Lotería

by Cynthia Pelayo

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Steeped in Latin American folklore and mythology, Cynthia Pelayo's collection of short stories is packed with everything from the spooky to the scary. If you enjoyed Pelayo's Children of Chicago, this is the next logical step for you.

Award-winning author Cynthia "Cina" Pelayo's acclaimed short story collection Lotería, now with added illustrations and new bonus stories...as well as an exclusive preview for her upcoming sequel to CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, THE SHOEMAKER'S MAGICIAN (out this Spring).

The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance—similar to bingo. However, in Lotería instead of matching up numbers on a game board, players match up images. 


There are 54 cards in the Lotería game, and for this short story collection you will find one unique story per card based on a Latin American myth, folklore, superstition, or belief—with a slant towards the paranormal and horrific. In this deck of cards you will find murderers, ghosts, goblins and ghouls. This collection features creatures and monsters, vampires, werewolves and more.


Many of these legends existed long before their European counterparts—passed throughout the Americas via word of mouth, collected just like the tales the Brothers Grimm. These are indeed fairy tales—Latin American fairy tales—but with a horrifying slant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957957067
Publisher:	Polis Books
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	20,224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo is a two-time International Latino Book award winner as well as a two-time Bram Stoker Award and Elgin Award nominated poet. She is the author of CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, Poems of My Night, and Into The Forest And All The Way Through. She is a Doctoral Candidate in Business Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Cina was raised in inner city Chicago, where she lives with her husband and children. Find her online at www.cinapelayo.com and on Twitter @cinapelayo.

Editorial Reviews

OUTSTANDING PRAISE FOR CHILDREN OF CHICAGO

2021 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

"GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOUR HEART THUMP AND SKIN CRAWL”—The New York Times

ONE OF THE 10 "BEST HORROR NOVELS OF 2021"—LIBRARY JOURNAL

ONE OF THE "MUST-READ BOOKS FOR SUMMER 2021"—The Chicago Tribune

2021 INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD WINNER

ONE OF THE "BEST OF THE BEST BOOKS" OF 2021 BY THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

NOTABLE MENTION "THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR; CRIME FICTION 2021"—CrimeReads

HONORABLE MENTION "THE BEST NOIR FICTION OF 2021"—CrimeReads

ONE OF "THE BEST NEW CRIME NOVELS"—Book Riot

"Cynthia Pelayo’s wonderfully eerie CHILDREN OF CHICAGO, an ode to Humboldt Park and fairy tales and crime novels and Chicago’s Latinx community, has ambition to spare."—The Chicago Tribune

"Pelayo masterfully ratchets up the tension and the scares. Robert McCammon fans will be pleased."—Publishers Weekly (Starred)

"With superior worldbuilding, a relentless pace, a complex heroine, and a harrowing story that preys off of current events as much as its well-developed monster, this is a stellar horror novel that fires on all cylinders, from the first page through to its horrible conclusion. For fans of dark fantasy based on fairy tales such as Seanan McGuire’s 'Wayward Children' series or novels by Helen Oyeyemi, with just the right touch of Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski."—Library Journal (Starred)

"Cynthia Pelayo combines police procedural with suspense, horror, and a fairy tale to give you a dark genre-bending tale, perfect for X-file fans and readers who eschew cookie-cutter books."—Alma Katsu, author of THE HUNGER and THE DEEP

"CHILDREN OF CHICAGO is equal parts thriller and horror, occupying the same space as the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris or Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg, and this novel is equally worthy of your time."—Crime Fiction Lover

"Pelayo has crafted a love story to Chicago, particularly the Latinx community, weaving history, culture, and landmarks into the fabric of the story until the city practically breathes. It is also a love story to fairy tales, and Pelayo intersperses retellings throughout the book, examining the structure, meaning, and value of the original tales. Pelayo's dark, reimagined fairy tale will have readers leaving their lights on long after they’ve turned the last page."—Booklist

"I was enthralled with each page. A perfect book for those who love horror."—Suspense Magazine

"Part police procedural, all horror, Cynthia Pelayo's CHILDREN OF CHICAGO is an immensely entertaining and thoroughly chilling novel, which just so happens to combine two of my favorite things: Chicago and fairytales. I challenge you not to have a good time with Pelayo's book. The confidence and style on display here say she's destined to become one of the greats."—Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of SOUR CANDY, KIN, and THE TURTLE BOY

Incredible praise for LOTERIA

"Horror fans will enjoy 54 original stories full of murderers, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures, reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm and Horacio Quiroga.” —Booklist

"Pelayo steeps her tales in Latin American culture and legends...with such an expansive selection to choose from, fans of speculative fiction are certain to find something to enjoy." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher