Desdemona and the Deep

Cooney’s enthralling third Dark Breakers adventure (following The Two Paupers) plunges readers deep into a series of haunting, dazzling, and unforgettable multi-worlds. Desdemona Mannering is the daughter of Seafall’s wealthiest coal mine owner; her life is filled with heady pleasures. She’s also a fierce social reformer, and her genteel charity work is intended to improve the lives of those harmed by Seafall’s ruthless industrial economy. When she learns that her family’s wealth has come from a bargain with the King of the Goblin court, who takes her father’s workers as a tithe, Desdemona sets out to find the tithed men and bring them home. Together with her best friend, Chaz, Desdemona strikes her own bargain with the Goblin King that could liberate everyone in his kingdom—or doom Desdemona and Chaz. The richest rewards of this book are for series devotees, but newcomers will still find Cooney’s glittering narrative skills and vivid worldbuilding addictive, her diverse characters intriguing, and her message of justice and freedom stirring. This remarkable and richly detailed adventure is worth savoring. (July)