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Ballad & Dagger

Rick Riordan Presents

by Daniel José Older

Ballad & Dagger

Rick Riordan Presents

by Daniel José Older


Store Select Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Bookshop Indigo
Available Formats ebook & print & audio
On Sale Now

Mateo Matisse was born into a culture that is a unique mix of pirates, santeros, and Sephardim. They’ve been living peacefully in a diaspora community in Brooklyn for the past fifteen years, but now cracks are beginning to appear, and it is up to Mateo to heal them.


  • Released 05/03/2022
  • Book Length 384
  • ISBN 9781368070829
    1368070825

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More about Ballad & Dagger

Almost sixteen years ago, Mateo Matisse’s island homeland disappeared into the sea. Weary and hopeless, the survivors of San Madrigal’s sinking escaped to New York.

While the rest of his tight-knit Brooklyn diaspora community dreams of someday finding a way back home, Mateo–now a high school junior and piano prodigy living with his two aunts (one who’s alive, the other not so much)–is focused on one thing: getting the attention of locally-grown musical legend Gerval. Mateo finally gets his chance on the night of the Grand Fete, an annual party celebrating the blended culture of pirates, Cuban Santeros, and Sephardic Jews that created San Madrigal all those centuries ago.

But the evil that sank their island has finally caught up with them, and on the night of the celebration, Mateo’s life is forever changed when he witnesses a brutal murder by a person he thought he knew.

Suddenly Mateo is thrust into an ancient battle that spans years and oceans. Deadly secrets are unraveled and Mateo awakens a power within himself–a power that not only links him to the killer but could also hold the key to unlocking the dark mystery behind his lost homeland.

From the author of the award-winning Shadowshaper Cypher series comes the first novel in the Outlaw Saints duology–a brilliant story that will transport readers to a world where magic, myth, and gods reign over the streets of Brooklyn.

“Brimming with mystery, mayhem, and heart, Ballad & Dagger gives us wondrous new magic steeped in deep traditions. It’s a gorgeous romance, a wild adventure, and a powerful story that unravels not only the pain of diaspora, but the strength of community and the ways we provide refuge for one another.”–Leigh Bardugo, New York Times #1 best-selling author of Shadow and Bone

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Dragon Pearl

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Read Riordan

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2017 Read Riordan. All Rights Reserved.
  • Terms of Use
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  • Children’s Online Privacy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Additional Content Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children’s Online Privacy
  • Interest-Based Ads