See the Cowl of Holly Black’s ‘Guide of Evening’ Sequel ‘Thief of Evening’ (Unique)

The sequel to Holly Black’s grownup fiction debut is coming — and it’s heading for “darker locations.”

Maybe finest recognized for co-authoring the The Spiderwick Chronicles, the bestselling fantasy writer, 53, launched her grownup debut — and launched readers to 1 Charlie Corridor — in 2022 with Guide of Evening. Now, she is constant Charlie’s story in Thief of Evening, and PEOPLE can completely debut its cowl.

The extremely anticipated follow-up is about to hit cabinets on Sept. 23, and its celestial cowl teases the darkness — each actually and figuratively — to return: “Evening is product of shadows… and shadows have enamel.”

So does Black herself.

“With Thief of Night,” she tells PEOPLE completely, “I needed to push Charlie Corridor even additional — into darker locations, deeper magic and confronting her personal shadow self. I liked exploring shadows not simply because the monstrous Blights that reside on this world, however as secrets and techniques, as starvation, because the components of ourselves we fake don’t exist till they rise as much as devour every thing.”

The sequel won’t solely be darker in nature, however may also see some drastic modifications for former con artist Corridor, who simply can’t appear to outrun her personal shadow.

“Charlie Corridor, glue entice for catastrophe, crooked from the day she was born, who’d by no means met a nasty determination she wasn’t prepared to double down on, could have lastly met her match,” an official synopsis reads.

Her love life additionally appears to be like quite a bit completely different than it did when readers first met her — and her world — in 2022, Black teases. 

“After defeating Salt, and stealing her lover – the highly effective shadow Vince – again from below the noses of the highly effective Cabal leaders, she thought she’d gained,” per the synopsis. “Agreeing to change into the Hierophant and risking her life searching down harmful rogue shadows appeared a small value to pay if she obtained to do it whereas being tethered to Vince.”

However Vince, the synopsis says, “is now not the person she liked. The tethering course of wiped away his reminiscences of the final yr, leaving solely Crimson — the ruthless shadow who spent years as a killer for a merciless, mercurial billionaire. Crimson doesn’t keep in mind Charlie and does not like her.”

“So when Charlie is ordered to trace down the Blight accountable for a bloodbath at an area church, she’s worse than simply alone, heartbroken and outmatched. She’s susceptible,” the synopsis continues. “In a world the place shadows have wills of their very own, the query isn’t simply learn how to survive. It’s learn how to defend your self from the one factor you possibly can by no means escape — your individual shadow.”

In different phrases, as Black teased on Instagram, readers now know Corridor “was adequate to steal a shadow.” The forthcoming sequel, nonetheless, poses a vastly completely different dilemma — whether or not she has “what it takes to win again a coronary heart.”

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Thief of Evening is obtainable for pre-order now wherever books are bought.