A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Book Riot Best Mystery & Thriller of the Year A
Marie Claire Best Mystery-Thriller of the Year A Library Journal Stellar Selection A RUSA
2026 Reading List Selection Three women in one twisted family race for answers in this
striking mystery set in the Mexicali borderlands that "breathes new life into the myth of
Persephone and Demeter" (Ana Reyes author of The House in the Pines ). At the edge of the
Salton Sea in the blistering borderlands something is out hunting... Malamar Veracruz has
never left the dust-choked town of El Valle. Here Mal has done her best to build a good life:
She’s raised two children worked hard and tried to forget the painful unexplained
disappearance of her sister Elena. When another local girl goes missing Mal plunges into a
fresh yet familiar nightmare. As a desperate Mal hunts for answers her search becomes
increasingly tangled with inscrutable visions of a horse-headed woman a local legend who Mal
feels compelled to follow. Mal’s perspective is joined by the voices of her two daughters all
three of whom must work to uncover the truth about the missing girls in their community before
it' s too late. Combining elements of Latina and Indigenous culture family drama mystery
horror and magical realism in a spellbinding mix Salt Bones lays bare the realities of
environmental catastrophe family secrets and the unrelenting bond between mothers and
daughters. “Taut with a mother’s fierce love and the corrosive power of secrets...this is
storytelling at its most urgent and haunting.” —Morgan Talty author of Night of the Living Rez
“A novel of visceral and celestial storytelling power where the grieving land holds as many
secrets as the characters.” —Kali Fajardo-Anstine author of Sabrina & Corina "A triumph ...
One of the most masterful marriages of horror mystery thriller and literary writing." — The
Los Angeles Times "Will absolutely mesmerize you.” — Cosmo "Beautifully explores the
dark complexities of mother-daughter relationships." —Erin E. Adams author of Jackal “An
irresistible world.” —Tananarive Due author of The Reformatory
