Lethal Taster

In the fog-drenched city of Oakhaven, perfection is a mask, and poison is a woman's only freedom. Beneath the lace curtains and polite society, the city is rotting from "The Blight," a corruption that turns the aristocracy into monsters. Maren is the cure. By day, she is a humble apothecary selling perfumes; by night, she is the "Apothecary of Endings." She brews "Widow's Weep," a tasteless, traceless poison sold to wives trapped in abusive marriages. To survive her own trade, she has practiced mithridatism since childhood—her skin, her sweat, and her kiss are mildly toxic. Stellan is the Royal Taster and High Inquisitor. Blessed—or cursed—with a genetic mutation that allows him to taste chemical compositions down to the molecular level, he can detect a lie on a tongue or a drop of arsenic in a barrel of wine. Bored by a world that offers no surprises to his deadened palate, he hunts the creator of the elusive poison that is cleaning up the city's streets. When Stellan finds Maren, he doesn't arrest her. She is the first thing in years that tastes interesting—sharp, metallic, and lethal. Thus begins a dangerous courtship of survival. He visits her shop daily, daring her to poison him. She tries, slipping toxins into his tea. He drinks it, smiles, and rates the vintage. But as The Blight spreads and the King descends into madness, the hunter and the prey realize they are playing a game much larger than themselves. Stellan is dying of toxic accumulation, and Maren's poison might just be the only antidote that can save him. He wants to consume her. She wants to kill him. It's a match made in hell.