Dark Secrets

Miss Dark’s Apparitions #6

by Suzannah Rowntree

Apocalyptic cults…ancient abominations…and a library heist in Imperial Germany!

Molly Dark and her crew of philanthropic thieves aren’t looking for trouble—just some rare books. Robbing the Heidelberg university library won’t just provide what they need to restore Alphonse Schmidt’s memories: it’ll also prevent the world’s empires from recovering their most sinister weapon.

But the path of true philanthropy never runs smooth.

With rumours afoot that the secret to making undead revenant policemen may be hidden in Heidelberg, agents of the world’s Great Powers are racing to recover it. Not least among them is Warren Vandergriff, the world-famous prosthete detective who already has several reasons of his own to want Miss Dark and her friends behind bars.

Worse still, the sinister Order of the Black Temple also has its sights set on the library’s hidden treasure—to say nothing of Schmidt himself, whom they’ve marked out as the vessel for an ancient evil.

Stealing from a deranged deity may be inadvisable, but sometimes one is left with no choice…

Return to the Bete Epoque for the climactic final volume of Miss Dark’s Apparitions, a historical fantasy prefect for fans of Leverage and The Mummy! Join Miss Dark on an occult errand to Imperial Germany—pre-order Dark Secrets today!

Genres: Fantasy

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2025

About the author

Hi! I live in a big house in rural Australia with my awesome parents and siblings, drinking fancy tea and writing historical fantasy fiction that blends real-world history with legend, adventure, and a dash of romance.

​If you like the historical fantasy of Gail Carriger, S. A. Chakraborty or Naomi Novik, you'll probably like my stories too!

You can visit me online at https://suzannahrowntree.site

GOODREADS FRIEND POLICY: I'm afraid I don't accept every single friend request I receive, unless we already know each other, or it looks like we have tastes broadly in common. However, please feel free to follow and interact.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE DARK GANG IS BACK and they've come to Heidelburg to get to the bottom of Alphonse Schmidt's lost memories and his mysterious connection to the shambling dead known as revenants. But nothing prepares them for what they find--cults! prosthetes! ghosts! and FEELINGS, good gravy, Miss Nijam and Herr Schmidt have to figure this out before she might lose him forever.

The author gleefully plays with many gothic tropes like Frankenstein and Lovecraft and you WILL NOT be disappointed in their outcomes! Pick up this gaslamp gothic heist gang tale today!

I beta read this book but now it's EVEN BETTER! nab it posthaste.

[Christina Baehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in beta but can’t imagine it will change much! This might be my favourite MISS DARK?! Loved the setting of Heidelberg! And the triplets 😱❤️❤️

[Sarah Seele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weinachten! All the Weinachten!

Continue to adore Miss Dark & co. This one felt much lighter and simpler to me than the previous ones…and I liked that. I think it’s because everyone has gradually come to be in a better place, and Molly especially isn’t doing a ton of major growing, just normal day-by-day stuff and helping out her friends. Book 5 was also Mimi’s book more than Molly’s, but I related terrifyingly to Mimi’s dilemna: I do not so much have the flaws of Alphonse or Nijam; hence the fear of their making the wrong decisions and all that is less visceral.

Also it was so cozy. How are you going to be harried up to the roots of your emotions by a Weinachten book?? I don’t always want to be harried up to the roots of my emotions. Sometimes I want German cookies and snowfall and silly evil societies (truly evil, but also truly silly)…and ngl the Christmas miracle was the quite perfect crowning touch to this light-but-sincere, dark-but-cozy story.

[W.R. Gingell]

nom nom nom

lots of fun, lots of disaster, and lots of angst, but most of all lots of Nijam and Alphonse with Molly and Vasily trying rather hysterically to shoo everyone into order while Vasily competes for the crown of most besotted Wifeguy in the best possible way

some more chilling adventure in this one, and lots more chilling misadventure; gulped down the last half in record time!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am devastated that this series is over, but if it must end, this was an excellent way to do it. It would be a stretch to say that the team is working like a well-oiled machine, but they certainly are working (and adapting admirably to all the many ways their best-laid plans go sideways). Molly and Vasily continue to be a capital-d Delight, Mimi is Mimi (and we love her), and Nijam and Alphonse are working themselves out — and we get to find out what they were like Before, which was also lovely. Plus, answers about Alphonse! Adorably precocious and mischievous children (Vasily is not immune)! Mad Lovecraftian "science"! The return (one more time) of Griff (booooooo)! Questionable academian cults! Villains who commit what I would normally consider Dark-Lord-level atrocities in terrifyingly mundane ways! And more — until we wrap up in a very satisfying ending for all parties.

[Katie King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved absolutely everything about Dark Secrets!

In this book, Molly and crew have to go up against several foes, each worse than the last. I can honestly say that I didn’t anticipate how they would defeat each foe and was surprised at several twists.

Dark Secrets has everything you want in a Miss Dark’s Apparitions book. It has romance, friendship, found family, heists, adventure, and monstrous villains. It also has personal growth, deepening relationships, and proof that there is hope even in the darkest situations.

I really enjoyed not knowing how our intrepid thieves would get out of all the trouble that they found themselves in, but having absolute faith that Suzannah wouldn’t let us down and that everything would work out.

Dark Secrets is a wonderful end to this series (at least for now). I really hope that Suzannah continues this series and/or starts another series set in this world.

[Irina Kermong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to miss them *sob*

This one was mostly about Nijam and Alphonse (as the rest of the crew has gotten their ducks in a row... well, as much as it is humanly possible for them), so if you were waiting with baited breath for a resolution for those two, you'll get it here. I'd say my one teeny complaint is that the pace was a bit dizzying for me at times, but that might simply because the books I've been reading this year are all about stretching said pace to a maximum. J.R.R. Tolkien really fixed my attention span, huh.

Did I also enjoy the not-so-subtle potshots at tech bros? Why yes. Yes I did. Did I also cry a bit at the office when the kids reunited with their mom? Why yes. Yes I did.

(I'll also say I'm side-eyeing Peter a little, because given he can also see imprints, I wonder how he'll come to deal with it later given all the inconveniences that come with it.)

[Eli Hinze]

I have a MIGHTY NEED

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting end to the series! I think it's just great that we are 6 books deep and each story has been imaginative and fresh. The monster in this installment was not quite like any of the others we have dealt with, a mix of cthulhu and Mr. Hyde, with a little bit of the Hulk thrown in for good measure. The way it got a hold of poor Schmidt and the way it was ultimately defeated was *chef's kiss*

I grew up in a part of the world that was influenced by and celebrated German heritage, so I also naturally got a kick out of the setting of Heidelberg and all of the little references to things that I grew up familiar with.

If I were to take a half-star off, it would be because there was groundwork laid in an earlier book for Clara to end up in a certain way, but she does not go that way and therefore she ends up kind of an anomaly in this universe and that bothers me. Also, this American finds the idea of revenants as Jim Crow enforcers utterly ridiculous for a number of reasons, but mostly because they'd last about 24 hours in the Alabama heat. They would have been much more likely to have been put to use by the political machines in northern cities like Chicago and New York.

Quibbles aside, this is a series that is not only worth chewing on a bit, but is also a whole lot of fun. Recommend.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

As sweet and nutty as a Christmas cookie, Miss Dark's latest adventure takes her to Heidelberg in time to appreciate the Yule festivities. Finally the gang is ready to steal back Alphonse's memories. Unfortunately their favorite scientist turned amnesiac becomes the target of a dark cult possessed of a most unfortunate book. Miss Dark returns to her old job of governess to infiltrate the villain's home, acquires three charming charges (two living and one dead), and the plotting begins. There's the heist, the double-cross, the battles, and the return of a disagreeable former fiancé. This is the sixth and supposedly final book in this series. One hopes for the day when Miss Sharp and Miss Dark cross paths in a new adventure, although Vasily will have a lot of explaining to do. If you have never met either lady, start at the beginning with the Miss Sharp trilogy. You are in for a steampunk treat.

[Lj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final (for now) Miss Dark book Molly and freinds tackle villains old and new as their quest to destroy any and all remaining information on how to create revenants quickly becomes more complicated than anticipated. There is of course a heist (or two), adventure, romance, humour, and hope. It ties off all the threads that have been woven throughout the series in a very satisfying way but leaves the potential for these characters to re-appear in more adventures in the future. It was fun and compelling throughout and a thoroughly enjoyable finish to a fabulous series.

I received an ARC and voluntarily leave an honest review.

[Michele Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nooooo! I don’t want this series to end!

I saved this book for a rainy day (or in my case, a snowy day), and I meant to read a few chapters and go to bed, but I stayed up the whole night and read it straight through, not even realizing I had done so till after.

This book was utter perfection, and that ending. Chef’s kiss.

Can I please have ten more books in this series? Please?

[Keith Younger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the last volume in the Miss Dark’s Apparitions Series. All of the various ongoing sub plots were bought to a conclusion. I was delighted with the tease that there might be more monstrous action to come with a crossover with the Miss Sharp characters in Melbourne.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! A great end (for now) to the series. It wrapped up everything nicely.