Get it on September 2nd
Bad in the Blood
A YA fantasy noir from Tundra Books
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?
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This story blends fantasy elements with 1920s political history and movements such as the labour movement, immigration struggles, and the rise of eugenics targeting disabled people. As a spin on the changeling myth, the fey are an allegory for mental illness and disability, drawing attention to medical and social injustices both past and present. In this world, gender and name are decided at 18; queerness is normative.
This story works well alongside:
Studies of the 1920s, especially youth culture
The interwar period, including eugenics as a prelude to fascism
Industrial history and the labour movement
Discussions on historical and modern ableism
The changeling myth and medieval folklore
Disability, neurodivergence, and mental illness
Gender-expansive fantasy
Noir mystery and neo noir revival