Coyote Songs, by Gabino Iglesias, is a short novel, but don’t let the brief length convince you that it lacks literary weight. I finished it late last night and it hasn’t yet left me. I had unsettled dreams, and I find myself thinking of it at odd moments.

A mosaic novel, Coyote Song follows the lives of several characters, some living and some not so much, who live on either side of the America/Mexico border, La Frontera. The book is set on the bleeding edge of right now, with border patrols, shocking violence, political upheaval, human trafficking, child stealing and murder. There are monsters here, both supernatural and human, both corporal and not. And though the supernatural terrors are detailed and bloodcurdling (the chapters about the mother twisted me into knots), it’s the human monsters I will never forget. Iglesias is unsparing in his descriptions of immigrants left in the backs of trailers to cook, of men for whom disposing of bodies is just a job to do.

Iglesias’ writing style is captivating, his use of language evocative. Read Coyote Songs. You’ll be richly rewarded, but be prepared to peer into the darkness that humans are capable of. Try not to look away.