Six of Crows: A Darker Shore, Letters from Ketterdam

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a new Grishaverse short story: a mystery told through found documents and set after the events of Crooked Kingdom.

In the years since the violent upheaval caused by the auction of Kuwei Yul-Bo, the merchants of Ketterdam have been under attack. Secret businesses exposed. Ships sunk. Slavers hunted as they once hunted their victims. All the work of a mysterious sea captain and her ship, the Wraith.

Now, two investigators meet to uncover the truth behind the latest disaster: a massacre on an island off the shores of Ketterdam. Among the evidence collected is private correspondence between notorious crime boss Kaz Brekker and an anonymous sailor aboard the Wraith known only as “I.”

Follow along with the lead investigator as he tries to piece together how such a disaster transpired, and explore the Grishaverse like never before with new illustrations by E.K. Belsher, original music composed by E. Aaron Wilson, and in-world collectible items.

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.

For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for Leigh's newsletter: http://bit.ly/bardugonews.

“Six of Crows” is a fast-paced fantasy heist novel about a group of dangerous misfits forced to work together on what seems like an impossible mission. Set mainly in Ketterdam, a rough, trade-driven city full of gangs, corruption, and opportunity, the story follows Kaz Brekker, a brilliant teenage crime boss with a reputation for being ruthless and nearly impossible to outsmart. Kaz is offered a huge payment to rescue a scientist from the Ice Court in Fjerda, one of the most secure prisons in the world. The scientist has created jurda parem, a powerful drug that can amplify Grisha magic in terrifying ways, and if the formula falls into the wrong hands, it could shift the balance of power across nations.

Kaz cannot pull off the mission alone, so he assembles a team made up of criminals, outcasts, and people with their own reasons for taking the job. Inej Ghafa, his spy and knife-wielding shadow, is one of his most trusted allies. Jesper Fahey is a sharpshooter with a gambling habit and more talent than he usually admits. Nina Zenik is a Grisha Heartrender whose magic makes her both powerful and vulnerable. Matthias Helvar is a former Grisha-hunter from Fjerda who has every reason to hate Nina but is dragged into the mission anyway. Wylan Van Eck, the privileged son of the man who hired Kaz, joins later and brings technical skill that the crew desperately needs. Together, they form a group that constantly argues, mistrusts one another, and slowly begins to function as a team.

The heist itself is the heart of the novel, but the book is just as much about the people carrying it out. Each member of the crew has wounds from the past, and the mission forces those wounds to the surface. Kaz is driven by revenge as much as money, especially because of his history with the criminal Pekka Rollins, the man connected to his suffering and the death of his brother. Inej dreams of freedom from the life she was forced into. Nina and Matthias are caught between loyalty, ideology, and attraction. Jesper hides fear behind humor and bravado. Wylan struggles with rejection and his place in the world. Their personal conflicts make the mission more difficult, but they also give the story emotional depth beyond the action.

The crew’s plan is bold and extremely risky. They must enter the Ice Court, navigate its guards and traps, disguise themselves, and somehow extract the target without triggering disaster. Along the way, the novel delivers constant twists, betrayals, and reversals. Nothing goes exactly as planned, and the crew must adapt repeatedly just to survive. The tension is high because every character brings a different skill, but also a different weakness, and the story keeps balancing clever strategy with real danger.

At the same time, the novel develops the relationships inside the crew in a way that makes the stakes feel personal. The emotional connections are slow-burning and often restrained, but they matter because trust is hard to build in a world where betrayal is normal. Kaz and Inej’s bond is especially important, built on mutual respect, pain, and longing that neither fully knows how to express. Nina and Matthias’s relationship is shaped by hatred and attraction that challenge both of them. Jesper and Wylan bring lighter moments, but their own connection grows into something meaningful as well. These relationships make the crew feel less like a group of plot devices and more like people trying to survive together.

“Six of Crows” becomes more than a story about stealing someone from a prison. It is about survival, loyalty, grief, and the possibility of choosing your own family even when the world has taught you not to trust anyone. The novel is dark, witty, and suspenseful, with a strong sense of style and atmosphere, and it succeeds because the heist and the characters are equally compelling. The ending leaves the crew changed by what they have endured, with their bonds deeper and their futures still uncertain, which sets the stage for the larger conflict that follows in the next book.