Threading the Needle

Talia Merritt, a former military sniper, is haunted by her past and seeks a new start on the colony world of Goruden. However, she is drawn into a conflict with Signore Ferran Contesti, who hopes to mold the colony world in his own image. Talia must decide whether to take up the mantle of Deaths Handmaiden once again to save the planet and her own peace of mind.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 18 December 2023
Publisher: Baen Books

Talia Merritt, a former military sniper known as Deaths Handmaiden, is haunted by her past and her cybernetic arm and phantom. She hopes to leave her past and reputation behind and start anew on the colony world of Goruden, a hardscrabble planet of frontier-minded people seeking a better life. She interviews for a job as a marksmanship instructor for local bigwig Signore Ferran Contesti, but Contesti is not what he seems. A recent arrival on Goruden, he hopes to mold the colony world in his own image, at odds with the unencumbered life free of government and corporate meddling that Talia has come to find. Soon, Talia finds herself thrust into the start of another conflict. She desperately wants to stay out of it, but she may not have that luxury. With the fate of a planet and her own peace of mind hanging in the balance, Talia must decide whether or not to once again take up the mantle of Deaths Handmaiden.

ISBN-13: 9781982193089