Avenue Of The Dead

Introduction to the Omnibus

Introduction to the OmnibusWelcome to the world of Police Captain Juan Morales

Both The Devil You Know and Avenue of the Dead (Revised editions) feature the author's fictional creation, Mexican detective, Juan Morales. Morales made his debut in the short story The Devil You Know in 2006, in a small, now defunct Malaysian publication, Capture Weekly Literary Magazine. The story later underwent a significant re-write and was published as part of a trilogy of the author's works, all set in Mexico, Murder, Mayhem and Mexico, published by Eternal Press. That work is now no longer available.

Now, following another substantial updating and in a longer version, The Devil You Know is included in this omnibus in order to give readers the opportunity to read not just the new full-length novel, Avenue of the Dead, but to read Morales' story from the very beginning.

The Devil You Know begins with a funeral, that of the celebrated priest, Father Rodrigo. Morales is approached by a mysterious woman as he leaves the cemetery after the funeral, and is drawn by Maria Tevez into an exposé of a past he would have preferred to forget. Six choir boys had disappeared over a period of time, from Father Rodrigo's church, no trace of them having been discovered, despite extensive police investigations. Soon afterwards, the priest himself was found lying, seriously injured, on the ground at the base of the church's bell tower. What happened to the boys, and how Father Rodrigo received his terrible injuries are slowly revealed as a terrible secret, kept for so long, by so many, is finally revealed.

Set soon after the events in the Devil You Know, Avenue of the Dead sees Morales faced with his strangest case yet, as a vacation with his best friend in Mexico City, fellow police officer Francisco Tamayo, leads him into a world of human sacrifice, ancient Gods, and a relationship with the beautiful archaeologist Sophia Kanakarides. Terribly mutilated bodies are being deposited on the Avenue of the Dead in the ancient ruined city of Teotihuacán. Called in to give her expert opinion on the so-called ritual aspects of the murders, Sophia begins to piece together a potential profile of the ancient ceremony the killer appears to be recreating. When Sophia goes missing however, Morales and his friend Francisco Tamayo face a race against time to save her from the knife of the High Priest of the Old Religion.

Finally, the omnibus ends with an excerpt from the forthcoming Juan Morales novel, Under Mexican Skies. We hope you enjoy this small taster of the next exciting Morales adventure.

Previous publication:The Devil You Know, published in e-book and print by Eternal Press.

Avenue of the Dead was originally digitally published as a multi-format e-book by Stonehedge Publishing, now no longer available.