panache." —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

"An addictive read with an incredibly sympathetic heroine and a delightful relationship. I loved it and can't wait for more in this world." —Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library

"This twisty, locked-room mystery spans alternate dimensions, braiding romance and adventure into brilliant, time-looping fun. Perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle!"—Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

"Twisty, breakneck, and full of delightful surprises, The Last Hour Between Worlds is a book guaranteed to pull you out of a reading slump. Equal parts hilarious and poignant, this is Caruso's best work yet—a time-loop, murder mystery party like you've never read before. I dare you to put it down."—Kritika H. Rao, author of The Surviving Sky

"A witty, tense and imaginative triumph of a book! I lost many an unplanned hour inhaling The Last Hour Between Worlds. With its compelling magic, reluctant hero trying (and failing) to be on leave, and one increasingly surreal party, this tightly paced story will be a lasting favorite!" —Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies

"A fantastical locked-room mystery where every peal of the clock peels away another layer of reality . . . The Last Hour Between Worlds is an absolute adventure, with a queer lead, a snarky rival and breath-takingly poignant moments. Reader, I inhaled it." —K. A. Doore, author of The Perfect Assassin

"Outrageously clever, with characters who are at times wantonly absurd, engaging, enraging, and intricate, this is a book for everyone who wants to escape reality – though beware, it gets weirder the deeper you go." —Anna Stephens, author of Godblind

"This book is for those who dream of going to the ball inside the Goblin King’s crystal bubble, but struggle with work-life balance and finding a good babysitter. A jewelled swirl of dangerous magic, fabulous outfits and reluctant heroism, Caruso’s The Last Hour Between Worlds is fiendishly well-plotted, utterly enchanting and… surprisingly relatable."—Leife Shallcross, author of The Beast's Heart

"Caruso never takes her foot off the gas, marrying riveting action with meticulous worldbuilding and eccentric characters through effortless prose. Readers will be hooked."
 
 —Publishers Weekly

“I love The Last Hour Between Worlds to pieces… A time-bending triumph, a compelling adventure… A very entertaining story, with a strikingly satisfying climax.”—Locus

"A heady, bizarre rush of murder mystery meets Alice in Wonderland. If you’re a fantasy romance fan who’s been craving originality from the genre, this book is truly a breath of fresh air. The Last Hour Between Worlds will stretch your imagination and leave you thinking." —BookPage

"Like if a game of Clue also took place in the multiverse. Caruso keeps the wild premise in check with a smart writing style that delivers well-timed moments of levity." —NPR

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2024

On leave from the Guild of Hounds, Kembral Thorne is determined to enjoy her time away from her newborn while at Dona Marjorie Swift's year-turning party. But when party guests start dying around her, Kem is drawn back into her work, determined to discover the killer. Her nemesis, Rika Nonesuch, is also searching for answers, and the two try to set aside their differences to uncover what's going on. With every chime of the clock, they fall into an Echo, a layer of reality that gets more and more twisted each time they descend; a person could be lost here forever. She knows that no one has ever survived going too deep, but that may be the least of their problems when powerful figures play bloody games. It's even worse when time resets to the start of the party, and no one remembers what has happened, except Kem. VERDICT Clever, empathetic characters, an unusual world, and a rapidly paced story that keeps readers guessing will delight fans of Caruso's (The Ivory Tomb) and create new ones.—Kristi Chadwick

Library Journal

In this locked-room fantasy, Moira Quirk's vocal confidence and captivating talent are on full display. Just two months after giving birth, the famous Hound Guildmember Kembral Thorne attends a New Year's Eve party. But what's supposed to be a gathering of various public officials and guilds quickly becomes a bloodbath. Violent creatures come out of nowhere to kill guests and magically restart time, thrusting everyone into subsequent layers of reality, each more violent and bizarre than the last. Kembral and her nemesis, Rika Nonesuch, must determine what's restarting the party again and again before the deaths become permanent. Because of Quirk's vocal expertise, each partygoer is deftly crafted into a unique and richly realized player in the night's mystery. It's a true master class in narration. A.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2024 - AudioFile