A Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Goodreads CrimeReads The Millions StyleCaster The
EveryGirl Sunset Book Riot and HipLatina January Recommended Reading by The Washington Post
Kirkus Reviews Book Riot Nerd Daily The Mary Sue and Reading Between the Spines
Mesmerizing...wildly entertaining...Gonzalez is a great storyteller bringing both Texas and
Mexico to the page with a mix of blood and magic...A must-read. -The Boston Globe In 1895
Antonio Sonoro is the latest in a long line of ruthless men. He's good with his gun and is
drawn to trouble but he's also out of money and out of options. A drought has ravaged the town
of Dorado Mexico where he lives with his wife and children and so when he hears about a
train laden with gold and other treasures he sets off for Houston to rob it-with his younger
brother Hugo in tow. But when the heist goes awry and Hugo is killed by the Texas Rangers
Antonio finds himself launched into a quest for revenge that endangers not only his life and
his family but his eternal soul. In 1964 Jaime Sonoro is Mexico's most renowned actor and
singer. But his comfortable life is disrupted when he discovers a book that purports to tell
the entire history of his family beginning with Cain and Abel. In its ancient pages Jaime
learns about the multitude of horrific crimes committed by his ancestors. And when the same
mysterious figure from Antonio's timeline shows up in Mexico City Jaime realizes that he may
be the one who has to pay for his ancestors' crimes unless he can discover the true story of
his grandfather Antonio the legendary bandido El Tragabalas The Bullet Swallower. A family
saga that's epic in scope and magical in its blood and based loosely on the author's own
great-grandfather The Bullet Swallower tackles border politics intergenerational trauma and
the legacies of racism and colonialism in a lush setting and stunning prose that asks who pays
for the sins of our ancestors and whether it is possible to be better than our forebears.
