Inspired by the negotiations between Japan and Germany in the lead-up to the Tripartite Pact (the Axis alliance) and the day-to-day life of a former bureaucrat in the diplomatic corps, Rissa Must Die is for readers who love a richly detailed and complicated geopolitical situation as the backdrop for their political, familial, and romantic intrigue.

A slow-burn political fantasy of identity, rivalry, and reluctant reunion - perfect for readers who love royal intrigue, dual-identity deception, and family you can't escape.

Prompts:

• A fantasy novel about a body double

• A fantasy novel with strong female leads

• A fantasy novel with complicated, platonic relationships between women

• A fantasy novel about complicated family relationships - lookalike cousins with a past forced to work together

• A fantasy novel about learning to let go of control

• A fantasy novel about learning to use your privilege to do good in the world

• A fantasy novel for former U.S. federal government workers adjusting to life after government

Comp Titles:

• C. L. Clark’s The Unbroken

• Everina Maxwell’s Winter’s Orbit

• According to Claude (on August 10, 2026):

  • She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

  • Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

  • The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

  • I will be reading these over the coming weeks and update it if I agree it is a good fit!

Tropes:

• The prince and the pauper

• Enemies-to-lovers

• Slow burn

• Court intrigue

• Secret identity

• Forbidden romance