First published 2018
A smuggler ferries children across the dangerous border, convinced the Virgin Mary speaks to him and points him toward a final reckoning. His path crosses with a woman who spills colonizer blood as tribute to the Mother of Chaos, feeding ancient powers that hunger for violence. Meanwhile, a boy whose father died joins a crew of corpse destroyers, burning bodies while plotting his own revenge. These three lives spiral together in the American southwest, where old gods and restless spirits move through the desert. The dead refuse to stay buried. Creatures feast on hatred and loss. Each character fights for something different, but the same forces pull their strings. Their stories crash into each other as supernatural powers demand payment for centuries of bloodshed. Justice, vengeance, and survival blur together when the living and the dead share the same ground.
Genres: american-fiction, adventure, horror, magical-realism, action, dark-fantasy
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, revenge
Setting: American Southwest
197 pages · Paperback · Broken River Books
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, violence