Charlie Hernández & the Hand of Darkness

Inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America, this fifth and final book in the Charlie Hernández series follows Charlie as he ventures into the Land of the Dead.

The League of Shadows has done everything they can to keep the Land of the Living safe from La Mano Peluda, but it hasn’t been enough. The barriers between the worlds are falling, and the forces of the dead are only days away from launching an invasion.

Only one hope remains for the living: unleashing the full power of the Morphling—all five of them, to be exact. But to do so, Charlie and his friends will have to journey into the very heart of the Land of the Dead to track down Charlie’s predecessors.

Determined to fulfill his destiny as the final morphling, Charlie will risk everything to bring balance back to the realms. But the Land of the Dead is no place for the living. Danger lurks everywhere, from ancient malevolent forests to legendary beasts that haven’t been seen for millennia. Yet, in the end, it is death itself the friends will have to overcome in this epic conclusion to the Charlie Hernández series.

Ryan Calejo is the author of the Charlie Hernández series. He was born and raised in south Florida, where he graduated from the University of Miami with a BA. He teaches swimming to elementary school students, chess to middle school students, and writing to high school students. Having been born into a family of immigrants and growing up in the so-called “Capital of Latin America,” Ryan knows the importance of diversity in our communities and is passionate about writing books that children of all ethnicities can relate to.