Immersive, Surprising Adventures

Coming Fall 2024

EVELYN HUGO meets THE BLONDE IDENTITY in this on-the-run adventure.

The Starlets book cover - one woman in a yellow dress, one in a red dress, both wearing white gloves and shoes and walking forward

The Starlets

By Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne

Lee Kelly

Lee Kelly is the author of CITY OF SAVAGES, a Publishers Weekly pick and a VOYA Magazine “Perfect Ten” selection, A CRIMINAL MAGIC, which was optioned and developed for a television series by Warner Bros., and WITH REGRETS, as well as THE ANTIQUITY AFFAIR and THE STARLETS (forthcoming in 2024), both of which are co-written with Jennifer Thorne.

Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Electric Lit, CrimeReads, Writer's Digest, Orca, and Tor, among other publications, and she holds her MFA degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She currently lives with her husband and two children in New Jersey, where you’ll find them engaged in one adventure or another.

Other Books by Lee Kelly:

With Regrets

A suburban drama wrapped in a 24-hour survival story at the end of the world

With Regrets is equal parts Big Little Lies and Bird Box, a suburban drama wrapped in a 24-hour survival story at the end of the world, perfect for fans of David Koepp's Aurora.

cave with light shining through opening at the top

The Antiquity Affair

By Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne

A feminist take on Indiana Jones set at the turn of the twentieth century

Two estranged daughters of a famed archeologist become unexpected targets of a secret organization bent on finding a lost artifact legendary for its dangerous power, forcing the sisters to band together once again to solve a life-or-death puzzle three millennia in the making.

City of Savages

The war left us for dead. The city ate us alive.

City of Savages is dual-narrative, post-apocalyptic tale of two sisters trying to escape a war-torn Manhattan and discovering the meaning of sisterhood on an island with a dark history; featuring a prisoner-of-war camp in Central Park, cannibals in the subways, and a sadistic cult in the city's Meatpacking District.

A Criminal Magic

Magic is powerful, dangerous and addictive - and after passage of the 18th Amendment, it is finally illegal 

A Criminal Magic is a crossover fantasy novel set in an alternate Roaring Twenties where Prohibition has outlawed magic, and an undercover cop and an up-and-coming sorcerer with a natural attraction soon find themselves on opposing sides of a mounting gang war.

Selected Praise and Awards for Kelly’s books:

With Regrets

“Pulse-pounding and wildly original, With Regrets exposes the dark underbelly of suburbia and the true cost of keeping up appearances . . . Lee Kelly has created a thrilling, nuanced, highly entertaining story that readers will find impossible to put down.”

– Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here

“A thrilling mix of dystopia, locked-in thriller, and family drama.”

– Darby Kane, bestselling author of The Last Invitation

“Terrifying and poignant.”

– Christina Dalcher, Sunday Times bestselling author of Femlandia and Vox

The Antiquity Affair

“A rollicking tale replete with adventure, romance, mystery, and a sprinkle of the supernatural… A fast-paced and entertaining read that I hope is not the last from Kelly and Thorne.”

– Historical Novel Society

“A deliciously entertaining, swashbuckling adventure…”

– Lori Goldstein, Author of Love, Theodosia: A Novel of Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton

“A rousing, page-turning romp across Egypt!”

– Jenni L. Walsh, Author of Call of the Wrens

City of Savages (Kelly’s debut novel) was one of only three books selected as VOYA’s “Perfect Ten” selections the year of its release

“Kelly’s prose is gorgeous and brilliant as she seamlessly tells a satisfyingly dark tale ...

This is one of the best and most original dystopian stories available ... an absolute must-have.”

– VOYA, starred review [On City of Savages]

A Criminal Magic was optioned and developed for a TV series by Warner Bros

A Criminal Magic is a smart, absorbing read, with a deft take on Prohibition, engaging characters, and an utterly believable and fantastic version of magic that is as splendid as it is dangerous.”

– Kate Elliott, author of The Spiritwalker trilogy