The Storyteller's Death

Even untold stories have consequences in this enthralling Puerto Rican saga steeped in equal parts magical realism and mystery, and brimming with dark family secrets

There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her grandmother's house when Isla was a child... Isla Larsen Sanchez's life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her great-aunt each summer, like a piece of forgotten luggage.It is only when Isla turns eighteen, and her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies, that Isla discovers she has a gift. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her.When Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can't solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.

About the Author

ANN DÁVILA CARDINAL is a novelist and Director of Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). She also helped create VCFA's winter MFA in Writing residency in Puerto Rico. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including father and son poets Virgilio and José Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning fiction writer Tere Dávila. Dávila Cardinal's first novel, Sister Chicas was co-written with Jane Alberdeston Coralin and Lisa Alvarado. One of her two YA horror novels was nominated for a Bram Stroker Award. She lives in Vermont.