Many thanks to NetGalley, Mulholland Books, and most importantly the author - Gabino Iglesias. As it usually goes… I received a free ARC from NetGalley, and this review is voluntary


This story follows the lives of Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul and Bimbo, as they live in Puerto Rico, friends since childhood. Their lives on the island are surrounded by various levels of destitution, most often the leftovers of a hurricane. Having to survive in these brutal conditions together, they share a common thread that allows for a stronger cohesive unit. With each of their respective families included within this framework, they all share from the same plate of the pain experienced for the things that were no longer there, or for those that were no longer with them. Maria, Bimbo’s mother, was working her job outside of a club one night, when a drive-by occurred; slain in the streets. In taking the hilt of vengeance, Bimbo searches for answers; hunts for those responsible. He discovers the killers were men of the most powerful drug crime boss in Puerto Rico. Undaunted still, Bimbo enlists the help of his friends - Gabe, especially, and although there were obstructions, dissent, and outright fear, these five friends were now on a collision course with forces beyond the humanistic realm, in their journey to not allow Maria to die in vain.


Gabe is the main protagonist of the story, and much of it is told through his view; however, the author introduces a new perspective through a different character at times. We learn of their experiences, and how their lives are intertwined with the plot. In addition to Gabe’s view, this added layers to the narrative because the story is personalized through the eyes of those that are experiencing it. We don’t just learn of their happiness and dreams, but also of their losses, and their suffering. These latter elements forming their own bond within the culture, affecting the community as a whole. And what makes up this culture is provided to us while the story progresses, in order for us to understand, or to at least bear witness, to why the pain is there in the first place. In light of this, though, there is still a strong sense of pride within the community. In much the same regard as The Devil Takes You Home provided commentary for Mexico, we now learn of Puerto Rico, and its people, and what forces have shaped them to be who they are.


I feel the same way I do after I read The Devil Takes You Home, which is I’m blown away, and utterly speechless. There’s this immersion that happens due to how the author writes, that you don’t even see it coming, but as the pages keep turning, it’s hard not to notice how the heart strings tug for each character. Behind the horror the ink spells out, you can also hear the voice of the people of Puerto Rico.

With elements of mythology, horror, coming of age, dystopia, and vengeance, this story has it all. Gabe has lived in San Juan his whole life and is nearly ready to leave it behind to pursue a brighter future with his girlfriend who wants to go to graduate school in the states. He and his 4 best friends have started pulling apart to go their separate adult ways, when Bimbo's mother is gunned down in the street. All five boys swear to help him get vengeance against her murderers. As Hurricane Maria approaches the island they hope to hide the evidence of their violence in the destruction of the storm, but there are worse things hiding on the island than these boys.
With gripping action, graphic violence, and strong memories developing the characters and relationships between them, this book was a thriller dripping with menace. I really appreciated the way the story made vivid the power and destruction that Maria had on Puerto Rico, and just how quickly society falls apart without policing and infrastructure. I struggle with stories in which characters make the wrong choices over and over, and while that happens in this story from the funeral on, the choices are always backed up by memories reinforcing the love between the boys and their support of one another. Can't wait to recommend this to my fans of Stephen King!
Thank you to Net Galley, Mulholland Books, and Gabino Iglesias for an advance copy of this title. I can't wait to add it to my library's collection and share it with my patrons.

Just finished novel,House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Inglesias. It’s published by Mulholland Book/Little Brown&Co and for sale August 06,2024.Some books that I choose to read before publication date are good,some are bad. I thought this was very bad! It started out ok,five young men being close like brothers since boyhood. On their graduation day from high school, one of their moms gets murdered outside a club where she was working. The rest of the story fell apart for me from that point. It takes place mainly during hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. There was so much Spanish written w/o explanation and I wasn’t about to translate a 1/3 of the book.There was so much superstition,gory descriptions of torture and murder,sci-fy all rolled into one it got boring.I love Stephen King novels but this doesn’t even come close.I forced myself to finish but would have rather not. This certainly was a story of revenge but was over-the-top with all the other nonsense thrown in.

This was more action packed/violent than I anticipated. I thought it would be more horror driven. Still, I enjoyed this one. The pace was fast. The author has an incredible way of describing the atmosphere. I grew up in Houston so I'm very familiar with hurricanes. The author perfectly described the utterly devastating aftermath of these storms. This is my first book from the author, but I'm excited to read more.

Wow wow wow! I mean, how many “wows” can I give one book?! I’m sad I took so long to start this book bc it was completely enthralling! This was my first read from Gabino Iglesias and it will NOT be my last! His writing is phenomenal and the topics discussed are done with both care and creativity! I absolutely loved the plot of this story and the revenge aspect was great. I loved the author’s characterization and atmospheric writing! Easily 5 stars!

I was wrong. I admit it. I thought there was no way that Gabino Iglesias could top The Devil Takes You Home. But I was wrong.

House of Bone and Rain takes place in Puerto Rico, in the days just before and after Hurricane Maria devastates the island. The story centers on Gabe and his four friends, outcasts all who have become brothers. When the mother of one of them is shot by a reputed drug lord, her son Bimbo embarks on a plan to take revenge, with the help of his brothers.

The book is totally enthralling. A meditation on taking revenge, the bonds of friendship, ghosts, spirits and the destruction caused by Maria are all thrown expertly together in a novel that is one of the best I’ve read this year. The island of Puerto Rico is so expertly brought to life that it seemed like it was its own character. All five of the boys are well drawn, at times simultaneously sympathetic, yet repellant due to their actions. While I wanted to speed through the book to see what happens next, the power of the author’s prose kept me riveted to the page, drinking in every word,, in sentences such as “The island became a playground for death, a place of death and angry ghosts, a shuddering house of bone and rain.” It doesn’t get any better than this.

A remarkable achievement. More than highly recommended.

Trigger alert. House of Bone and Rain isn’t for the faint of heart.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Firstly, Gabino Iglesias is a GOD-tier writer. His prose is GORGEOUS.

This is a fantastic, fast-paced supernatural thriller set in Puerto Rico, a setting I'd love to see explored more in contemporary horror fiction. Iglesias truly immerses us in this space: one that is ravaged by gang violence and hurricanes. After one of their mother's is murdered, four childhood friends will stop at nothing to take out the men responsible. Couldn't put this one down!

I just finished House of Bones and Rain by Gabino Iglesias. I can confidently say that he’s added another great book to my library.

This fun, fast-paced horror blended elements of the supernatural, grief, incredible violence, and the lengths we would go for friendship.

I’d definitely pick this book up again down the line for a reread. Especially on a stormy night.


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Gabino for the opportunity to receive this arc in return for an honest review.

4.25/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the ARC!

Gabino Iglesias has become one of my favorite writers with books like Coyote Songs and The Devil Takes You Home. I love his mix of horror/occult elements with gritty crime drama. House of Bone and Rain is yet another Iglesias novel that doesn't disappoint.

The book's summary mentions a "Latinx Stand By Me" and I could definitely feel the Stephen King vibes with the book's group of lifelong friends whose bond leads them down a dark path. That tied into the book's central themes: How far would you go to stand by a friend? And what is the price of seeking vengeance? Like Gabe, the main POV character says, "Vengeance is like any other drug; it destroys your life while making you feel good for a useless moment."

The story makes the setting of Puerto Rico come alive, and I liked the idea of setting the story during a hurricane and its aftermath. The book's horror elements and final twist didn't land as strongly for me as they did in previous Iglesias books, but overall I really enjoyed the book's mix of horror and crime noir and am once again looking forward to the next Gabino Iglesias novel.

Dreadful, dark and beautiful. I gave it 5 stars. Characters were fleshed out well. Story moved along at a great pace. I felt like I was blanketed by darkness when reading it and I was fully immersed and invested in the story.

Just when I thought there was no way he could outdo himself after The Devil Takes You Home, Gabino Iglesias literally said, "hold my beer" and then used his words as weapons and blew me away.

This book is absolutely incredible. I loved the brotherhood aspect of it, the group of best friends who would do anything for each other, the ride or dies. Literally. The bond between the group of friends in this story is amazing. We can all hope to have friends who love us so much that they would do anything for us.

Gabe is our main character, and we see the story through his eyes for most of the story, but we also see some of the other characters points of view as well and I really liked that. This story is packed full of dark, violent shit and I loved it. And then in the background you have the hurricane which ties itself beautifully into the story. The hurricane is a character all in itself which I wasn't expecting and ended up loving.

The descriptions of how hot it is, and the aftermath of the hurricane are so well written I felt like I was actually there. I've never experienced a hurricane and can't even imagine, but reading this made me feel like I was right there in the middle of it, and it was terrifying.

This is a gritty, violent, spooky, fucked up, storm chasing ride. Bring your umbrella, a weapon and your besties, because you're going to need them for this one!

I became a big fan of Gabino Iglesias after The Devil Takes You Home, so I was very excited to receive an ARC of House of Bone and Rain. This story was very different, yet still stamped with Iglesias’s writerly trademarks. I loved how the ideas of friendship and family were swept into the hurricane of themes in loyalty, promises, and consequence in both life and death. How far is too far and can one’s life ever be the same once the storm of revenge hits? Iglesias did a wonderful job of giving the reader authentic Puerto Rico in both setting and character. I could not have guessed where this story was going and it exceeded any expectations I formed at the beginning of my read. Once again, a magnificent, gut-punch of a story.

Gabe and his best friends are tight as brothers. They came up together through school, banded together under a simple macho credo: Anyone who messes with one of them messes with all of them. So, if Tavo gets flack for being gay, his brothers have his back. If Xavier inadvertently winds up on the wrong side of a group of clubbing guys, they help him out.

When someone shoots Bimbo’s mother in the face outside the Lazer club, Gabe, Paul, Tavo, Xavier are there for their brother. First to help him grieve and then to have his back when he swears to kill the shooters responsible. Little do they realize that they are opening up cans of worms they might not be equipped to handle.

The shooting stinks of organized crime. And their investigation reveals that the killers are known allies of the local crime boss, Papalote, whose rep is not merely for sadism and cruelty but for allegiances with the inhuman powers that dwell in the waters around Puerto Rico. However, when one of their own is then the next victim of these maniacs, Gabe and his surviving brothers will put up or shut up. If they bitch out now, they might survive and save their loved ones from further reprisal. If they commit, they will have to be ready to kill and kill and kill.

And with a hurricane brewing, bringing in all manner of bad mojo and luck, they might actually be squaring off against dark powers they don’t understand. Those powers are hungry things, sowers of despair and destruction, and when they ride the winds into Gabe’s neighborhood, all hell is waiting to break loose.

Gabino Iglesias has built his own kind of weird crime stories ever since his first major novel, Zero Saints. This latest book, House of Bone and Rain, is also given the title page description of A Barrio Noir, and it builds on the sorts of passions found in Iglesias’ earlier books. There’s the gut wrenching violence and supernatural threads from Zero Saints, the many characters whose perspectives provide a fuller picture of the world as shown in Coyote Songs, a terrific sense for the nasty ways folklore and horror can weave into the everyday worlds as shown in The Devil Takes You Home. This time, Iglesias gives us a clear view of both Puerto Rico as a character in its own right (America’s unfortunate colony, mistreated and overlooked throughout our shared history) as well as a close knit group of men instead of the lone operators we’ve seen in the past. Best of all, there is a stronger female presence this time around.

That last item is surprising in many ways, particularly since the female presence is not the expected girlfriends, mistresses, and young women we might expect from the crime fiction side of the equation. Sure, we have a few girlfriends on display here—Bimbo’s Dominican fiancée for money, Altagracia, plays a role as do Gabe’s voice of reason and restraint, Natalia, and Paul’s gal Cynthia. However, the strongest female presence throughout the book, the one that takes up most of the inner monologuing and hand wringing is not these women. No, this book is rather obsessed with mothers. Bimbo’s mom is the catalyst for the action, Gabe is (rightfully) concerned about his own mother’s safety at numerous points throughout the text. There’s a cutaway to a Altagracia’s mother in the Dominican Republic, who is seeing visions of her own mother while also communicating with her daughter via some kind of spooky empathic connection. There’s a tangential chapter involving a mother’s sacrifices to seek vengeance against the man who stole into her house intending to steal earthy possessions and ended up robbing her of the most valuable thing on earth. This is as much a book about mothers as it is about five dudes seeking revenge. It’s a book that suggests the road mothers walk is not an easy one—this is no country for old moms. It is as cruel to them as it is to the protagonist and his pals, these guys who transgress against societal mores in order to find some kind of justice. And yet, with the many forms of cruelty evident throughout the book—there is brutality and action aplenty, including a rather memorable, trippy fight scene with an opponent whose otherworldliness takes a couple of forms including the ability to seemingly move from one part of a room to another without taking a visible step—Iglesias always leaves some room between tense scenes for his protagonist’s gang to be guys, cracking jokes, finding their shared moment of peace together.

However, House of Bone and Rain is not merely an action movie for the mind’s eye, where a moment of quips can alleviate the horror of extreme violence or the cost some deeds have upon the heart, mind, or body. Some of what Bimbo asks his friends to do will ultimately serve to the detriment of the group’s internal structure. Paul is not one to stick his neck out unnecessarily, though he’s also not one to leave his friends hanging, and that complexity of character adds in believable drama.

There is an intriguing air of mystery to the supernatural as the book gets underway and brings the hurricane to the island. Once some of the elements are better revealed, readers will see some familiar elements juxtaposed with the unfamiliar. This book certainly has an affection for the pulpier horrors of one of the leading writers from the Weird Tales school, and there are nods to that author throughout. However, the text is always reinventing what’s come before, seeing how varied the world can be and what effect interesting different perspectives and cultural approaches to the stuff of classic horror can have.

According to the acknowledgements, this is a book that has been in various states for quite some time. Drawing on the author’s own experiences coming of age in Puerto Rico, the book was first attempted at the end of the ‘90s. 20+ years on, the author found the confidence in his craft to complete it. So, there is an intriguing blend of the energetic young writer rubbing shoulders with the more experience and craft-oriented one in a story that blends lucid, autobiographical details with a compelling crime yarn and a cool as hell supernatural horror one.

While the conclusion feels a tad more rushed than it needs to be, suggesting the author wanted to put this one to bed already. And yet, the book nevertheless offers a satisfying conclusion to what we’ve read. This is the sort of book that is difficult to set aside, even when the last page is written, the kind of story where I want to stick around a little longer, feel with these characters, see their failures and successes, their bad calls and their attempts to redeem themselves, hang out for the next, unwritten scenes.

Iglesias again presents the way people talk in an authentic manner. The dialogue is a mix of Spanish and English, the former often without specific translation. This time around, however, there are a few passages that require translation, often for words echoed throughout the book. All stories, Gabe remarks, are ghost stories. (Todos las historias son historias de fantasmas).

This infusion of English and Spanish should come as no surprise to anyone who’s read somewhat widely. Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy (All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities on the Plain), No Country For Old Men, and other works offers up a similar fusion of languages in the dialogue. As well, Caitlin R. Kiernan infuses romance languages into their dark fiction (e.g., Black Helicopters). Like McCarthy, Iglesias provides the context to allow a reader to infer meaning and intent, even if there is no direct translation.

All told, House of Bone and Rain is yet another example of Gabino Iglesias’ cool as hell fusion of crime fiction with weirder elements. The action is well written, the characters are complex, the constant sense of a noose squeezing around these characters is palpable. While the mythology of the otherworldly relies more on more familiar pulp horror elements than we’ve seen in previous books, Iglesias is not content to regurgitate these in expected ways. There is always room for new spins on those familiar elements, and Iglesias successfully finds a different approach.

It’s another fine read from an author knocking words out at the top of his game. I can’t wait to see where the author will go with his future works.
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A special thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest assessment.

Wanted to love this book, and liked it for a long while. A brutal revenge story set in Puerto Rico during a hurricane, genuinely compelling and terrifying; interesting and very real characters.

And then it takes a turn toward the supernatural. Slowly at first, with a disorienting blur between what's real and imagined, and I'm still there; some brutal and truly exciting action.

Then it hurls off the rails -- with a sort of slapdash explanation (twice) of some of the supernatural elements, with no real examination of their implications. Followed by a rushed and unsatisfying climax (or coda, hard to say at this point).

Iglesias is a tremendously talented writer, but this book careened into disappointment for me.

Take a revenge story, give it a genuinely informed Puerto Rican setting, make it gritty and gory AF, add a dash of the occult, equal parts paranormal and supernatural elements, but make it heartwarming and melancholy, like café con leche on the front porch with your abuela while watching a storm roll in, and you have Gabino Iglesias’ HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN. A fast-paced thrilling read con mucha acción y una narrativa muy entretenida. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

Gabino Iglesias never freaking fails!!! This book had me hooked from page one! Great storyline, great characters and just an overall great concept! I love the horror aspect of this book. So well written!

I really like Gabino Iglesias and I found many things, especially the sense of Puerto Rico, the writing about hurricane Maria, and the character of Natalia well worth the read, even though ultimately this wasn't quite the book for me. I found myself wishing that either the supernatural water elements had been more woven in from the start the way the hurricane was or that the reef had been dropped entirely in exchange for deepening some of the character bonds. The ties between Gabe and Bimbo were so clear to me, but I never clicked in to some of the others. Tavo felt like he was meant to be the tie between the water and the group of boys, but he and the specificity of that bond beyond being told they were close never came to life for me.

I think in general that is often what I find tricky about revenge stories, especially one like this which so purposefully plays with the pointlessness and destructive elements as well as the love that can fuel so much destruction. If I don't feel the visceral bond or understand it the way the characters do, I find myself bogging down in the brutality. I think potentially that more specificity for the other boys might have shifted that balance for me and turned this into something I was glad I read into something I would be thinking of for years to come.

With his first three novels—Zero Saints, Coyote Songs, and The Devil Takes You Home—Gabino Iglesias forged an utterly original sub-genre in the horror/thriller arena, call it barrio noire. Set along the Mexican/U.S. border, these grim and gritty crime novels are a tangled amalgamation of old world Catholicism, even older world mysticism, and supernatural horror. The violence and tension are cranked up to eleven. This is bold, uncompromising, fuck-you-right-in-the fight-or-flight-center-of-your-brain writing.

I’m so happy to announce that House of Bone and Rain, Iglesias’ upcoming new novel, is his best yet. It contains all those elements that make every book by him essential reading, but there’s a triumphant confidence to the writing, a maturity the makes for a deeper, even more impactful reading experience.

Iglesias returns to his roots, and enters new territory, by setting House of Bone and Rain in Puerto Rico as a hurricane bares down on the island. Five young men, lifelong, ride-or-die friends, pledge vengeance when one of their mothers is murdered. This begins a headlong descent into harrowing violence, a world where murder is as commonplace as the grinding poverty that permeates every aspect of life, a liminal space where the mundane and the supernatural share an uneasy coexistence. Ghosts walk here, a constant reminder of the fragility of life. Monsters walk here as well, although by the end you may find yourself questioning just who the real monsters are.

If Cormac McCarthy and Clive Barker teamed up to write a coming of age novel, you might get something like House of Bone and Rain, but honestly, that’s not anywhere near an adequate description, because it barely scratches the surface of what Iglesias has achieved here. He’s fiercely original and breathtakingly inventive. Best of all I have a feeling that he’s just getting started.

House of Bone and Rain will be released on August 6, 2024, and is available for pre-sale now.

All fans of horror and stories of #boricua need to get on it and order @gabino_iglesias’ next masterpiece. I’ve been telling my students snippets about this all week and haven’t been able to get this friend group out of my head. So good!

Thanks @netgalley for the chance for an early read!

#bookstagram #currentlyreading #houseofboneandrain

After reading two of his novels, I feel like Gabino Iglesias has really seen some shit. This story is extremely visceral and violent. One bad situation snowballs into many more. It is a stressful and harrowing novel in which terrible things happen to people. And once again, this author has a way with words.

One of my favorite things about this book was that it portrayed how terrifying storms are. I hate them so much. These storms specifically are hurricanes and not tornadoes, like the ones I have to worry about, (plus there are supernatural elements mixed in), but my feelings are still valid! This story takes place in Puerto Rico and I felt like I was there. Iglesias vividly describes the post-hurricane destruction and suffering in ways that evoke all of the senses. (The buzzing of the generators, the heat, etc.) And that's just the grounded layer of the plot, because there is also horrific revenge and something monstrous and otherwordly happening on top of all of this.

The main characters are four men who love each other like brothers. One of them is gay, and they accept and protect him without question. That was nice to see. But once the primary narrator, Gabe, gets caught up in a bad situation, it all spirals out of control and their loyalty to each other will be tested with blood. This book is brutally violent and bleak. Heed the trigger warnings.

I would also caution that at the start of every chapter, there are five words or phrases in bold. They’re sort of like a preview of what the chapter will be about, but they’re also like little mini-spoilers, so I would recommend ignoring these lists. I'm not sure why they're included.

I didn't mind the supernatural element, and just like with "The Devil Takes You Home," I think Iglesias blended it in well with the very real and very ugly core story. There were cool and creepy scenes throughout that added a chilling veil of darkness to the atmosphere. My only complaint was that some of it did get a bit silly near the end, even if it also touched me emotionally. (Very complicated!) I really like this author and will continue to read anything he releases. His writing is not for the faint of heart.

TW: Hate speech, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, child harm/death, suicide, animal death, drug use, extreme violence