The Bone Orchard
The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller, published by Tor Publishing Group on March 22, 2022, is a 432-page work of fiction that immerses readers in a gothic world filled with secrets and magic. The narrative follows Charm, a witch and the last of a line of necromantic workers, who is summoned by a dying emperor to solve his murder. As she navigates the treacherous dynamics of the emperor’s three sons, Charm must confront her own past and the ghosts that haunt her, all while striving to maintain the fragile balance of an empire.
Readers will find a richly characterized setting where themes of power, betrayal, and survival intertwine. The story delves into Charm’s dual existence as a prisoner and a madam, tending to the bone trees that bear the fruit of her children, each representing complex emotions. As she grapples with her responsibilities and desires, the narrative explores the tension between justice for the empire and her quest for personal freedom. This edition presents a unique blend of dark fantasy and historical elements, inviting readers into a compelling exploration of choice and consequence.
Official synopsis Publisher
Sara A. Mueller’s The Bone Orchard is a fascinating whodunit set in a lush, gothic world of secrets and magic—where a dying emperor charges his favorite concubine with solving his own murder, and preventing the culprit, which undoubtedly is one of his three terrible sons, from taking control of an empire.
“Mueller creates an intricate and richly characterized world in her gothic fantasy debut.” — Buzzfeed
“A masterfully woven plot with refreshing narrators.”—Publishers Weekly
BOOKPAGE’S MOST ANTICIPATED SFF OF 2022
TOR.COM’S MOST ANTICIPATED SFF OF 2022
CRIMERAD’S MOST ANTICIPATED CRIME FICTION OF 2022
GEEKLY INC’S MOST ANTICIPATED OF 2022
Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow.
Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain.
Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren’t real.
Except on Tuesdays, which is when the Emperor himself lays claim to his mistress, Charm herself.
But now—Charm is also the only person who can keep an empire together, as the Emperor summons her to his deathbed, and charges her with choosing which of his awful, faithless sons will carry on the empire—by discovering which one is responsible for his own murder.
If she does this last thing, she will finally have what has been denied her since the fall of Inshil—her freedom. But she will also be betraying the ghosts past and present that live on within her heart.
Charm must choose. Her dead Emperor’s will or the whispers of her own ghosts. Justice for the empire or her own revenge.
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