The Faithful Dark

by Cate Baumer

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Pub Date Feb 19 2026 | Archive Date Nov 10 2025

General Fiction (Adult) | LGBTQIAP+ | Sci Fi & Fantasy

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Description

READERS LOVE BAUMER'S DARK WORLD . . .
🗡♰ 'Angels, demons, serial killers in a fantasy Vatican, so much beautifully written longing!' 🗡♰
🗡♰ 'Would recommend for lovers of Ava Reid, Leigh Bardugo and Katherine Arden' 🗡♰
🗡♰ 'I adored this book... It's such a great blend of fantasy and mystery, with a slow-burn romance that I am DEEPLY obsessed with. Couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks!' 🗡♰

'A twisty and beguiling gothic fantasy, lyrically written and tightly plotted . . . with one of my favourite villain-slash-anti-heroes of all time. You will be entranced by Baumer's darkly magical tale' AVA REID, #1 NYT bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

🗡♰ This is the city of miracles, but not everything miraculous is good 🗡♰

In a holy walled city where sin and sanctity are revealed through touch, Csilla - a girl born without a soul - is worth little to the Church that raised her. But when a series of murders corrodes the faithful magic that keep the city safe, the Church elders see a use for her flaw: she can assassinate their prime suspect, a heretic with divine heritage, without risking the stain of sin.

The heretic, however, makes Csilla a counteroffer: clear his name by helping him catch the real killer, and he'll use his angelic gifts to grant her very own soul. Meanwhile, ruthless Ilan, desperate to earn back his position as Church Inquisitor, sees the case as his chance at redemption: he'll bring in the murderer - or, failing that, Csilla and the heretic - and regain his title.

But as the death toll rises, and their hunt pits them against the all-powerful and callous Faith, Csilla finds herself torn. Will her salvation come at the cost of everything she believes in?

Advance Praise

"A twisty and beguiling gothic fantasy, lyrically written and tightly plotted, with a compelling cast of characters and one of my favorite villain-slash-anti-heroes of all time. You will be entranced by Baumer's darkly magical tale" - Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

"Weaving a tale of murder, holiness, and saints, The Faithful Dark plunges you to the deepest depths of despair and the highest ecstasies of faith. A must-read for any fans of dark fantasy looking for the endless mysteries of grace and the delicious agonies of the slowest burn romances" - K. M. Enright, author of Mistress of Lies

"Vivid and beautiful . . . an addictive, intricate story brimming with emotional tension and religious angst" - Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge and Tenderly, I am Devoured.

"A rich and delicate weaving of faith and carnage, of love and loss and the mistakes that can be made when we try and get it back. The world that Cate has created, and the characters within it, are of such and epic and dizzying clarity that I was absolutely bereft to leave. A bittersweet and dark hagiography, The Faithful Dark will stay with me long after I've put it down." - Sam K. Horton, author of Gorse

"A gruesome murder mystery where a super slow-burn romance binds with questions of faith and corruption. Baumer systematically peels back the layers of rawly human characters amid a lushly described world of ecclesial gothic fantasy" - Danielle Knight, author of A Rather Vengeful Accord

"Cate Baumer drew me into the rich, gothic world of The Faithful Dark with the promise of shadowy corners and twisty secrets, and kept me gasping for more with the complexity of the tension between her characters. Truly a divine exploration of religious corruption and the weight of devotion, with a perfectly painful slow-burn romance to boot. I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel!" - Kalie Reid, author of The Sacred Space Between

"A stunning, twisting gothic packed to the brim with holiness, corruption, beauty, and righteous anger - I adored this" - Andrew Joseph White, bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781399751155
PRICE	£20.00 (GBP)
PAGES	416

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