Some books are good. . .others are plain evil: the adventures of our three intrepid heroes continue in the breath-taking sequel to The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, in G.W. Dahlquist's The Dark Volume, within which resides every reader's blackest nightmare . . .

On a barren coast, young heiress Miss Temple awakes from a fever to discover herself friendless, alone - and having shot her fiancé stone dead. Fleeing from suspicious villagers and attacks by 'wolves', Miss Temple finds herself with a most unlikely travelling companion in the shape of the seductive and deadly Contessa di Lacquer-Sforza.

Meanwhile, assassin Cardinal Chang and surgeon Dr Svenson are following an orgy of destruction and corruption, involving books of blue glass, to the ruins of Harschmort House, where a mysterious and vile volume is being hunted by a diabolical cabal bent on world domination.

As Miss Temple, Cardinal Chang and Dr Svenson uncover further devilish treachery, so the terrifying secrets contained in The Dark Volume are revealed one by one.

'Fans of a ripping yarn will find it hard to resist' Metro

'Undeniably moreish . . . curl up with this under a rug' London Paper

When G. W. Dahlquist fell asleep during a snowstorm, his first book The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters came to him in a dream. This is his second novel. The third volume in the series, The Chemickal Marriage is also available from Penguin.