THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME – Gabino Iglesias

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Buried in debt due to his young daughter’s illness, his marriage at the brink, Mario reluctantly takes a job as a hitman, surprising himself with his proclivity for violence. After tragedy destroys the life he knew, Mario agrees to one final job: hijack a cartel’s cash shipment before it reaches Mexico. Along with an old friend and a cartel-insider named Juanca, Mario sets off on the near-suicidal mission, which will leave him with either a cool $200,000 or a bullet in the skull. But the path to reward or ruin is never as straight as it seems. As the three complicated men travel through the endless landscape of Texas, across the border and back, their hidden motivations are laid bare alongside nightmarish encounters that defy explanation. One thing is certain: even if Mario makes it out alive, he won’t return the same.

I tend to love books that blend genres. There’s just something that always feels a little thrilling when the book you are reading takes a hard-right turn into some unpredictable/unexpected territory.

Frequently, it’s horror that adds that little something extra. I love a fantasy novel or an urban fantasy novel that veers hard into horror.

But goddamn. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a crime novel that leans so hard into horror until now…THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME is a fucking nerve-shredding & often bleak affair, and a book that goes full-bore into some creepy supernatural elements.

This is the first Gabino Iglesias novel I’ve read, and it was one of those books that made an instant fan out of me. From the first page, the writing is just…explosive.

Our protagonist is Mario, and to say he is down on his luck would be vastly underselling it. His little girl has leukemia, his marriage is strained, and he is buried in debt. With really nowhere else to go, Mario turns to a friend named Brian who always swore he would help Mario out of any financial trouble.

Which is how Mario finds himself working as a hitman, taking out people he’s assured are the worst of the worst. But with everything going wrong in Mario’s life, he kind of loses himself in the violence. He’s angry, and now he has an outlet for the anger.

There’s kind of a “one final score” opportunity that Mario can’t say no to, which is how he and Brian and a man named Juanca end up on a nightmare road trip along the Texas/Mexico border.

Violence, mayhem, and monsters ensue.

This book is…not for the faint of heart.

There’s definitely some things readers should be aware of before heading into this book. If you are someone who doesn’t need/care about any content warnings, then have at it.

So while this is by no means a comprehensive list of content warnings for the book, folks should prepare themselves for: torture, mutilation, racism, death of a child, gun violence, domestic violence, and animal cruelty (specifically a cockfighting scene, but a mention of dog fighting).

THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME is a dark, audacious novel. This book has such a propulsive quality to it, pushing you further and further into the darkness as you turn pages into the night. Gabino Iglesias is such a descriptive writer & you really feel the landscapes of Texas and Mexico seeping into your skin as you read this.

Fucking hell, this was an incredible book.

Big thanks to Mulholland Books for the copy!!

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