Next year, Podium Entertainment are due to publish the debut gothic fantasy novel from Jasmine Wigham! CRADLE OF SECRETS, the first in a new series, will available in the UK and North America from May 6th, 2025, is print, eBook, and audiobook (read by Tim Campbell). It’s ‘a perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and paranormal mystery’, and is sure to appeal to ‘fans of Bridgerton and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’.
Here’s the synopsis…
When an intrepid American with a dark past becomes a hired gun for a mysterious woman in London, he’s shocked to discover a world crawling with monsters.
Jem has lied and cheated his way out of America and into the most fashionable circles of Victorian London’s elite. He has almost everything he ever wanted: a beautiful, if gullible, tycoon’s daughter on his arm and a patron who’s willing to fund his lavish lifestyle. But none of it delivers the high he always thought it would. So when a mysterious woman called Felicity appears at a ball and asks him to demonstrate his legendary gunslinger skills, he can’t resist.
But Jem is about to realise the problem with inventing yourself an elaborate adventuring background: it doesn’t hold up very long when you’re confronted with real monsters risen from the grave.
Narrowly escaping with his life, Jem discovers Felicity isn’t all that she appears either. He tries to return to normality, but when tragedy strikes, he’s forced to seek her out at her home, Grimwood Manor, where he finds her surrounded by a motley crew of friends, none of whom seem exactly… human.
Swept up in a world of witches, werewolves, and other creatures that ought not to exist, Jem struggles to keep his dark past buried. But when a string of supernatural murders rocks the human world, he must confront his fears and join forces with his new friends to figure out who’s creating monsters out of men.
The novel is already generating some great pre-publication buzz, and recently received a great review from Kirkus Reviews: ‘High action and intricate plot twists are woven through the magical tapestry that Wigham conjures here, but the real sorcery comes from how she brings the characters and their relationships to vivid life. A spellbinding start to a promising new horror/fantasy series.’
