The City of Slaughter

by Aden Polydoros

The World’s Fair has packed up, the tents and food stalls disappeared. And the dybbuk, a restless spirit that possessed Alter, is gone. Life returns to normal for Frankie and Alter, as both boys inspire each other to start a detective agency—using skills from Frankie’s dark past and Alter’s desire to do good in their community. But when children start to go missing, Frankie is certain the supernatural is once again to blame, as they race to track down a sheyd, a demon-like entity. But in order to save his future with Alter, Frankie will have to confront his past.

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, LGBT, Jewish, Historical, Fiction

Audible Audio

First published August 25, 2026

Reviews

[Gaby | read.onrepeat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have known my babies were not going to be okay, dammit.

I'm not ok either 😭 but that's not important.

Alter and Frankie barely survived the events of The City Beautiful (which was brilliant and painful and amazing. You can read my review here), only to be thrown into another maelstrom of terrible odds again.
The name should have tipped me off that this was not going to be a walk in the park, but a harrowing tale of survival.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORED having Frankie as our narrator for this book. I needed his keen eyes and beautiful mind to guide me through the darkness. Now every decision he made makes perfect, heartbreaking sense. He has my undying love.

I'll stop fangirling so I can explain.

I think this book is more romantic than the first one. Which is a wild thing to say because both books are about bad things with occasional bouts of yearning, but here we are. It's not because there's more romance, but because love is the lens through which Frankie evaluates himself. He measures himself against Alter and always decides he comes up short.

He is terrified.

Because Frankie believes loving Alter means protecting him… from Frankie himself. I can't tell you how many times my heart broke.

There's this quote, Frankie talking about Chicago:

"It’s a beautiful city. And, in some ways, a grotesque one. But this medina is what we make it. And I love Chicago for her life."

And I realized that's exactly how I see Frankie. Beautiful. Grotesque. Still worth loving.
Now I'm crying again 😭

There's so much darkness in these pages, but also so much humanity. It feels like the author left a piece of themselves behind. I will carry that piece with me and cherish it. What a privilege it was to read it.

Oh, and if you must know what this book is about: missing children, a demon, abuse, two immigrant boys trying to survive Chicago of 1894, and me yelling and crying the whole time.

**Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the early copy. All opinions are my own.


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Pre-read
I think I’m finally in a good place -emotionally 🫠- to read this book.
Alter and Frankie, I hope you’re all right babes.

[Lisa]

Oooohhhh a sequel? How exciting!

[Promiscuous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Перша книга дуже сподобалася, а ось від другої відчуття, що (дуже кволий) сюжет і Альтер (який став якоюсь картонкою) існують лише як фон для багатого внутрішнього світу страждальця Френкі.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: [graphic:] antisemitism, homophobia, pedophilia, child abuse, sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, adulf/minor relationship, animal cruelty, animal death, gore, violence, body horror, injury detail, blood, fire, racial slurs, classism, kidnapping

Darker, sadder, and somehow more Jewish than the first book.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go throw myself into Lake Michigan now.

[ColleenIsBooked · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely surprise to open this book thinking it is a continuation of Alter's story and find out it is actually in Frankie's POV. I love to get the opposite perspective and to see how different characters see one another. However, this is one of the very small, happy moments I had while reading. This book is emotionally intense and deals with a lot of tough topics, especially with abuse. A lot of Frankie's responses to the world around him and his interactions with people have been formed from his experiences as a child of both witnessing and experiencing abuse. He has a lot of anger brewing inside and tries to find ways to let it out, mostly through his paid fights. This book is definitely gorier than the first book.
Frankie puts Alter on a pedestal, both loves and resents him in different ways. Their relationship really goes through it in this story. And, although I do like to see the intricacies of them navigating their love, I really appreciated getting to see Frankie's relationships with his other crew members, mostly Bailey who is still around a lot. We also get to see more of what his life was like before reconnecting with Alter.
I did reread The City Beautiful before reading this one as it had been years since I'd read it, and I would recommend doing that as well if it has been a minute or you didn't know The City of Slaughter was a sequel. I also think that it helped that I had read a way sillier book in between these two stories as both can feel quite heavy emotionally.

*Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.*

[Arabella C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely visceral. Be warned, this book is pretty graphic, especially for a YA. The ending is kind of bonkers (in a good way). I had to just sit and stare at the cover for a few minutes after I finished.

Definitely read The City Beautiful if you haven't before or if you don't really remember it. That being said this book is very different, just as Frankie and Alter are. Frankie was already my favorite in the first book and this one does him justice. I think the book does a good job taking us into Frankie's head. That being said, the narration can feel a little stifling and repetative at times. There were one or two times the repetition took me out of it, but otherwise I think it adds to the feeling of being in the head of someone who is being consumed by their own trauma and rage. I wanted to beat several characters to death with the book on Frankie's behalf. Overall, I feel I understand Frankie better by the end of this book.

I think the sheyd was a good metaphor for Frankie's issues. As an element of the supernatural, I though it could be developed a little more. Though, its presence was definitely still felt. Actually, bonechilling at times. Perhaps its better to think of this book more like a mystery/thriller in a historical fantasy setting.

I like how this book complicates the happy ending of the first book. Spoiler for both books At the end of the city beautiful, Alter gets a happy ending where he is reunited with his family and its implied they accept him for who he is. In this book, we see a bit more of his familly, especially his mom, Chasya. They don't like Frankie and want him away from Alter. Chasya makes it clear its bc she sees Frankie's a bad influence. Subtextually you can argue its also homophobia, since early on in this book Ms Brenner, Chasya, and Raizel's family arrange a date for Alter and Raizel. Also, Frankie expresses a lot of resentment towards Alters "perfect" familly life. Ultimately, their disparate backgrounds drive them apart.

I'm still trying to process the ending. I don't know what to say about it, really, bc I'm still processing it. It was kinda crazy and I respect the author for committing to something thats definitely out there. I just wish a little more time had been spent to wind down. Overall, I think this book could have used 50-100 pages. It was, at times, shocking and confusing. However, I couldn't put the book down and really emotionally connected to it from the start. I think I have to reread The City Beautiful and then read this one again to really cement how I feel about it. For now, its definitely a 5 star read for me because I really enjoyed the experience.

[Christa Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved certain aspects of this book, and would recommend it, but I do also think it was a little bit messy, and didn't always feel super cohesive.

I feel like I have to say first of all, that it is a very dark, gritty and gorey book. If that is 100% your jam you might enjoy this more than I did. I do like books like that sometimes, but they're not my very favorite. I mostly was interested in this due to the fact I knew it would be queer and knew it would be very Jewish, having read (and loved) another book in the same world by this author. Those aspects absolutely delivered and I enjoyed them a whole lot.

I also love the point of view character so much. Frankie is so traumatized and so full of self loathing, and I want so badly to rescue him from the terrible world he lives in and put him in therapy. He's a complex character, and he's doing his best to survive even when that means doing morally questionable things. He pushes away, Alter, the person he loves, and who loves him back, time and time again out of a fear of hurting and corrupting him and while I understood it and thought it was great characterization it also broke my heart.

The relationship between Frankie and Alter is very messy and complicated and strained. I love them so much and so desperately want them to be happy, but the relationship portrayed in this book is very realistic for their situation. We do get small moments of softness and gentleness between them and I loved all of them so much. The ending was probably the most tragically romantic part of the entire book.

But speaking of the ending, while I enjoyed how tragically romantic it was, I wasn't really a fan of other aspects of it. Maybe I'm just not smart enough, and couldn't fully keep up with what was happening, but I felt like we didn't really get closure on what the villain's whole plan really was. Maybe if I had re-read the other book in this world more recently I would have followed it better, but I don't know. It is also set up for this book to have a sequel, which I would probably read. Despite not being totally satisfied with this book, I do still enjoy the world it is set in very much, and I would need to know what else happens to my boys and if they ever get to be happy.

[Cindy Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this continued story of characters from The City Beautiful, Alter and Frankie have gone into business as detectives, but aren't making a lot of money. Their romantic relationship seems tight, with both admitting love and Frankie taking things slow with Alter sexually. But Frankie is plagued by thoughts and dreams of Mr. Katz, the man who kept him as a boy and sexually brutalized him. One night, as Frankie searches for a missing young man for a client, he is pursued by someone who seems to be Katz as a kind of zombie. This begins a more supernatural aspect of the story that tears Frankie and Alter apart.

I was happy to be back in this world of Jewish horror and mysticism, but there were times when I had a bit of trouble following what was going on with Frankie and wished things had been more clearly explained or shown. On the whole, though, I recommend this book, especially for readers of The City Beautiful.

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sequel to the absolutely incredible The City Beautiful. Though I think the former has the edge.

Would have liked more Raizel and her communism. If it were Christian I'd have found the god-like stuff towards the end really annoying. As it was it was a bit gothic and I just slightly rolled my eyes. And that bit too was a little, almost literally, Deus ex machina. It explored important stuff in it which the first didn't go into so much detail about. But the first one's folklore felt more specifically Jewish, and the main baddy in the first one more specifically about antisemitism, both of which were major USPs I think.

[Courtney Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! Aden Polydoros has such an ease with bringing people into the world they create, and I really enjoyed being back in this one. I don't think it should be marketed as a standalone because there are definitely details from the first book that are important to know when reading this one. That being said, I found the writing well done, and I liked how Frankie was portrayed. It was hard to put this one down, and I was intrigued by the darker elements and the mystery surrounding Frankie and Alter. Thank you to Harper Collins Children's for the ARC to read and review!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored "The City Beautiful" because it worked as both a fantasy novel and a historical one, particularly in its look about what happened to immigrant children if their parents died and they were on their own. I found the opening of this sequel disappointing because it felt just fantasy, but partway through it began to grab me. It works best as a character study of someone forged by violence who must discover if violence will be his own path. The fantasy aspect became more interesting too in the latter part of the work.

[Jessica Gleason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think to truly appreciate this book, you need to read the first book in the series. I didn't know it was a sequel when applying for the ARC. So, I feel like I am missing some key components of the story/characters. I did go back and do some research on the first book to help fill in those blanks. That said, I found the world and characters interesting and think the book will take readers on an emotional journey.

[Eilah · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

more detailed review to come later

my very first impression upon finishing the book: ok so their story is VERY much not over like seriously something is UP and I need a book 3 asap. This is very much the middle of a greater story of this series and there has to be more otherwise the ending is mamish not normal.

Like first of all, WHERE is Alter???? what did the malach hamashchit, some ibbor, or this sheyd do with my boy?!?? That is low key NOT fully him in there like WHAT - what is that accent?? Why is he so nonchalant about all of this?!

I need a proper reunion and resolution to their relationship issues and there MUST be another book. Frankie said they’d talk it out - they very much did not.

i need to see them make up 😭 and out too like they deserve it after all this mishegoss wtf

I NEED BOOK THREE RNNNN THERE IS NO FRICKIN WAY THEIR STORY IS OVER IT JUST CANT BE

ok I’ll come back with more intelligence later. I give it a 4.3/5 stars. Also I noticed quite a few typos but didn’t notice any in the city beautiful.

[Karis · Rating 4 out of 5]

~~Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!~~

3.5/5 stars rounded up!

Despite how much I liked this, it feels more conflicted than it should.

I'm so glad I reread The City Beautiful beforehand, because this one very much picks up where its predecessor left off, specifically regarding the consequences regarding Frankie's decisions in that book directly impacting the ones he makes over the course of the story. So, I highly recommend you read Beautiful before you read this one.

I adored Frankie as Alter's love interest in City Beautiful, and Slaughter really took his POV and really rounded out his character. This poor boy's so traumatized; it's so hard reading through all the things he had to endure in his short lifetime. It gets repetitive at points, but that's the thing about trauma: It gets you no matter how much you try to run or hide from it. He's definitely different from Alter, because he does a lot of morally questionable things thinking he's bound for Hell, anyway, so he might as well do what needs to be done in order to protect Alter.

Their romance was the main highlight of the book, mostly because Frankie didn't really have any good people in his life. Regardless, they had their cute moments that were too short and sweet before the inevitable angst and horror settled in. Alter not believing Frankie about the sheyd after everything they went through before was so heartbreaking, and them separating had Frankie running to people and situations that made things worse. I understand it had to happen, that it was, and still is, in most cases, the reality of queer people who struggle with mental illness and trauma, but I felt like the good moments could've lasted a bit more before everything went really, really bad.

As for the story, it gets . . . muddled. I dunno if it's because I wasn't paying enough attention or what, but I didn't know what exactly was happening in the scenes with the sheyd. There's literally a club scene where Frankie's undercover getting grossed out by the men, then suddenly everything literally blows up in his face when the sheyd pops up. I dunno if that was intentionally disruptive and confusing, which it might be, considering there's an author's note at the end explaining how the sheyd is a metaphor for Polydoros' experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder. But if it wasn't, I wish there was a tiny more clarity and room for the plot to breathe when explaining the details. THis is especially true for the true villain, whose motives, while hinted at, weren't properly expanded on by the end.

And the ending?? The climax hits, and then the falling action smacks on the ground into the last words. I was so befuddled. Other people say it's setting it up for a sequel, which I guess it is but it's such a terrible point to do so?? At least give us some more time to relax and absorb what just happened. It was so jarring, and the fact I might have to wait for a potential sequel to see all the consequences of that ending feels more frustrating than intriguing to me.

All in all, I liked this book a lot, but so much left me questioning and wanting more. I will definitely be reading that next book if it ever does come out, but I'd have to come back to this one again, that's for sure.