Fiction – Literary – Historical – Family Life – Hispanic and Latino

RELEASE DATE: 8/25/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER’S WAREHOUSE)

From the author of national bestseller Where There Was Fire comes a gripping tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets, and the fate of a nation.

Once a powerful, cold-blooded politician in Costa Rica, Seth Oreamundo is now living in exile in Washington, DC and his younger brother Osario is to blame. Born into a corrupt political dynasty and raised on a seemingly idyllic coffee estate, the Oreamundo brothers were destined for greatness. But a dark family secret and a scandalous double crossing sent their lives into a tailspin, changing the country forever.
Osario must pay, and Seth decides the only way to do so is to return home to Costa Rica and feed his brother to the infamous river of crocodiles from their childhood. What follows is a spellbinding story of revenge alternating between Seth’s murderous plans and memories of the brothers’ upbringing. With the wisdom of biblical myth and the soapy wit of a telenovela, Crocodilopolis is a masterful interrogation of power, masculinity, destiny, and legacy from a literary star on the rise.

AUTHOR BIO:

John Manuel Ariasis the National Bestselling author ofWhere There Was Fire, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Arias has published work inHarper’s Bazaar, The Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, F(r)iction, and more. He has lived in Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, and in San Jos, Costa Rica, with his grandmother and four ghosts.

Review Quotes:

“The tales John Manuel Arias spins are as gripping as they are stunningly written. A natural born storyteller of the highest order.” –Justin Torres, National Book Award-winning author of BLACKOUTS