House of Bone and Rain

"The book captures, in stunningly visceral detail, not only the havoc of a hurricane that left thousands dead, but also the everyday life of a vulnerable community . . . It is in Iglesias’ stark, authoritative, sometimes surprisingly beautiful descriptions of the grit and pessimism of urban Puerto Rico that his prose turns electric."

"Gripping, eerie, and impossible to put down, House of Bone and Rain is a dark coming-of-age story drenched with spectral terror. And it’s a page-turning dive into the cost of vengeance, loyalty, and love. Gabino Iglesias walks the electric high wire between crime and horror with breathtaking assurance."

“House of Bone and Rain is one of the most intense, scary, and lovingly heartbroken modern novels you’ll read. It is a story of violence and hauntings, of friendship and deadly winds in paradise. And it is unforgettable."

“This book is a symphony of vengeance, violence, and loyalty. At once a coming of age, page-turning epic as well as a nail-biting journey of suspense, House of Bone and Rain takes absolutely no prisoners. It also manages to be dark and beautiful and relentless. There’s a storm coming this summer…and its name is Gabino Iglesias.”
 

"A pulse-pounding, blood-spattered revenge tale about the bonds of friendship and the devastation of violence, about ruthless gods and restless ghosts, about love and loss and righteous anger. With breathless pacing, knockout prose, and dynamic characters to follow into the dark, House of Bone and Rain is part crime thriller, part supernatural horror, and completely brilliant."

"Thoughtful and violent, lyrical and muscular, House of Bone and Rain is a mystical, moving powerhouse that never lets up -- and lingers long after the last sentence. Buy this book and welcome the storm.”

“Iglesias’s relentless and overpowering novel comes on like a hurricane – of wind, of bullets, of blood, of hope – and you read it breathlessly, waiting for the eye of the storm.”

"I loved this book. One of my favs this year!"

"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."

"Pour a large glass of horror master Stephen King with a jigger of spicy Don Winslow and garnish with a splash of magical realism, and you have Iglesias’s latest, a tall, tasty cocktail. Five boys, childhood pals, are surrounded by ghosts, violence and accidents. The book’s “Stand By Me”-like setup turns into a vigilante tale when one of their mothers is shot and killed. The highly skilled Iglesias draws on the familiar without any worry that it might not be freshly frightening. Puerto Rican drug dealers, hurricanes, evil spirits and revenge are all ingredients in this potent novel."

"The author of The Devil Takes You Home conjures a story of ghosts, gangland carnage and serious storm winds in this tale of four childhood friends from Puerto Rico who seek vengeance when one of their mothers is murdered. If this is magical realism it’s a dark, grimy variety that takes no prisoners."

"Iglesias is an unstoppable force himself, intensifying the grief and widespread helplessness felt on the island post-Maria, along with the supernatural elements."

"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."

"A propulsive supernatural thriller. . Corpses, clairvoyants, traitors--and specters with gills!--populate Iglesias's vengeful frightfest. He writes with a steely resignation, mirroring his characters' youthful tunnel-vision that won't be tempered by (still living) mothers, struggling sisters, questioning girlfriends."

"In his most accessible work to date, Iglesias has crafted a coming-of-age story that blends friendship, vengeance, and mysticism in beautifully written prose that demonstrates the thinness of the boundary between the spiritual world and grim reality. Recommended for fans of S.A. Cosby and Stephen Graham Jones and those who enjoy Nordic noir, with its strong sense of place and of the power of weather."

"House of Bone and Rain is very much about the human blood and guts and darkness of living through Hurricane Maria in San Juan, but it also touches on the paranormal in a complementary way. Iglesias’s writing is intensely violent and intensely visceral (in the sense that Iglesias takes you right like how the weather feels and how emotions feel, as well as, you know, actual viscera), and it goes down brutal and fast."

"Gabino Iglesias casts the grit and gore of street violence against a cosmic backdrop, and he doesn’t hold back from prolonged, brutal beatdowns. . . a lament for young, dumb men and the codes they feel pressured to live by."