“I loved this novella so much!” -Catherine McCarthy, author of Immortelle
“A triumph of a book” -Ross Jeffery, author of The Devil’s Pocketbook
New York City, 1972
Comic book artist, Wally Carson, has been illustrating the stories of a reclusive writer named Salazar without ever having met the man in person. When Salazar suddenly misses his deadlines, Carson is sent to find out what’s happened to the company’s best-selling writer.
Carson meets resistance from the writer’s wife, but when he insists, he is shocked to find Salazar in a catatonic state. His wife, Katja, has kept his illness a secret for almost two years, writing the stories and sending them in under her husband’s name. Realizing he’s been collaborating with Katja, not Salazar, all this time, Carson learns how desperate her situation is. The comic work is the only income they have, and Katja is in the country illegally. If the truth comes out, they will be ruined.
Carson chooses to keep her secret and, as they continue to collaborate, a strange courtship ensues, with the artist becoming intrigued by the woman who pens these strange stories. Their collaboration is abruptly jeopardized when Salazar dies and Katja, panicking, seals her husband’s body in the bedroom. She cannot report his death for fear of being deported, which leaves Carson with a dilemma—turn her in or continue to keep her secret. When other artists at the company want to collaborate with the elusive Salazar, Carson realizes he will have to make Salazar disappear—piece by piece, if necessary.
Book #4 in the My Dark Library series curated by Mother Horror herself, Sadie Hartmann. Cover by Kristina Osborn (@readerNw), interior art by Ryan Mills (@ryanm642). Published by Cemetery Gates Media
