Heart-Beast - by Tanith Lee (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A shapeshifter prowls England's countryside, driven by its primal killing instincts and desire for a woman, in this dark fantasy horror.

World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award-winning author

After committing a crime of passion, Daniel Vehmund fled his English family farm to disappear into the Far East, wracked with guilt for abandoning his mother in the wake of his violence. Then, one day in a marketplace, Daniel is mesmerized by a street peddler's diamond. Teardrop-shaped and tinted green, the jewel--known as "The Wolf"--features the silhouette of a beast within its facets. Although it carries a curse, Daniel cannot resist its powerful allure, or the impulse to possess it.

Now bound to the diamond, Daniel becomes a bestial wolf-like monster at the full moon, ravishing and slaughtering everyone he encounters. When he resumes his human form, he has no memory of the beast's atrocities, but revels in the power seething within him. Daniel divests himself of the jewel after carrying it across the sea back home, but the curse is not done with him, or with an unhappily married woman who waits there.

Disdained by her family who treated her like a servant, Laura Wheelwright found refuge with a wealthy man. Adored for her beauty and lavished with luxuries, she is grateful to have been rescued from a life of drudgery, but feels no love for her husband. His latest gift to her is just another expensive trinket, but it is one that has brought the mysterious, enthralling Daniel Vehmund into her life.

Now, as a ravenous creature preys upon the villagers, Laura is pursued by Daniel. His presence disarms her, compelling her into a dangerous affair with a man unafraid to unleash his inner demon . . .

About the Author

Tanith Lee (1947-2015) was born in the United Kingdom. Although she couldn't read until she was eight, she began writing at nine and never stopped, producing more than ninety novels and three hundred short stories. She also wrote for the BBC television series Blake's 7 and various BBC radio plays. After winning the 1980 British Fantasy Award for her novel Death's Master, endless awards followed. She was named a World Horror Grand Master in 2009 and honored with the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2013. Lee was married to artist and writer John Kaiine.