Here is the first of many 2025 moves we’ll be making at Crystal Lake. I know Mafia Romance isn’t our usual genre, but Jessica Hall‘s work comes HIGHLY recommended by fans and Crystal Lake staff. Horror will always remain our first love, but by the end of next year it’ll all come down to great stories, no matter the genre. We’ve acquired the paperback and audiobook rights for Jessica’s The Empire of Chance trilogy, which will be out in January, followed by books 2 and 3 a month or so apart.
Description: Returning home after work, Fallon walks into a nightmare: her father unconscious, their home invaded, and her sister teetering on the edge of death. Driven by desperation, their father had attempted the unthinkable—robbing the casino owned by Leone Pressutti, her boss.
Leone Pressutti, a notorious mob boss, instils fear in anyone who crosses him. For five years Fallon has gone unnoticed by him…until now. Caught in the aftermath, she is presented with a chilling ultimatum: compete and win a high-stakes poker game, and he will cover her sister’s medical expenses.
The penalty for losing? Her father’s life and her freedom. As she nears the last table, Fallon is drawn into a game far more complex than ever imagined.
The final hurdle? A showdown against Leone himself, where she learns the bitter truth: in this game of power and seduction, the house always wins.