Ghosts of East Baltimore by David Simmons features, in my opinion, one of the best covers of 2023. Designed by A.A. Medina, the centerpiece of the illustration is a massive centipede slithering up a styrofoam cup. The creature’s rear is dipped in blood while its head is, presumably, partaking of the frozen treat inside. I love the fact that a map of Baltimore is visible on the counter.
I did an Instagram reel last week that featured this cover and mentioned that I didn’t know if frozen treat inside the cup was ice cream or not.
@ripeblueapples quickly cleared up the mystery by commenting, “It’s an egg custard snowball with marshmallow topping!!!”
Intrigued by the mix of ingredients, I fell into a rabbit hole exploring this Charm City-based treat. Baltimore Snowballs have an incredible history and this five minute video gives a wonderful concise explanation of how the Snowballs came to be:
Ghosts of East Baltimore is published by
and is available for purchase on Amazon.Ghosts of East Baltimore Synopsis
In Baltimore, Worm has just returned from a two year stretch in prison. When he finds out that his hometown is being brutally destroyed by a dangerous new chemical, Worm is reluctantly catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with chaos and destruction. Can one man save the city before his 9:00 p.m. curfew at the halfway house?
This is one of my favorite books of 2023 and I highly recommend this wild novella!