Cerilli, Matteo L. - Bad in the Blood

Bad in the Blood

Author: Matteo L. Cerilli

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mystery

Pages: 392

Publisher: Tundra Books

Release Date: September 2, 2025

Format: Hardcover

Synopsis:

"Cerilli’s use of Faerie Disorder as an extended metaphor for neurodivergence is rich with nuance, and the world is infused with queerness and racial diversity. A cinematic and enthralling flare of fey magic." —Kirkus STARRED Review

"A viciously clever caper steeped in noir grittiness and fey chaos. Puck's Port will devour you." —Mary Averling, author of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog

In a world where magical beings, fey, are mistrusted and often institutionalized, a human brother and fey sister must team up to solve a bizarre murder in this 1920s-inspired queer teen fantasy novel.

In the city of Puck's Port, where motorized vehicles fill the streets and new technological marvels abound, something rotten is lurking under the surface. A violent murder at the docks seems to point to a fey killer, igniting a powder keg of distrust between the city's humans and its fey inhabitants — folks who wield wonderful but often uncontrollable magical power.

Gristle Senan Maxim Junior finds himself caught in the middle. Forced into the reluctant role of private investigator, like his late father, he's working to solve the mystery of this fiery murder . . . mainly because his sister, Hawthorne Stregoni, is a fey herself with an unfortunate penchant for setting things ablaze.

Hawthorne is part of an experimental study to control feyism but struggles to keep her powerful magic in check in a country that hates what she is. Can she and Gristle work together to find the true instigator of the murder before it's too late?

LGBT Themes:

• Transgender
• Neurodivergent

Relevant Tags:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Queer, Trans, Transgender, Mystery, LGBT, Mystery Thriller, Queer Lit, Young Adult Fantasy, Historical, Historical Fiction