A young man with a tragic past finds an unlikely protector in a strangely altered enforcer of his backwater town. In his immutable style, Edgar Award winner David Liss (The Peculiarites) incorporates the elements of a crime novel within a satirical combination of sci-fi, justice, and mercy in 21st-century America.
ISBN: Print: 9781616964696; Digital formats: 978-1-61696-470-2
Published: 10/13/2026
Available Format(s): trade paperback, digital
A young man with a tragic past finds an unlikely protector in a strangely altered enforcer of his backwater town. In his immutable style, Edgar Award winner David Liss (The Peculiarites) incorporates the elements of a crime novel within a satirical combination of sci-fi, justice, and mercy in 21st-century America.
Who is Iliana Marek? Is she the bully who alongside her foster father police chief Bryce Hillard, controls and terrorizes Tylor, Florida? Or is she the reborn guardian angel of Dan Gibson, a social pariah responsible for the suicide of Faye Kristic, a death which he cannot remember ten years later.
Dan’s once-promising future is in tatters. He lives in an apartment on his estranged parents’ property, works at a convenience store with a terrible boss, and is addicted to prescription drugs. But ten years after Faye’s death, Iliana suddenly takes Dan’s side, and a lot of bad people start dying fast.
As Dan becomes entangled in the ensuing chaos, he needs to finally discover what part he played in the death of Faye Kristic, and why the changes to Iliana make her no longer entirely human.
In a novel as though Carl Hiaasen had collaborated with Michael Crichton, David Liss’s newest work is a powerfully astute, entertaining allegory right out of today’s headlines.
Praise for David Liss
On The Peculiarities
“David Liss masterfully blends rich historical fiction with terrifying supernatural body horror. He stands with Robert Louis Stevenson and Bram Stoker.”
—Jonathan Maberry, author of V-Wars and Ink
“A fun, horrific, engaging mystery, both for the story and for watching an accomplished writer stepping out into new territory.”
—Jeffrey Ford, author of A Natural History of Hell
“It made me think, and go on thinking as one idea sprang to another, and on, and on. That is the greatest gift a writer can give.”
—Anne Perry, author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pittseries
“David Liss turns a new corner, and at the end of it is a splendid, unique and surprising tale.”
—Joe R. Lansdale, author of Hap and Leonard
“Wry, witty, twisty and tricky, The Peculiarities will slowly draw you into Liss’s strange world of magic and monsters.”
—Shana Abé, author of The Second Mrs. Astor
“David Liss leans into early 20th century occult thinking with the same mystical fervor as Crowley, Mathers, and Yeats—the holy trinity of the era.”
—Mark Teppo, author of the Codex of Souls series
On The Devil’s Company
“Accomplished, atmospheric and thoughtful.”
—The Washington Post
On The Whiskey Rebels
“Smart, page-turning fun.”
—St. Petersburg Times
On The Ethical Assassin
“[A] page-turning thriller . . . thought-provoking and highly enjoyable.”
—Baltimore Sun
On A Conspiracy of Paper
“Tremendously smart, assured, and entertaining.”
—Newsweek
David Liss is the author of fourteen novels, as well as numerous novellas, short stories, and comics. His previous books include A Conspiracy of Paper, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and won the 2001 Barry, Macavity, and Edgar Awards for Best First Novel. The Coffee Trader (2003) was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember. He is also the author of the middle-grade Randoms series. Many of his novels are currently being developed for television or film. Liss has worked on numerous comics projects, including Black Panther and Mystery Men for Marvel, The Spider and Green Hornet for Dynamite, and Angelica Tomorrow.
Liss lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and children.
The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek
David Liss
A young man with a tragic past finds an unlikely protector in a strangely altered enforcer of his backwater town. In his immutable style, Edgar Award winner David Liss (The Peculiarites) incorporates the elements of a crime novel within a satirical combination of sci-fi, justice, and mercy in 21st-century America.
The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek
by David Liss
ISBN: Print: 9781616964696; Digital formats: 978-1-61696-470-2
Published: 10/13/2026
Available Format(s): trade paperback, digital
A young man with a tragic past finds an unlikely protector in a strangely altered enforcer of his backwater town. In his immutable style, Edgar Award winner David Liss (The Peculiarites) incorporates the elements of a crime novel within a satirical combination of sci-fi, justice, and mercy in 21st-century America.
Who is Iliana Marek? Is she the bully who alongside her foster father police chief Bryce Hillard, controls and terrorizes Tylor, Florida? Or is she the reborn guardian angel of Dan Gibson, a social pariah responsible for the suicide of Faye Kristic, a death which he cannot remember ten years later.
Dan’s once-promising future is in tatters. He lives in an apartment on his estranged parents’ property, works at a convenience store with a terrible boss, and is addicted to prescription drugs. But ten years after Faye’s death, Iliana suddenly takes Dan’s side, and a lot of bad people start dying fast.
As Dan becomes entangled in the ensuing chaos, he needs to finally discover what part he played in the death of Faye Kristic, and why the changes to Iliana make her no longer entirely human.
In a novel as though Carl Hiaasen had collaborated with Michael Crichton, David Liss’s newest work is a powerfully astute, entertaining allegory right out of today’s headlines.
Praise for David Liss
On The Peculiarities
“David Liss masterfully blends rich historical fiction with terrifying supernatural body horror. He stands with Robert Louis Stevenson and Bram Stoker.”
—Jonathan Maberry, author of V-Wars and Ink
“A fun, horrific, engaging mystery, both for the story and for watching an accomplished writer stepping out into new territory.”
—Jeffrey Ford, author of A Natural History of Hell
“It made me think, and go on thinking as one idea sprang to another, and on, and on. That is the greatest gift a writer can give.”
—Anne Perry, author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pittseries
“David Liss turns a new corner, and at the end of it is a splendid, unique and surprising tale.”
—Joe R. Lansdale, author of Hap and Leonard
“Wry, witty, twisty and tricky, The Peculiarities will slowly draw you into Liss’s strange world of magic and monsters.”
—Shana Abé, author of The Second Mrs. Astor
“David Liss leans into early 20th century occult thinking with the same mystical fervor as Crowley, Mathers, and Yeats—the holy trinity of the era.”
—Mark Teppo, author of the Codex of Souls series
On The Devil’s Company
“Accomplished, atmospheric and thoughtful.”
—The Washington Post
On The Whiskey Rebels
“Smart, page-turning fun.”
—St. Petersburg Times
On The Ethical Assassin
“[A] page-turning thriller . . . thought-provoking and highly enjoyable.”
—Baltimore Sun
On A Conspiracy of Paper
“Tremendously smart, assured, and entertaining.”
—Newsweek
David Liss is the author of fourteen novels, as well as numerous novellas, short stories, and comics. His previous books include A Conspiracy of Paper, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and won the 2001 Barry, Macavity, and Edgar Awards for Best First Novel. The Coffee Trader (2003) was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember. He is also the author of the middle-grade Randoms series. Many of his novels are currently being developed for television or film. Liss has worked on numerous comics projects, including Black Panther and Mystery Men for Marvel, The Spider and Green Hornet for Dynamite, and Angelica Tomorrow.
Liss lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and children.