Ten years ago, two children witnessed a murder that still haunts them as adults.

Tali watched as two masked figures killed her mother, and now she has sworn revenge. Even though she is a slave. Even though she is powerless. Even though she is nothing in the eyes of those who live above ground, she will find her mother's killers and bring them to justice.

Rix, heir to Hightspall's greatest fortune, is tormented by the fear that he's linked to the murder, and by a sickening nightmare that he's doomed to repeat it.

When a chance meeting brings Tali and Rix together, the secrets of an entire kingdom are uncovered and a villain out of legend returns to throw the land into chaos. Tali and Rix must learn to trust each other and find a way to save the realm -- and themselves.

Author: Ian Irvine
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 04/01/2012
Series: Tainted Realm #1
Pages: 688
Weight: 1.3lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.90d
ISBN: 9780316072847


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/27/2012 pg. 65
Library Journal 03/15/2012 pg. 94
Romantic Times 04/01/2012 pg. 68 - Excellent

About the Author
Ian Irvine, a marine scientist who has developed some of Australia's national guidelines for protection of the marine environment, has also written twenty-seven novels. These include the internationally bestselling Three Worlds fantasy sequence (The View from the Mirror, The Well of Echoes, and The Song of the Tears), which has sold over a million copies, a trilogy of thrillers set in a world undergoing catastrophic climate change, Human Rites, and twelve books for younger readers, the latest being the humorous fantasy quartet, Grim and Grimmer.