NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "Stunning ... steamy ... an exciting and original world. "--San Jose Mercury News Meet Merry Gentry, paranormal P. I. , and enter a thrilling, sensual world as dangerous as it is beautiful, full of earthly pleasures and dazzling magic, and ruled by the all-consuming passions of immortal beings once worshipped as gods ... or demons. Merry Gentry, princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now the queen's assassin has been dispatched to fetch her--whether she likes it or not. Suddenly Merry finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt's plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The reward: the crown--and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death. Praise for Laurell K. Hamilton and A Kiss of Shadows "One of the most inventive and exciting writers in the paranormal field. "--Charlaine Harris "Sexy ... Merry's adventures are engaging and keep the reader turning the pages. "--St. Louis Post-Dispatch "I've never read a writer with a more fertile imagination. "--Diana Gabaldon