Hugo is a man with the weight of the world hanging around his neck. His wife died too soon, and the medical debt she incurred still needs to be paid. He’s barely surviving, and has grown more and more bitter, especially against his debt collector,Alexi Ramirez.
But fate seems to finally deal him a fair hand. Alexi’s home is haunted, and in exchange for Hugo banishing the spirits, he will cancel his debts. This is Hugo’s job; the only thing is that he doesn’t believe in what he does. But this time what he thinks will be a scam that will greatly benefit him, makes a believer out of him instead. During his journey to free Alexi and his family, Hugo travels through his past, recounting how he got here and mourning his losses. I won’t venture into spoiler territory and tell you if he succeeds, but I will say it was quite a journey.
I expected a little more straight horror than I got. I didn’t really like Hugo at first either. As the book progressed though, and I learned more about his life, I wanted him to not only succeed, but also to find some peace. I wound up enjoying this book much more than I thought I would at the beginning.

Hugo is drowning in debt after the death of his wife. Tired of his debt haunting him, he strikes a deal with his debt collector. As a Babaláwo, his debtor asks him to rid the spirits haunting his luxurious estate, and in exchange he will cancel his debt. Hugo, cynical of spirits and ex, sees this as the perfect opportunity to both get even and start over. Instead, he ends up going to the depths of his own darkness to face his own terrors and childhood traumas from working in the mines of Bolivia as a child and then immigrating to the US.
The themes of child labor, colonialism, colorism, medical debt, and the trauma of diaspora tied down with the leyenda de El Tío weave a terrifying tale with real and magical devils. There were parts that really hit home for me, especially the disconnect that Hugo felt with his country and his frustration with the medical care in the U.S.

I wanted to love this book since it sounded so good and dealt with such an interesting topic. Just the fact that Hugo didn’t believe while working in the spiritual field sounded pretty intriguing since he had to work with an enemy to stop a haunting.
But the more the story went on, the more I loathed Hugo and didn’t necessarily want things to work out for him. He was an awful person and everything that happened to him and the people around him seemed like karma.. I don’t think we were supposed to hate him and we’re instead supposed to see the flaws that make him human, but I just didn’t care what happened to him.

Special thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

AHIHG. Was not a horror. Also, it was not that bad after I knew it wasn't going to be a horror, I didn't put it down. For those of us who don't speak Spanish beware there are some parts thrown in with no explanation. Some sentences were jumbled, but all in all,it was okay if you don't mind the word "indebtedness" on almost every page of the first half of the book.

Hugo, A spiritual medium, has lost his wife and therefore has nothing to live for. He makes money with his old sleight of hand tricks of chasing ghosts. They are tricks, after all. Then there is Alexi, who Hugo is "indebted" to, or rather owes a large sum of money he can never repay in this lifetime. Alexis has ghosts in his house and if Hugo vanished them, his debt is paid. But Hugo is a non-profit believer in the spiritual world. Until, he steps into Alexis home and strange happenings are having him reflect on a part of his childhood and reflections of pieces from there, that he has forgotten.

I put together through the Spanish and the jumble that things that have happened to us which we forget and think are unimportant memories of our past, were important and forces us to take a good look inside ourselves to move on. So, in Alexis home, Hugo finally starts to believe the in the spiritual world.

Yes, I'm a little confused

Hugo was not a likable person, it was difficult to follow along with this because the Spanish sections are not translated. I feel like I missed some plot because I didn not understand what was being said

What if your exorcist didn't believe in demons, in the supernatural, or even in God?

Hugo's wife is dead and he is deeply in debt. He works in Miami as a babaláwo - loosely, a spiritual man in West African religions who performs ceremonies and gives spiritual advice. Despite his non-belief, he makes the job work. When Alexi Ramirez, the man to whom Hugo owns the bulk of his debts, calls him, in desperate need of someone to cure his haunted home, Hugo sees a chance. Will his actions free him from debt or leave him owing something more than money?

I really enjoy political horror and A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens was exactly what I was hoping for! It was strange, it was fantastical. and it was current. Through the lens of the paranormal, Palma tours us through the emotional struggles of immigration, debt, marriage and infidelity, and the class system of America.
I found the writing to be engaging throughout and I really found myself to be enjoying the way the narrative wove back and forth through time, which is not always something I look for in a book. I found Hugo to be a very real and very flawed man, evoking emotional reactions throughout the story. I enjoyed very much being able to both root for and feel disappointed by him.

This is a perfect read for October - the frights of the paranormal and real life while still easing the nostalgia for summer with its Miami setting - or December - everyone loves a good Christmas horror story, right? I would highly recommend and I look forward extremely to reading more by Palma!

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

Wow! What a read. I loved the fast-paced storytelling and enjoyed the plot of the book. I've been thinking a lot about what we owe in life and how sometimes that indebtedness can weight on you, even haunt you. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it!

A HAUNTING IN HIALEAH GARDENS
Raul Palma

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve finished AHIHG. I still don’t know what I think about it. The nature of the haunting that I found horrific isn’t in the synopsis. So, I’m left wondering if I imagined it, or inferred too much.

It was scary to me.

Oversexed, overextended, and nonbeliever, Hugo performs spiritual rituals he doesn’t believe in and values his relationships based upon what can be gained, and what can be acquired. Since his wife died, he’s had little hope, nothing to believe in, and even less to live for. He lives a life of lack and his indebtedness introduces itself first in conversations.

Hugo owes Alexi more than he can ever repay in his lifetime. However, Alexi offers Hugo a chance to settle his debts.
All he must do is believe.

A HAUNTING IN HIALEAH GARDENS is about the immutable nature of death. Where simple choices lead to unintended consequences. Things you never knew mattered happen to matter the most. And at that point, you realize you are the one arbiter of this one and only life you have. It is all up to you, and it has been this way the whole time.

That’s some scary shit!

Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, Dutton, and Penguin Random House Audio for the advanced copies!

A HAUNTING I HIALEAH GARDENS…⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma was a superb debut!
The exceptional writing was phenomenal. I was hooked onto every word.
With characters who were intriguing and kept me flipping the pages.
The writing style of the author is absolutely flawless and the evocative prose drew me in the moment I started reading it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Dutton for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

A Haunting In Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma is a story unlike anything I have read. I am still not sure which genre it fits into, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. It is definitely a genre bending.

Hugo is a babaláwo but doesn't believe in spirits. He is still grieving his dead wife while escaping the debts that he owes. A lawyer keeps hounding him, and what follows is Hugo's past catching upon him. Hugo's ghosts haunt him, and that's where the horror element of this story comes into the picture. But is this a scary horror? I personally don't think as. Is it trauma? I definitely think so.

This story is not as simple as it seems. The author has tackled topics like slavery, the effects of colonialism, debt, colorism, and the disparity of classes. The pacing of this book is good, and it leaves us with a lot of questions.

CW: Grief, death, financial trauma, and a particular chapter that describes bird abuse.

Hugo works at a local bodega in Miami selling religious artifacts in thanks to his boss everyone thinks he is a series Just like her but he hasn’t he’s a fraud. She’s told him everything he needs to know when it comes to religious cantations quotes in removing The evil are bad mojo evil spirits ET see he also has recently lost the love of his life Millie while she was alive she would always dream of living in a beautiful home with nice furniture but Hugo could never deliver it he built up that could never pay it off now but she has passed away but added her hospital bills to his debt to make it even worse but win the lawyer handling his debt account tells him if he uses his Bonobo skills to get rid of the evil ghost in his home he will wipe his debt clean put in getting rid of a Lexuses ghost it brings up things from Hugo‘s past because it never forget it doesn’t matter if you believe in ghosts it’s whether the ghost believe in you! This book is way more than just a funny story about a man without skills trying to get rid of ghost it is funny and I do mean really funny but it is also a very detailed story about a man and his past demons in the ghosts that come back to haunt him. This was a superb story and one I absolutely loved a definite five star read. I want to thank the publisher Annette Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was an interesting read. Less spooky than expected. Maybe horror is the wrong genre. It’s entertaining enough to finish although it’s difficult as the reader to like anyone in the book.

This was a very interesting horror book. I liked the descriptions a lot and some parts were genuinely shocking. I will say, the more you read, the more unlikeable the main character, Hugo, becomes. At first he just seems kind of down on his luck, but the more I learned about him, the more I felt like maybe HE was the problem. I will also say that I did not appreciate the use of the r word in the year 2023 even if it does come out of the mouth of the "bad guy". Uncalled for and unnecessary. I am also a little uncertain about the Bolivian/Cuban dynamics in Miami... Our main character comes from Bolivia in a very like Indigenous/religious coded town where they provide gifts to El Tio who is their version of a kind of devil god that provides protection by stealing souls. Hugo later shuns this belief and now will frequently laugh behind the backs of his clients that believe in magic and religion seemingly in an attempt to be taken more seriously by people though it may also be connected to what happens with his brother or a combination of both. Hugo also seems to encounter a lot of lowkey shunning from the Cuban people in his area because he is Bolivian, but this could also have just been in his head based on some of the other scenes in the book. Though Hugo also displays some kind of superiority and disdain for some of the Cuban traditions. It was a kind of weird dynamic I didn't quite understand and never felt like there was a resolution for in the story; though I guess that's not entirely necessary. Maybe if I reread this one day I will understand more. Overall, this was a very interesting horror novel centering around guilt in many different ways, the guilt over losing a spouse after illness, guilt over being distant from family, guilt from not being able to keep your head above water financially, the unacknowledged guilt one should feel for being the reason people are struggling while you are thriving off of them. I would have loved some more creepy ghost stuff happening and less of Hugo. I also for some reason thought this was some kind of period piece, like set in the 60s/70s or something (maybe because of the cover?) but it is set in the mid 2010s which took some adjusting of my expectations. I think this is a good horror novel for people who don't mind close character work and less overall horror in the way you would expect, though there are some very creepy scenes.
3.5 stars. I'd be interested to read more from this author in the future.

I got an ARC of this book.

It really wasn't a horror in the jump scare, ghost way. It is more a literary fiction book. It is not scary. It is not horrific. Nothing that screamed horror happened, outside that ghosts were involved. But I enjoyed the narrative anyway.

Was it what I wanted? No. Did I enjoy learning all about the MC? Hell yeah.

There was so much that filled this world. I enjoyed learning every little detail. I can see how this could be difficult as an audiobook. It jumps from memories to present to weird stories that don't seem related in the same sentence. It is a bit jumbled at times. Some of that is the charm of it though. Some felt like an editing mistake.

But if the author used "indebtedness" one more time, I might have ripped out all of my hair. Please find a new word. It was close to on every page for the first half of the book. Why?

Thank you Penguin Random House & Netgalley for the ARC.

Three stars because this wasn’t for me, but I can see why it would be for others & it was good despite not scratching any of my itches. It wasn’t as gory, mysterious, demonic, or exciting as I was expecting, that’s all.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Raul Palma for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens coming out October 3, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thought the first half of the book was really suspenseful and mysterious. I loved the writing and thought the style really flowed. The second half of the book wasn’t as top notch in my opinion. I started to dislike some of Hugo’s actions and the haunting wasn’t as terrifying as I was hoping. There are other themes in the book, which is great. But I was thinking it would be more about a haunting. I can read Spanish, so it wasn’t a problem for me, but some of the Spanish wasn’t translated. It might be an issue for non-Spanish readers. The timeline of events was also a little confusing. It switched back and forth with no real indicator of the year. I would check out other books by this author though.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys books with serious themes about life and death.

A slightly bizarre story that tells the story of Hugo who is pretending to be a babalawo. Along with the Priestess Lourdes their are moments of hilarity and gravity. He finds himself drawn into a scheme that he is not equipped for. The story is told in the present and the past and gives the readers a glimpse of how Hugo ends up in this situation.

This story is very different from what I expected. The main character is a Bolivian man named Hugo Contreras who is living in Miami, working at a botanical and pretending to be a babaláwo, though he doesn't even really believe in spirits and ghosts. He is filled with guilt and rage for all the mistakes he has made in his life. And he is weighed down by indebtedness--credit card and medical bills incurred by his wife before her death. His boss approaches him with an offer: The home of the rich lawyer who holds Hugo's debt is being haunted. If Hugo can get rid the home of what plagues it, his debt will be forgiven. Since Hugo doesn't believe in these things, he figures it should be easy to fool the man and make him believe that all has been taken care of. But no! Instead, Hugo starts being plagued by visions himself. What is real and what is some form of bedevilment?

Critiques: I didn't really care for Hugo as a man, the way he treated people, his anger, his dishonesty. I thought the plot had too many crazy dreams and visions. And I found myself wishing that the Spanish phrases used throughout had been translated--I felt like I was missing out on something important and not fully understanding.

I received an arc of this novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

While I went into this novel knowing it would be fairly literary, I was also expecting it to be a bit more spooky and scary than it ended up being. Maybe this was a case of mismatched expectations, but I was really hoping to be scared and blown away.

Unfortunately, this didn't hit the mark for me, and I so wanted it to. I am still going to recommend it to my followers, as I think this could be a fit for some people, but it just wasn't in line with what I hoped it would be.

Thank you for the chance to review!

DNF @30%

I didn't like or care about the writing or the characters. It felt detached and, at times, I found it difficult to follow.