The Secret Market of the Dead

(Hardback)

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Description

An enthralling (Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library and Elusive) Italian-inspired gothic historical fantasy about a young woman who finds her power in the nocturnal realm that lurks beneath her town.

Just beyond the waking edges of Lucera, an 18th-century town in the kingdom of Naples, lies the Night: an enigmatic fiefdom governed by seven immortals and fueled by Moira, the power to reshape ones destiny.

On this porous border separating Day from Night, Oriana spends her time fantasizing about becoming a smith in her fathers forge and eavesdropping on whispered tales of beasts and men who roam the nocturnal realm. But in the Night, these stories come alive, as Oriana saw for herself after she inadvertently trespassed into the Secret Market of the Dead, where vendors hawk Moira to those desperate enough to accept its immeasurably steep price.

Years later, when her father chooses her twin brother to succeed him, Oriana challenges her sibling to a series of trials to determine the forges true heir. But as the twins fierce competition escalates, with the town and her own family set firmly against her, Oriana realizes that to break free from the stifling confines of Day, she must once again embrace the Nightand, as always, everything comes with a cost.

Reviews

"Delightfully atmospheric and deftly plotted." Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste Magazine

An enchanting fable of family, ambition, and dreams both magical and real. A delightful read. Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and Ithaca

"Aswirling fever dreamof cursed festivals and talking cats, many-eyed cloaks and midnight saints, shapeshifting hammers and impossible fatesThe Secret Market of the Deadisa phantasmagoria that will have you teetering on a tightrope between worlds."
GennaRose Nethercott, author ofThistlefootandFifty Beasts to Break Your Heart

"Atmospheric, spooky, and thoughtful,The Secret Market of the Deadis both an exciting tale and anoriginal and beautifully wroughtcoming-of-age story. It was apure delightto read, and I recommend it highly."Delia Sherman, author ofChangelingandThe Evil Wizard Smallbone

"I loved this book.The Secret Market of the Deadis anenthrallingstory about folk tales, urban legends, and myths, that in the end became a myth of its own.I couldn't put it down." Genevieve Cogman, author ofThe Invisible LibraryandElusive

"Take a wrong turn in Lucera, and you may become lost in the Night, anintoxicatingrealm of fanged fairytale overflowing with poetry and menace. Alas, I am Night's latest victim...and I don't even want to be rescued."Frances Hardinge, author ofFly by NightandThe Forest of a Thousand Eyes

DeFeo crafts a sumptuous folkloric excursion into the depths of human creativity...The worldbuilding is lush and extraordinary, and a welter of motives and schemes keep the pages flying.Its a feast for the imagination.Publishers Weekly (starred)

Author Bio

Giovanni De Feo is a fabulist, novelist, and comic book writer. He previously taught literature at International Baccalaureate schools in England and Holland. Currently, he lives in Bologna, Italy, where he is also a performing storyteller with a repertoire of Italian folktales.