The Secret of the Unknown Burden

By David Khalaf

There's an indestructible, 500-year-old maniac on the loose-and that's just the start of Gray Studebaker's problems. It's tough being the only one of his friends without a supernatural talent, especially when no one believes Gray that he's having visions of Vlad the Impaler and his homicidal trail of destruction. Having been plucked from an orphanage, Gray hasn't taken to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood life, even though his once-estranged mother is silent film actress Mary Pickford and his good friend is comedian Charlie Chaplin. And to top it all off, Elsie, the girl he maybe sorta likes, has just become betrothed to her childhood sweetheart from England.

To protect his supernaturally talented friends known as the Sixteen Burdens, Gray must leave the familiarity of Los Angeles and venture east to the vibrant, gritty streets of Harlem, where he hopes to hunt down a killer of supernatural strength and save Elsie from a romance that's not what it's cracked up to be. But he has the unique talents of musician Louis Armstrong and inventor Nikola Tesla to help him navigate hidden speakeasies, exclusive nightclubs, tangled subway systems, and secret interrogation rooms filled with ruthless FBI agents.

Gray finally discovers what it means to be the Unknown Burden, and the revelation may cost him his life.

The Unknown Burden is the second book in David Khalaf's historical fantasy series. If you like The Night Circus, The Paper Magician, or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, then you'll love Khalaf's page-turning period-piece adventure with a fantastical twist.

Buy Houdini's Last Trick to read the first in Khalaf's award-winning series today

The 16 Burdens Fantasy Adventure Series
Houdini's Last Trick, Book 1 (Prequel novella)
The Mystery of the Sixteen Burdens, Book 2
Pancho Villa's Aztec Death Stone, Book 3 (standalone novella)
The Secret of the Unknown Burden, Book 4

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1795705795
• ISBN13: 9781795705790
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"