The Dossier of Subtle Repercussions

by Lorna Tedder

The Payback Archives #3 in The Secret Lives of Librarians Universe

High‑Concept Tagline

Think La Femme Nikita–style covert ops collide with the dark academia spell‑slinging of The Magicians and the snark‑sleuth vibes of Veronica Mars in a surveillance mission about learning to trust again after your ex-boyfriend chooses the international book thief over you.

Description

Empathic agent Lilah Burns learned the hard way that trust is a luxury she can’t afford—especially after her ex chose an international book thief over her. When Professor Drusilla St. Augustine assigns her a routine surveillance mission at a historic Florida lodge, Lilah expects to watch a simple trap catch book thieves.

She’s dead wrong.

The mission is actually bait to expose a mole in their own organization—someone’s been leaking classified intel, and Dru’s elaborate setup is designed to flush them out. All Lilah and her partner Raven Darbyshire have to do is observe and report back. But when the stakes turn deadly and betrayal hits closer to home than expected, Lilah realizes the most dangerous part of the mission isn’t the surveillance.

It’s letting Raven matter enough to break down the walls she’s spent years building around her heart.

Genre

Urban Fantasy Romance, Romantic Suspense

Tone

Emotionally complex, Quietly hopeful, Romantically satisfying, Psychologically grounded

Tropes

• Empathic heroine in workplace romance
• Secret society librarians
• Betrayal by ex-boyfriend
• Slow burn with competent, protective hero
• Found family in magical libraries

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Why You’ll Love It

Delivers emotional healing for readers who’ve questioned their worth after betrayal, offering the possibility that trust can be rebuilt carefully, one honest moment at a time, even when your picker has been spectacularly broken before.

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Trigger / Sensitivity Warnings

Emotional betrayal and workplace romantic tension, Life-threatening situations, References to past trauma, Character death