Salt Bones

A Novel

By: Jennifer Givhan

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Book Riot Best Mystery & Thriller of the Year

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​

Critic reviews

“Salt Bones breathes new poetry and life into the myth of Persephone and Demeter, drawing from the ancient story as deftly as from the contemporary realities of a single mother living on the Salton Sea. 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

“Salt Bones walks the shores of the mythical, unexplained darkness that we all run from, forming a real connection to the stories that are embedded in our lives as indigenous people. So many of us are haunted by so much; our traumatic histories, our family secrets and the threads of generational trauma. Jennifer Givhan has harnessed all of it here in these pages and wrapped us in the tenderness of her words—the poetry of a mother’s undying love—guiding us like a map of stars through the sizzling, mordant landscape of our nightmares. Her storytelling is all at once so fragile and so explosive that her words will haunt me for a lifetime.”—Ramona Emerson, author of Shutter

“Jennifer Givhan’s lyricism and rich storytelling immediately snatch you into this irresistible world of secrets, grief, and horror. Givhan’s poet’s voice brings depth and urgency to a story that feels both contemporary and as old as time, exploring the fault lines between mothers and daughters, myth and reality, beauty and horror.”—Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory

“In Salt Bones, Jennifer Givhan delivers a novel taut with a mother’s fierce love and the corrosive power of secrets. With language that is both precise and visceral, Givhan plunges readers into El Valle—a landscape that is at once lush and poisoned, alive with myth yet grounded in harsh realities. The narrative unfolds as a masterclass in voice, its characters complex and deeply human, each bearing the burden of a past that refuses to remain buried. Givhan trusts the silences, allowing tension to seep through unspoken words, creating a story where what's left unsaid resonates the loudest. Salt Bones demands to be read because it understands trauma and the brutal necessity of confronting it; this is storytelling at its most urgent and haunting.”—Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit

“Givhan mesmerizes with this masterful retelling of the story of Persephone and Demeter, set on the California-Mexico border. . . . Givhan thoroughly evokes the harsh beauty of her setting, weaving folklore, mystery, and horror into a breathtaking tapestry. It’s a stunning examination of generational trauma.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Stunning Story, Narrated to Perfection

Givhan's novel grasps you with its compelling characters, like fiercely tender Mal and her strong, sensitive and talented daughters, Griselda and Amaranta, and soon holds you by the throat when one daughter goes missing. I loved the Mexican folklore (La Siguanaba), the use of the Salton Sea area as a reminder of the damage of what what toxic chemicals and climate change can wreak on the environment and a cast of powerful women who don't wait for men to save them. This novel is as beautiful as it is haunting. And it is narrated to sublime perfection by Victoria Villarreal.

Praise for Salt Bones

I extremely enjoyed this novel. The story catches you in the beginning pages and doesn’t let you go till the last page. The characters are great and the story both scary and full of human faults and strengths. A great read!

A beautiful building of multiple frameworks and layers

“Salt Bones” is a brilliantly layered work that weaves together classical mythology (Persephone) and Dante’s Inferno with Mexican/Latino folklore to create a complex moral geography where physical descent mirrors spiritual and moral corruption. The novel explores intergenerational patterns of complicity and failed protection. Rather than simply retelling Persephone as a passive victim, Givhan subverts the myth by having la siguanaba repositioned as the folkloric protector figure as the true hero who prevents rather than enables a cycle of harm.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The framework of this story is slow building and strong, centering in women’s voices. This is a story about trusting the ones you can’t because the ones you do will hurt you.

The story

I first only got this book because the author is for my hometown, but I found love with the story written very well. Read very well. Will definitely listen again.

Heartbreaking and Unsettling

Salt Bones is beautifully written, lyrical, and haunting in its atmosphere. The first third felt a bit redundant at times. I think the author was focused on building relatable, layered characters, but it dragged a little before the story really took off. Once it did, it unfolded like a quiet murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end. The ending completely shocked me. It was both heartbreaking and unsettling. Overall, it’s a really good book.