London, 1878. Tessa Gray crosses the Atlantic expecting her brother — instead, she gets kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, tortured with dark magic, and forced to shapeshift against her will. Enter the Shadowhunters: a secret society of demon-slaying warriors who rescue her from the nightmare and pull her into their world of clockwork automatons, rune-marked hunters, and an ancient war between good and evil. Will Herondale is all sharp edges and death wishes. Jem Carstairs is gentle, doomed, and playing the violin while his life ticks away. Tessa is caught between them, and between the human and supernatural worlds, as she discovers her power might be the key to stopping a mechanical army — or destroying everything. Cassandra Clare builds a gorgeously gothic Victorian London full of corsets, carriages, and creatures that go bump in the gaslit night. If you loved *The Infernal Devices* or need a gateway into the Shadowhunter universe, start here.
