Cynthia Pelayo Books in Order

Chicago teenager Ariana Molina hides from the enemies of her father, a Mexican federal investigator. His unexpected arrival and a strange accident bring terrifying visions, while cartel pursuers close in, forcing Ariana to consider whether the skeletal figure of Santa Muerte can save them.

Responding to the work of Jorge Luis Borges, Pelayo's poems examine insomnia, blindness, death, and the uncertain boundary between ordinary experience and unseen worlds. Urban nights, spiritual unease, and occult imagery become ways of exploring fear, beauty, and the persistence of disturbing dreams.

Learning that she has a half-sister draws Ariana Molina back to Mexico, where a criminal cartel threatens the only family she has left. Her effort to rescue the missing girl reveals a deeper connection to Santa Muerte and a dangerous bargain involving dark magic.

More than a hundred poems respond to cases of missing and murdered women in the United States. Combining true-crime research with lyrical remembrance, Pelayo focuses attention on the people behind the cases and challenges the silence surrounding violence against women.

A teenager's murder in Chicago recalls the death of Detective Lauren Medina's sister and signals the return of the Pied Piper. To stop further killings, Lauren must confront the secrets she has concealed and the dangerous promise linking her to her sister's murderer.

A linked sequence of poems follows Agent K through the investigation of a brutal death. Clues, uncertainty, and the emotional toll of the work turn a crime narrative into an examination of grief, violence, neglected victims, and the difficult responsibility of bearing witness.

Inspired by the fifty-four illustrated cards of the Mexican game Lotería, this collection offers short horror stories rooted in Latin American folklore and belief. Ghosts, monsters, superstitions, and violent encounters transform familiar cultural images into tales of the uncanny.

When a homicide detective discovers a mutilated body displayed with an obscure movie poster in a Chicago theater, his wife Paloma seeks help unraveling the connection. Further deaths at historic cinemas point toward a lost silent film intertwined with the city's tragedies.

Sisters Anna and Jennie remain in their unsettling family bungalow beside the Chicago River as nearby drownings multiply. Anna's ghost-story podcast opens a connection with an outside admirer, while visiting detectives begin probing links between the river's deaths and the sisters' troubled home.

After her mother's death, Chicago journalist Briar Thorne experiences disturbing dreams and inexplicable events in the family mansion. Investigating a serial killer leads her to a stranger who believes those nightmares may help the dead, but the murderer begins closing in on her.

In 1914, teacher Wendy Darling helps wounded soldiers while trying to forget a terrifying childhood encounter with Peter Pan. When children disappear again and investigators turn their suspicions toward her, she must confront the entity she believes is responsible and prove the danger is real.