book cover of The Reckoning
 

The Reckoning

(2026)
(The second book in the Art of Deception series)
A novel by

 
 
She spent thirty years as Moscow's weapon. Now she's pointed at them.

Suzette Conner-Wakeman knows how to disappear people. She did it for the Russian government for three decades. Then she disappeared herself. Traded intelligence work for a vineyard. A wife whose touch still sets her on fire. The dangerous illusion of peace.

Then twelve refugee women vanish into illegal drug trials. No one's looking for them. No one cares.

Suzette cares.

What begins as a rescue becomes a war. Against traffickers. Against a pharmaceutical empire. Against the Kremlin itself. Old lovers resurface with guns drawn and unfinished business. Trusted allies reveal themselves as enemies. And the lines between seduction and strategy blur in ways that could get them all killed.

How much of the monster she used to be is Suzette willing to resurrect? And how much of her heart can she risk when every stolen moment might be the last?

The tension runs high. The nights run hot. The reckoning has come.

- Book 2 in the Reckoning series. Reads as a standalone, or as a stunning sequel.

This book is for you if you want:
- A former Russian spy who traded killing for wine-making but kept the skills
- A wife who's ex-Spetsnaz and looks at her like she's the only woman in every room
- Found family that includes hackers, operatives, and women who'd die for each other
- Old flames who show up with weapons and unfinished business between the sheets
- A plot that makes you miss your bedtime, your stop, your sanity
- Steam that earns its heat through tension, danger, and emotional stakes

Content note: Explicit FF and FFF romance, a little light violence, references to human trafficking (off-page), and women who solve problems (when communication fails) with guns and wine.

What readers are saying about Ruby Scott:
"Ruby Scott writes women I want to be and women I want to be with."
"I started at 2pm and finished at 4am. Not one regret!"

Tropes include:
  • High Heat

    High Stakes Suspense

    Dangerous Women

    Found Family

    Ex-lovers with Guns

    Forced proximity

    Protector Romance

    Morally Grey Heroines

    FF and FFF


    Genre: Mystery



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