The Queen of Days

Kelly (The Seventh Queen) invites readers along on a high-stakes heist in a secondary world populated by gods, demigods, and plenty of wily rogues. A mysterious patron hires the Talion crew, headed by Balthazar “Bal” Vadalen, for their biggest score yet: stealing the idol of the god Karanis from his newly restored temple in the middle of the temple’s consecration ceremony, but before the consecration is complete. Though Bal is sure that he and his scrappy crew can handle the job on their own, their patron insists they work with the legendary thief known as the Queen of Days. As payment, the Queen of Days demands a month off the end of the lives of each member of the crew. Bal agrees, thinking she couldn’t possibly collect this fanciful price. But she does, which is just the start of everything that could go wrong with the heist going wrong—until the Talion crew find that if they want to survive the war between gods that they’ve accidentally stumbled into, they’ll need to rely on the Queen of Days just as much as they do on each other. In Kelly’s hands, this band of rogues becomes a lovable found family. Fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora will find much to enjoy. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Oct.)