On January 20, a People Exclusive revealed the cover to Chloe Gong’s forthcoming 2022 spinoff to her New York Times Bestseller These Violent Delights titled, Foul Lady Fortune.
Following a familiar character from the completed duology, Foul Lady Fortune will center around Rosalind “who serves as a Nationalist spy in 1931 Shanghai in a captivating retelling of Shakespeare’s As You Like It,” according to the article.
“Even before I finished writing my debut, the seeds of this spin-off were taking root. Rosalind was a character who had such a compelling background, who made terrible mistakes that I wanted to explore, but she remained in the background because it wasn’t her story. Now she gets her time in the spotlight: to fall in love (and be loved back!), to fight for what she believes in, and I’m so proud of how she shines,” Gong shared in a statement with PEOPLE.
Foul Lady Fortune, which will also be a duology, is going to follow the vein of “Romance and Shakespearean drama” as established in Gong’s previous novels.
According to Gong’s tweet, there will be a “7-person cast” with POV narrators including Celia Lang and Alisa Montagova.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai.
It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.
Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.
Code name: Fortune.
But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.
To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong is set to be released September 27, 2022!
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