The Shoemaker's Magician

(Hardback)

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Description

A fabled lost movie. An increasing body count. How much do you risk for art
Paloma has been watching the Grand Vespertilio Show her entire life. Grand, Americas most beloved horror host showcases classic, low-budget and cult horror movies with a flourish, wearing his black tuxedo and hat, but Paloma has noticed something strange about Grand, stranger than his dark make-up and Gothic television set.
After Palomas husband, a homicide detective, discovers an obscure movie poster pinned on a mutilated corpse on stage at the Chicago Theater, she knows that the only person that can help solve this mystery is Grand. When another body appears at an abandoned historic movie palace the deaths prove to be connected to a silent film, lost to the ages, but somehow at the center of countless tragedies in Chicago.
The closer Paloma gets to Grand she discovers that his reach is fargreater than her first love,horror movies, and even this film. And she soon becomes trapped between protecting a silent movie thats contributed to so much death in her city and the life of her young son.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO SAGA BOOK ONE
2021 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL
2021 INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD WINNER
ONE OF THE "BEST OF THE BEST BOOKS" OF 2021 BY THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY
ONE OF THE 10 "BEST HORROR NOVELS OF 2021"--Library Journal
ONE OF THE "MUST-READ BOOKS FOR SUMMER 2021"--The Chicago Tribune
NOTABLE MENTION "THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR; CRIME FICTION 2021"--CrimeReads
ONE OF "THE BEST NEW CRIME NOVELS"--Book Riot

"GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOUR HEART THUMP AND SKIN CRAWL"--The New York Times
"Cynthia Pelayo's wonderfully eerie CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, an ode to Humboldt Park and fairy tales and crime novels and Chicago's Latinx community, has ambition to spare."--The Chicago Tribune
"Pelayo masterfully ratchets up the tension and the scares. Robert McCammon fans will be pleased."--Publishers Weekly (Starred)
"With superior worldbuilding, a relentless pace, a complex heroine, and a harrowing story that preys off of current events as much as its well-developed monster, this is a stellar horror novel that fires on all cylinders, from the first page through to its horrible conclusion. For fans of dark fantasy based on fairy tales such as Seanan McGuire's 'Wayward Children' series or novels by Helen Oyeyemi, with just the right touch of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski."--Library Journal (Starred)
"Cynthia Pelayo combines police procedural with suspense, horror, and a fairy tale to give you a dark genre-bending tale, perfect for X-file fans and readers who eschew cookie-cutter books."--Alma Katsu, author of THE HUNGER and THE DEEP
"CHILDREN OF CHICAGO is equal parts thriller and horror, occupying the same space as the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris or Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg, and this novel is equally worthy of your time."--Crime Fiction Lover
"Pelayo has crafted a love story to Chicago, particularly the Latinx community, weaving history, culture, and landmarks into the fabric of the story until the city practically breathes. It is also a love story to fairy tales, and Pelayo intersperses retellings throughout the book, examining the structure, meaning, and value of the original tales. Pelayo's dark, reimagined fairy tale will have readers leaving their lights on long after they've turned the last page."--Booklist
"I was enthralled with each page. A perfect book for those who love horror."--Suspense Magazine
"Part police procedural, all horror, Cynthia Pelayo's CHILDREN OF CHICAGO is an immensely entertaining and thoroughly chilling novel, which just so happens to combine two of my favorite things: Chicago and fairytales. I challenge you not to have a good time with Pelayo's book. The confidence and style on display here say she's destined to become one of the greats."--Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of SOUR CANDY, KIN, and THE TURTLE BOY

Author Bio

Cynthia Cina Pelayo is an International Latino Book Award winning and three-time Bram Stoker Awards nominated poet and authorof CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, LOTERIA, SANTA MUERTE, THE MISSING, and POEMS OF MY NIGHT, which was also nominated for an Elgin Award.She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College, a Master of Science in Marketing from Roosevelt University, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Business Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.Cina was raised in inner city Chicago, where she lives with her husband and children. Find her online at www.cinapelayo.com and on Twitter @cinapelayo