Review by Booklist Review
ldquo;All stories are ghost stories," repeats Gabe (until all truly feel its meaning), the narrator of Iglesias' stellar horror-thriller hybrid set in Puerto Rico amidst 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria. When Bimbo's mother is gunned down at work, best friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, and Paul join Bimbo in his quest for revenge, attempting to take out the biggest drug lord on the island under cover of the storm's aftermath. The unsettling tone, high tension, and brisk pace are enhanced by striking free verse poems at the start of each chapter that foreshadow what is coming without giving anything away. However, it is Gabe's engaging narration and character that will hook readers. He is honest and conflicted, bursting with love despite the real-life horrors that surround him. Intricately plotted, with a strong sense of place, told with awe-inspiringly lyrical language and brutal violence, this is a remarkable novel that beams its hope into the darkness; a story that stands on its own as wholly original while confidently inserting itself into a conversation with horror's complicated past. It's a story that will introduce readers to a new favorite author while they wait for the next S. A. Cosby or Stephen Graham Jones.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker Award winner Iglesias (The Devil Takes You Home) weaves a dark tale of grief and vengeance set in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the lead up to Hurricane Maria. "If someone fucks with one of us, they fuck with all of us," is the motto Gabe and his friends--Bimbo, Paul, Tavo, and Xavier--live by. When Bimbo's mother, Maria, is murdered, Bimbo and the others vow to track down her killers. In his quest for revenge, Bimbo leads his friends on a brutal spree of violence. Trouble arises when they discover that Maria's murder is tied to a notorious drug lord, Papalote. Their plans are temporarily put on hold when Hurricane Maria hits, bringing destruction and a supernatural presence also seeking revenge. Meanwhile, an unexpected tragedy strikes, leaving Gabe and his friends shaken as they navigate San Juan's criminal underground amid a string of strange occult occurrences. Iglesias blends the history and myths of Puerto Rico into a gritty coming-of-age story, whose violent excesses may be off-putting to some readers. Readers who like their horror bloody, however, will be pleased. Agent: Melissa Danaczko, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Iglesias's (The Devil Takes You Home) beautifully haunting coming-of-age noir features five young men journeying into the heart of a hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. Childhood friends Gabe, Bimbo, Tavo, Paul, and Xavier would do anything for each other, so when Bimbo's mother, Maria, is murdered, they all seek revenge. Bimbo, overwhelmed with grief, does not care that his mother's killers are connected to a powerful crime boss and drags his friends along on a terrifying ride. As the sky darkens and monsters walk the night, the storm descending on the five friends threatens to consume them all. Only in the universe created by Iglesias can the grittiest crime fiction seamlessly meld with folkloric and cosmic terrors. Narrator Jean-Marc Berne's portrayal of Gabe, the main protagonist, cements him as the group's (and the book's) moral center, a person who knows the price of killing but will also do anything to help his friends. Daya Mendez voices characters who helplessly watch the destruction of Puerto Rico and the potential destruction of these five men.VERDICT Essential. With vibrant prose and nuanced characters, Iglesias shows why he is a truly original voice in both horror and crime fiction.--James Gardner
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Puerto Rican teen out to avenge the murder of his mother finds himself in an even darker place when Hurricane Maria strikes, bringing with it ghosts, demons, and horrific visions. After his mother, a low-level drug dealer named Maria, is shot in the face for encroaching on someone's territory, her son, Bimbo, will stop at nothing to avenge her--including torturing and murdering people for information. Most of his close friends don't want any part this. But after one of them, Xavier, is murdered and Gabe, the primary narrator of the book, barely escapes the killers, their outlook changes. Torn between loyalty to Bimbo and love of his girlfriend, Natalia, who tries to talk sense into him (she's desperate to escape to the United States), Gabe ultimately embraces his anger. When the hurricane hits, causing an epic power outage, all kinds of people go missing and little attempt is made by the authorities to find them. Myth crashes into reality when "a very large human made of shadows and with a black hole for a face" is seen at the edge of the storm. Prayers and incantations to various Orishas can't erase unthinkable visions including that of a father bashing in his newborn baby's skull with a brick because he was born with a horn in the middle of his forehead. In this epic darkness, no amount of bloodshed is enough for Bimbo, and Gabe, finding comfort with a gun, stays with him. Iglesias is an unstoppable force himself, intensifying the grief and widespread helplessness felt on the island post-Maria, along with the supernatural elements. The book isn't without its excesses, but it's a step up from his previous novel, The Devil Takes You Home (2022). A mostly successful combination of horror, crime, and teen lit. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
