The Last Hour Between Worlds

By: Melissa Caruso

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with reality-bending magic, and sapphic romance, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author, Melissa Caruso.

In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.

Kembral Thorne has a few hours away from her newborn, and she’s determined to enjoy herself at the year-turning ball. But when guests start dropping dead, she can’t help sniffing out trouble—she’s a Hound, after all. Especially when her professional and personal nemesis, notorious burglar Rika Nonesuch, is also on the prowl.

Everyone knows you shouldn’t get involved with Echo games. Let alone one involving ancient Echo lords who can turn layers of reality into a gameboard with human lives for pieces. But as the ballroom grows stranger and more otherworldly with each strike of the hour, it’s clearly too late.

Kem knows the rules: One Echo down is no big deal. Stay alert for trouble.

Four Echoes down, there are things with eyes in their teeth, and walls that drip blood. Four is the limit.

As the party plunges through increasingly deadly realities, the rules can’t help Kem anymore. She’ll have to rely on her wits—and Rika—to unravel the most dangerous game of the century before it unleashes catastrophe on their world.

For more from Melissa Caruso, check out:

Swords and Fire
The Tethered Mage
The Defiant Heir
​The Unbound Empire

Rooks and Ruin
The Obsidian Tower
The Quicksilver Court
The Ivory Tomb

Critic reviews

"A charming fantasy mystery that kept me guessing until the very last page—I completely adored this book and would read a dozen more of Kembral's adventures." —Shannon Chakraborty, New York Times bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“This book has everything you've been craving: sword fights, time loops, complicated feelings about parenthood, and banter with your sworn enemy. What an absolute delight!"—Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author

“The Last Hour Between Worlds is a masterpiece—filled with excitement, romance, and characters you would protect with your life. The wobbly time effects in this book reach past its pages, making hours of reading blink by in a moment. Unmissable!”—Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter

“To say The Last Hour Between Worlds hits the ground running would be an understatement: This book starts at a sprint and never slows down. It’s funny, and scary, and weird in the very best way. Melissa Caruso’s writing is razor-sharp and this book is one heck of a page-turner.”—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"Equal parts sheer adventurous fun and creepy, dimension-bending tension, featuring a relatable and instantly engaging protagonist. This is totally unlike anything I've read before; Caruso has pulled off a wonderfully creative premise with skill and panache." —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

"An addictive read with an incredibly sympathetic heroine and a delightful relationship. I loved it and can't wait for more in this world." —Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library

"This twisty, locked-room mystery spans alternate dimensions, braiding romance and adventure into brilliant, time-looping fun. Perfect for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle!"—Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

"Twisty, breakneck, and full of delightful surprises, The Last Hour Between Worlds is a book guaranteed to pull you out of a reading slump. Equal parts hilarious and poignant, this is Caruso's best work yet—a time-loop, murder mystery party like you've never read before. I dare you to put it down."—Kritika H. Rao, author of The Surviving Sky

"A witty, tense and imaginative triumph of a book! I lost many an unplanned hour inhaling The Last Hour Between Worlds. With its compelling magic, reluctant hero trying (and failing) to be on leave, and one increasingly surreal party, this tightly paced story will be a lasting favorite!" —Sam Hawke, author of City of Lies

Full of action

I love how we jumped into the world without a lead up, and figured things out as it went along.

Just Incredible

I read this in January. And I fear it’s ruined me for the rest of the year because I’m not sure I’ll find a book I love more than this. 5/5 for well, everything. Humor, adventure, romance, narration, plot, characters. All I felt after reading it was that I wanted more. I really feared I’d be confused out of my mind with the reality changes but that never happened. Cannot recommend this book enough.

Fun, unique, and cozy.

Murder mystery, romance, loveable characters, a cool magic system, and a single mom on her night out. If that doesn't sell it to you I don't know what will. Moira Quirk kills the narration, yet again.

Unique otherworldly fascinating twists

This action fantasy and its strong female heroines Kembral & Rikahad intriguing twists & turns of storyline. The unique idea of this other world and its various imaginative characters: villains & heroes gave much to imagine. Why I didn’t give full 5 star reviews is that I was wishing the storyline had some areas of levity to get a break from the all over continual intensity of the storyline. There were times when I definitely needed a break or I would say out loud “oh come on & give us a break w some sort of levity or unique situation that wasn’t all gloom & doom.
I would like to look forward to the next book in the series without feeling like it will be continual intensity all throughout. Reading/listening to Audible books can be a super break from current reality of doom and gloom-fantasy books especially.

Incredibly Underrated!

Melissa Caruso is an extremely underrated author. The worlds she creates are so unique and interesting and I need everyone right now to give her a chance!

This was the first book in a new world than her previous two trilogies and I think it was done so well! It set up the next book to be incredibly interesting and I'm excited to see where it goes.

At first I thought that the many callouts to the MC's pregnancy was a bit much, but I think by the end it worked out really well with the story. Also, maybe this is a sign that we as a society should be less weirded out by the results of pregnancy and definitely be more thoughtful about giving people TIME OFF. haha it was a great book.