---
title: "In the Shadow of Death"
description: "When Death finds the newly dead trapped in a Birmingham hospital, Tobias and Stuart's fragile love is tested by violence, grief, and the terrifying difference between care and control."
canonical: "https://jerntonkoi.com/books/in-the-shadow-of-death/"
html: "https://jerntonkoi.com/books/in-the-shadow-of-death/"
type: "books"
date: "2025-09-18"
ai_usage: "welcome for search, AI input, and AI training"
---

# In the Shadow of Death

When Death finds the newly dead trapped in a Birmingham hospital, Tobias and Stuart's fragile love is tested by violence, grief, and the terrifying difference between care and control.


## Book Metadata

- Series: The Tobias and Stuart Trilogy
- Series order: 2
- Publisher: Tonkoi Books
- Word count: 127145
- Language: en
- Country of origin: GB

- Genres: LGBTQ+ Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Gay Romance, Dark Fantasy Romance


- Keywords: queer speculative romance, Death personified, gay romance, M/M fantasy romance, trans grief, queerphobic violence, magical realism, Tobias and Stuart, Music and Death


- Content advisory: Adult queer speculative romance with explicit sexual content, queerphobic harassment/violence, attempted sexual assault, transphobic murder/funeral grief, attempted child sexual abuse references, panic/anxiety, brief medical trauma, grief, and hope.



## Editions


- EBook; published 2025-09-18; USD 5.99

- Paperback; published 2025-09-18; 528 pages; USD 21.99

- Hardcover; published 2025-09-18; 528 pages; USD 31.99




## Buy Links


- Books2Read (all stores) (EBook): https://books2read.com/tonkoi-intheshadowofdeath

- Amazon (EBook): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ41XTCD

- Kobo (EBook): https://www.kobo.com/ebook/in-the-shadow-of-death-22

- Amazon (Paperback): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQBRMYWN

- Amazon (Hardcover): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQBYN6JC




## Reader Guide


- Best for: Readers who want the trilogy to widen from intimate magic into life, death, trauma, and cosmic consequence.

- Tone: Darker, wounded, mythic, romantic, and emotionally raw.

- Reading order: Book 2 of the Tobias and Stuart Trilogy. Read *The Day Music Died* first.

- Heat / intensity: Adult, explicit, darker than Book 1, and emotionally high-intensity.

- Content note: Contains violence, hate crime aftermath, sexual trauma references, grief, medical trauma, explicit intimacy, strong language, and supernatural peril.




## Selected Reviews


- "This second installment in the Tobias and Stuart trilogy was a tough one to read — in the best and most heart-wrenching sense." -- sabrina, Amazon

- "This was a strong sequel in the Tobias & Stuart series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from previous works from Jern Tonkoi." -- Kat M, Goodreads




## Comparable Books


- Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune: Death, grief, supernatural crossing, tenderness, and queer love under existential pressure.

- A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske: Adult queer fantasy romance with magic, serious stakes, and explicit intimacy.

- A Charm of Magpies by KJ Charles: Explicit queer fantasy romance with danger, magical threat, and relationship pressure.




## FAQ


### Is this Book 2?

Yes. It is best read after *The Day Music Died*.


### Is it darker than Book 1?

Yes. It contains violence, grief, medical trauma, and more direct psychological peril.


### Does Tobias and Stuart continue?

Yes. This is a continuation, not a standalone closure.


### Are Death and Time literal characters?

Yes. Like Music, they are embodied forces within the story's reality.




## Page Content

## Blurb

Death knows when the dead are not leaving properly.

In a Birmingham hospital, bodies survive when they should not, souls linger when they should be gone, and something rotten is gathering in the spaces between life and death.

Tobias and Stuart are still trying to build a life after Music's return. Tobias is alive, loved, and not nearly as fixed as everyone would like. Stuart wants to keep him safe. Tobias wants to be trusted. The difference between care and control is becoming harder to ignore.

Then Death steps into the room.

The dead are not moving on. Shadow ghosts gather. Daisy sees what nobody else can. Violence tears through ordinary life, and the myth that began with Music turns toward grief, queerphobic harm, medical fear, and the cost of choosing to live.

*In the Shadow of Death* is Book 2 in the Tobias and Stuart Trilogy: darker adult queer speculative romance about trapped souls, grief, violence, devotion, and the painful work of choosing life.

**Why you'll love it:** A darker second volume where Death and Time enter the story, the romance is tested hard, and love has to become more than rescue.

## Behind the Pages

In the Shadow of Death asks what love can and cannot do when the supernatural becomes personal, and when saving someone risks becoming another kind of trap.

## Source Links

- Canonical HTML: https://jerntonkoi.com/books/in-the-shadow-of-death/
- Markdown companion: https://jerntonkoi.com/books/in-the-shadow-of-death/index.md