Crocodilopolis

by John Manuel Arias

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.

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 25, 2026

About the author

John Manuel Arias is the National Bestselling author of Where There Was Fire, named a Best Debut by Apple Books and a Finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. A Canto Mundo fellow & an alumnus of the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, his prose and poetry have been published in Harper's Bazaar, Electric Lit, The Kenyon Review, and PANK. He has lived in Washington D.C., Brooklyn New York, and in San José, Costa Rica with his grandmother and four ghosts.