The Sleeping Sisters

A threatened mother and relentless detective collide in this mesmerizing novel from a rising voice in literary horror, perfect for fans of Gabino Iglesias, Carmen Maria Machado, Augustina Bazterrica, and Stephen Graham Jones.
 
A mother’s love is the oldest curse
 
Fortuna Miércoles has finally moved her family to a better neighborhood across the Rio Grande, desperate to outrun the curse that’s stalked her bloodline since her greatest grandmother crossed the desert with a cactus thorn splitting her throat. But burying a family’s violent legacy isn’t so easy. Twenty years ago, girls and women vanished into the Albuquerque night, their bones later unearthed on the mesa. The so-called Reaper was never caught. Now, beneath the dormant volcanoes called the Sleeping Sisters, the killings have begun again.
 
Detective Jeanette Palacio has spent decades chasing the ghosts of her murdered cousins—alongside the memory of the other women she couldn’t avenge. When a new body turns up in Fortuna’s backyard, both women are pulled into a dangerous, ancient plot. Are the Sleeping Sisters awakening—or has someone in Fortuna’s family set a trap?
 
Inspired by true events and shot through with a Chicana-Indigenous reimagining of the legend of the headless woman, The Sleeping Sisters is a fevered, feral hymn to motherhood and the monstrous bargains we make to protect those we love.

• Praise for Salt Bones
• "A triumph. One of the most masterful marriages of horror, mystery, thriller, and literary writing." 
  The Los Angeles Times
• “A mystery spiked with horror, magical realism, and stunning prose, this book cast a spell on me.” 
   
  Ana Reyes, author of The House in the Pines
• “Givhan mesmerizes. . . . Weaving folklore, mystery, and horror into a breathtaking tapestry. It’s a stunning examination of generational trauma.”
  Publishers Weekly (starred review)
• “Givhan perfectly balances the supernatural with human themes of grief and love. A timely novel that deals with the treatment of Latina women. For fans of character-driven suspense and the magical realism of Isabel Allende, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Victor LaValle.”
  Library Journal (starred review)
• “Jennifer Givhan’s lyricism and rich storytelling immediately snatch you into this irresistible world of secrets, grief, and horror.”
  Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory