The Tragedy of Oli Ricker

Winner of the 2026 Carol Award for Debut Novel

A Strazar's life has never been easy - each day they delve into an enchanted forest that is bent on devouring everything within. Oli has been one of the last Strazar since watching his father die, barely scraping by a living for him and his sister. But everything changes when Léonie Baudelaire arrives, convinced that the kingdom's only chance of surviving an enemy invasion lies at the heart of that forest. She hires Oli to guide her to the forest's depths, giving him a chance to earn enough coin to change his life forever.

But everything is more dangerous than it seems.

Can Oli survive the depths of the forest and relive his past traumas? And when the invading army following Léonie arrives, Oli's sister - Layla - must survive being thrust into a world of violence and death.

Here, in the world of La'Azurus, even the prayed for salvation may become the world's doom.