I wrote a review for this once, and it was terrible, the review, not the book.

I finished it a few weeks ago, and it still resides in my head. I’ve thought about it daily. When it crosses my brain stream, I think of all that it is, and it’s a fantastic book.

If you need proof, I’ve had trouble reading anything since. I believe my Goodreads has me reading four books right now.

The opening is heartbreaking, but Mario, the main character, needs to get going. It’s what the story needs. I can’t think of this story without that heartwrenching opening that pulls you and wants you to follow the main character.

He takes job after job, trying to make things work to get back to his wife. When he feels like he’s nearly there, a job lands in his lap that could fix it all.

The strange trip that follows goes dark. We see things as they are in the world he lives in. They’re not pretty things, but we are witnesses to them.

As the trip progresses, more darkness arrives in shadows, caves, and in the form of gators. We see a small glimpse of the underworld Marcio, the main character, lives in. He may not know it’s there, but he finds out about it soon enough. All the dark things come to roost, and with them, a sense of a man fighting to do right by his wife and daughter.

The ride didn’t end the way I thought or hoped it would, but if you’ve read anything else of Gabino’s, you knew what may be coming. He doesn’t hold back the darkness swirling around Mario. He lets it out. This makes the book so good and shows Gabino’s talent with the subject.

I had to write this better review. I wrote the other one a day after I finished it. I shouldn’t have done that. It was too raw. I’ve read Gabino’s Coyote Songs and started on Zero Saints.

He’s one of my favorite writers, and he’s helped me a lot with my own writing.

It’s a great book, and I hope you read it.