My Violent Muse
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Oct 6, 2026
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Would you still love me if I were a murderer…?
Morello is a nobody: a homeless orphan and starving artist with nothing but impossible dreams of escaping obscurity. Then Florence appears—dazzling, dangerous, and offering Morello a way out, on one chilling condition: each year, they must hunt and kill one of the art world’s predatory men. In return, Morello will inherit a life of privilege and promise.
Together, they transform revenge into twisted performance art, staging each murder with meticulous, theatrical flair. But when Morello falls for Jude, a wealthy art student who offers her a glimpse of a life sans murder, her carefully curated reality begins to unravel, and she’s one lie away from losing everything she’s killed for. With the body count rising and anonymous threats closing in, Morello must finally ask herself: Is the cost of vengeance ever truly paid? And after a life shaped by violence and manipulation, will she ever become the artist of her own fate, or will she remain forever someone else’s muse?
Compulsive and deviant, My Violent Muse is a razor-sharp thriller about revenge, exploitation, obsession, and the dangerous bargains we strike for power, survival, and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian novelist Sycamore debuts with a spine-tingling thriller about the bond between a budding artist and her benefactor. Morello, 22, has been living on the streets since her parents were murdered when she was 12. When she meets a mysterious woman named Florence, who offers to pay Morello's way through art school and provide her with a place to live if Morello helps her kill a list of predatory men in the art world, Morello agrees. She grows reluctant to continue the annual killings, however, when she meets Jude Vanderhoeff, a fellow art student who falls for Morello while his ex-girlfriend, Louella Brecht, continues to pine for him. As Morello and Jude's relationship intensifies, Louella investigates Morello's strange relationship with Florence, whom Morello calls her sister. As Morello considers confiding in Jude about the killings, she discovers he has secrets that complicate both their budding romance and her loyalties to Florence. Sycamore weaves a dark tale of obsession and manipulation that delivers intoxicating atmosphere and substantial psychological depth. Readers intrigued by the gothic premise will be rewarded.
