The Midnight Bathhouse

Samar was the best scribe at the customs house of Aroos al-Bahr, right up until the morning her hand stopped moving. So when an aunt she can't remember leaves her a crumbling bathhouse in the old city of Qaysariyya, she has one plan: sell it by spring and find a quiet room somewhere with a window.

Then she hears water running in the night.

After midnight, once a line of salt is laid across the floor, the Rose Bath opens to a different kind of guest. A weeping spirit who leaves rose petals instead of tears. A quarrelsome old couple who are half a person each. A ghoul who wants henna for her daughter's wedding. A fire spirit called the Brazier, who grumbles about the coffee and grows fainter every time the bath's ancient boiler weeps.

If the fire ever goes out, the door to the night closes for a generation. The boiler won't last the winter. The buyer waiting for spring means to tear the place down. And Samar, who came here to stop being needed, is running out of ways to say no.

A warm, funny and quietly moving story of found family, strong coffee, a stoker who reads old poetry, and a city that shows up when it matters. Perfect for readers of Legends & Lattes, The Spellshop and Under the Whispering Door.