In the aftermath of a critical World War II battle, Father Gaetano is assigned as the sole priest at the Church of San Domenico in the small seaside Sicilian village of Tringale. The previous pastor has died and there is a shortage of clergy at the moment, so until another can be spared, the young priest must say all of the masses himself.

Mass is not Father Gaetano’s only responsibility, however. The war has created many orphans, and thus the San Domenico rectory has been converted into an orphanage that is also his domain. The children are a joy to him, but they have lost so much, many have begun to question their faith and their God, and his attempts to teach them catechism are in vain...until he finds an old puppet theater and an ornate box of puppets in the basement. Handcrafted by the building’s former caretaker, now absent, the puppets seem the perfect tool to get the children to pay attention to their lessons. But after dark the puppets emerge from that ornate box, without their strings. Whereas the children have been questioning their faith, the puppets believe Father Gaetano’s Bible stories completely. Yet there is such a thing as too much faith. And the children’s lives will never be the same again.

Mike Mignola is best known as the award-winning creator/writer/artist of Hellboy. He was also a visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on both Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army films. He also coauthored (with Christopher Golden) two novels, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City. Mignola lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and cat.

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Christopher Golden is a New York Times bestselling author of novels for adults and teens, including Of Saints and Shadows, The Myth Hunters, The Boys Are Back in Town, Strangewood, and the Body of Evidence series of teen thrillers. He has cowritten two previous illustrated novels with Mike Mignola, the first of which, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, was the launching pad for the Eisner-nominated comic book series Baltimore. His current work-in-progress is a graphic novel trilogy collaboration with Charlaine Harris. As an editor, he has worked on the short-story anthologies The New Dead, The Monster’s Corner, and 21st Century Dead, among others, and has also written and cowritten comic books, video games, and screenplays. Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world.

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Nick Podehl is a professional voice actor. He has narrated numerous audio books, many of which have won prestigious awards. He is currently seeking to bolster his experience by recording voice overs in video games, movies, commercials, and alternative media while continuing to narrate audio books.

He is very passionate about and committed to his work, and truly finds joy in his work.

Nick graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Communication and a minor in Theatre.

He currently lives and works around Grand Rapids, Michigan with his beautiful wife Erin and their cat Dreams.

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