The Secret Market of the Dead

Giovanni De Feo

$60.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Miscellaneous
08 July 2025

Fantasy; Myth & legend told as fiction; Fantasy

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 Lucerìa, 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 one’s destiny.

On this porous border separating Day from Night, Oriana spends her time fantasizing about becoming a smith in her father’s 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 forge’s 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 Night—and, as always, everything comes with a cost.

By: Giovanni De Feo
Imprint: Miscellaneous
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 213mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 415g
ISBN: 9781668077368
ISBN 10: 1668077361
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 08 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for The Secret Market of the Dead

""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 ""Atmospheric, spooky, and thoughtful, The Secret Market of the Dead is both an exciting tale and an original and beautifully wrought coming-of-age story. It was a pure delight to read, and I recommend it highly."" --Delia Sherman, author of Changeling and The Evil Wizard Smallbone