The Ragpicker King

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as ‘everything I look for in fantasy,' Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies. Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace - and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane's underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold - a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores. Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she's ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying - but strangely magnetic - leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her. Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor. As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death - or worse. Lose yourself in a vibrant world of power, intrigue and magic in this spellbinding epic from an internationally bestselling sensation. Praise for Sword Catcher ‘This is fantasy at its finest' - Leigh Bardugo, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell Bent ‘A triumph of a book' - Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Night ‘Vivid and clever' - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequence

Cassandra Clare is the author of the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling novel Sword Catcher, the first book in The Chronicles of Castellane, followed by The Ragpicker King. She is also the author of the No. 1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles, and co-authored the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Cassandra Clare's books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.