Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Release Date: April 25, 2017
Rating: 5 Stars
Synopsis
In a shack on the outskirts of the border city of Juarez, a teenage boy is visited by a long-lost friend.
Arturo scrapes together a living working odd jobs and staying out of sight. His friend Faustino has joined one of the city’s violent drug gangs. Now Faustino is in trouble: he’s stolen money from the narcos to smuggle his girlfriend and her baby into the U.S., and he wants Arturo’s help getting it back before they kill him for what he’s done.
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Madison’s Review
I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Saint Death for an honest review.
Saint Death is a book full of suspense, danger, true friendship, and tragedy. Reading this book, I learned how far we will go to help close friends, and whether or not we learn from our friends’ mistakes before we make the same ones. Saint Death was a nail biting thrill ride and had my heart pacing against my ribcage.
Arturo has grown accustomed to his below average life living in a shack, (which is the norm for him) until Faustino, his best friend who has been missing over a year, shows up at his doorstep. Although enraged, Arturo is slightly relieved to see the old friend again. That is, until Faustino asks him for help. Faustino asks him for help so terrifying and dangerous that it could potentially put Arturo’s life at risk as well.
Whenever Faustino shows up at Arturo’s door, he is not alone. He is with his girlfriend, Eva, and their baby. He also has hopes to smuggle the two into America, and in these hopes, he has stolen one thousand American dollars from the leader of his gang and needs Arturo’s help getting back the thousand dollars before it is too late.
What lines will Arturo cross for his friend and his friend’s family? Will Arturo stay on the down low for his own safety?
Saint Death literally left me staring at my bedroom wall shaking with sweet adrenaline. This book dragged me through many high and low points of emotion. Reading this book I felt every drop of dread Arturo felt. Sedgwick did an incredible job with Saint Death and I enjoyed this book probably more than any other book I’ve read. I have not read any other book that has the same feel of this book. I really loved this book and I am giving it 5 out of 5 stars.
About Author
Marcus Sedgwick was born in Kent, England. Marcus is a British author and illustrator as well as a musician. He is the author of several books, including Witch Hill and The Book of Dead Days, both of which were nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The most recent of these nominations rekindled a fascination with Poe that has borne fruit here in (in The Restless Dead, 2007) the form of “The Heart of Another” – inspired by Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Of his story, Sedgwick says, “This was one of those stories that I thought might be a novel originally but actually was much better suited to the tight form of the short story. I had the initial idea some years ago but was just waiting for the right ingredient to come along. Poe’s story, as well as his own fascination with technique, provided that final piece of the puzzle.”
He used to play for two bands namely playing the drums for Garrett and as the guitarist in an ABBA tribute group. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children’s Book Award 2002).
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