by Daniel Kraus

"Fiction, like any art, can be divided between the living and the dead. The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch is unequivocally and furiously among the former. A splendidly rendered, macabre picaresque, muscular and tender, imaginative and grotesque, cynical yet deeply moving. I was appalled one moment and laughing the next. Don't be fooled by the premise. This tale may be told by a dead man, but what's rendered here is life itself in all of life's absurd glory." - Rick Yancey, New York Times bestselling author of The 5th Wave

I remember being at lunch with the incomparable Jennifer Besser, agent-to-the-stars Richard Abate, and bestselling (and best-dressing) author Melissa de la Cruz. We were there to celebrate Mel, the Blue Bloods work I was doing with her and the new series she had sold to Jen at Putnam. At one point, the ladies headed to the ladies', and Richard and I began to talk about projects we were excited about. He mentioned that one of his clients, Daniel Kraus, was working on a novel about a teenager who had been murdered yet had come back from the dead for reasons unknown. This cursed young man would spend the next decades traversing a growing America, searching for his murderer, looking for answers, hungering for connection. Now, Richard is not known for his eloquent emails, most of which are comprised of, at most, three words. But man, live and in color, can he make a pitch! I was blown away and made him promise to send the submission to me when it was ready.

True to his word, Richard emailed the proposal and sample chapters to me a few months into my tenure at Simon & Schuster. I spent that Saturday morning poring over the pages, passing them to my boyfriend as I completed them, who likewise devoured them. Once done, I recall experiencing a feeling of dread--a fear that I would not get to edit this astonishing work. But if I learned one thing from The Secret, it's that you have to think positively. Seven editors made an offer on Zebulon's story, which will be told in two unforgettable volumes. Simon & Schuster BFYR came out on top.

If you're a fan of Daniel's work, you know that he can be quite dark and very gory. But you'll be surprised by the heart and humor that live on the pages of The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch. 

Prepare to make history!

Lizzy Bromley came up with the mind-blowingly awesome design with cover art by Ken Taylor. Learn more about how the cover came together here.

For more information and to buy the book, click here.

"Kraus's globe-trotting dead kid is by turns cavalier, playful, and thoughtful, and his singular voice--debonair turn-of-the-century murder-turned-victim--is utterly riveting." Grade: A - Entertainment Weekly

“An absolutely sweeping tale of brilliance that drowns its reader in an intoxicating tale of death and degradation, with an absolutely masterful ending. Kraus has a beautifully twisted mind. More, please!”—Zac Brewer, New York Times bestselling author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

“Kraus’s work betrays prodigies of imagination and I absolutely love the voice he has created for Zebulon. His ‘flamboyant elocution’ is the greatest exercise in sustained voice since M. T. Anderson’s Octavian Nothing. Hands-down, my favorite novel of the year. I can’t wait to read Volume Two.”—Michael Cart, author of My Father’s Scar, former director of the Beverly Hills Public Library, and past president of YALSA

“Strange, and marvelous, and funny, and dark, and strikes the perfect balance of all those things. I didn’t want it to end, and I can’t wait for the next volume. Zebulon Finch is one-of-a-kind.”—Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch, The Archived, and The Unbound

★ "Carefully plotted and elaborately drawn."—VOYA (starred review)

“Morbidly fascinating.”—Publishers Weekly

"It's a splendid, poetic, ambitious undertaking, and the significant page count is put to good use, with Kraus fearlessly weaving gore, love, philosophy, and social justice issues into one sharp whole."—BCCB 

“The best book I’ve read this decade. Each sentence is a meticulously constructed marvel. I'm almost reminded of Clive Barker, but unfortunately Mr. Barker has not published anything this good in ages.”—Mark Sieber, Horror Drive-in