Kingdom of the Wicked

Barnes & Nobles Exclusive Edition cover

***Kingdom of the Wicked*** is the first book in the *Kingdom of the Wicked* trilogy written by Kerri Maniscalco. It was released on October 27, 2020.

## Synopsis

**From the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the *Stalking Jack the Ripper* series comes a new blockbuster series…**

**Two sisters.**

**One brutal murder.**

**A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…**

**And an intoxicating romance.**

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are *streghe* – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin… desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost - even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked - princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

## Plot

Emilia helps her grandmother, Nonna Maria, and mother, Nicoletta, in the kitchen at their family restaurant, Sea & Vine. From the front, Emilia hears Antonio, a member of the brotherhood and her childhood crush, asking about her. Despite Nonna pleading with her not to go out, she leaves, joining Antonio with a basket of ingredients to prepare dinner for the brotherhood at the monastery, as she does once or twice a month.

While Antonio helps Emilia prepare bruschetta in the kitchen, they chat about the trip the monastery sent him on to another village. They are then interrupted by Vittoria, who frightens them by hiding beneath her hood and pretending to be a demon, revealing herself only when she laughs at Antonio's attempt to command the demon away. As Antonio leaves the two sisters, Vittoria teases Emilia about her infatuation with the brother. With the food done, the twins then leave the monastery and head home.

Back in the di Carlo home, Vittoria prepares a batch of limoncello wine. They sneak the bottle upstairs to their bedroom, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. There, Emilia asks her sister where she was for the evening, and Vittoria says she was summoning the devil, and that an ancient book spoke to her and now she's going to marry him. Emilia, used to Vittoria's sarcasm, takes it as a joke; she believes Vittoria spent the day with Domenico Nucci Junior, a boy sells arancini in the market. The next day, while preparing for the dinner service at Sea & Vine, Nonna Maria warns the twins that the sky was red as the devil's blood that morning, believing it to be a bad omen. Vittoria doesn't listen, claiming she needs to leave early but not giving any reason why.

Later, Emilia returns to the monastery to get the basket she left there the night before. In a room off the hall, she finds a tall, dark-haired man—later learned to be Wrath—standing over Vittoria's body on a stone alter. He turns and flees, and a dagger falls off his person and hits the ground. Distraught, Emilia vows to find whoever murdered her sister, also noting that Vittoria's *cornicello* is missing. Just after, she hears a voice hissing, though there's no one there to speak. It says, "Little witch, all alone. Memories, like hearts, can be stolen. He wishes to remember, but he only forgets. He's coming here soon." Emilia returns home and tells her family what happened.

TBC

## Dedication

For my grandmother Victoria Marie Nucci and my aunt Caroline Nucci. And for my great grandparents – who immigrated from Sciacca, Sicily to America – whose restaurant inspired much of this story. This may be a fantasy, but the love of family found within its pages is very real. Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. If I cannot bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell. Virgil, Aeneid

## Chapters

There are forty-eight chapters in *Kingdom of the Wicked,* not including the prologue that opens the work.

## Trivia

* The Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition features an alternate jacket and contains an annotated chapter with notes from Kerri Maniscalco.
* The Waterstones Exclusive Edition has sprayed edges.
* The FairyLoot Limited Edition features an exclusive cover, stencil sprayed edges, foil on the hardcover, and reverse dust jacket art. It also comes with a signed bookplate.
* The Beacon Book Box Limited Edition features a gold sprayed eyes and is signed by the author. It's part of their Bitty Beacon Special Edition Box, and comes with a signed author letter, an exclusive book sleeve designed by @rosiethorns88, and an exclusive enamel pin designed by @sjwonderlanz.
* The Bookish Box Limited Edition features a foiled stamp on the hardcover, artwork inside the book, and is signed by the author. It's part of their October YA subscription.
* Fox & Wit Limited Edition has a custom dust jacket illustrated by Forensics and Flowers.
* InkyFoxBooks Limited Edition has sprayed edges.

## Gallery

##### Alterenate Covers

Barnes & Noble Exclusive EditionEnglish editionBulgarian editionFox&Wit editionInkyFox editionTurkish editionDutch editionCzech editionFairyLoot editionItalian editionGerman editionPolish editionPortuguese editionRussian editionSlovak editionSpanish editionHungarian editionRomanian edition