The Secret Life of Insects — Bernardo Esquinca

Translated by James D. Jenkins.

A forensic entomologist tries to solve the inexplicable murder of his wife, who impossibly seems to have been killed in a forest at the same time she was asleep in bed with him.

A husband becomes concerned by his wife’s strange behavior, which includes sleepwalking, muttering strange phrases, and a bizarre erotic fascination with octopi.

A woman visits a witch doctor who promises to forge an unbreakable bond between her and the man of her dreams, but things go horribly awry after the man dies.

And four high school friends reunite twenty years later at a class reunion and must face the long-buried truth of a demonic experience from their youth.

The history of Mexico is drenched in blood, from the sacrifices of the ancient Aztecs to the bloodthirsty conquest of the Spanish to modern-day violent crime, and that legacy of violence and death pervades these stories. They blend the genres of horror and noir in inventive ways and run the gamut from chilling to weirdly unsettling to darkly funny.

A volume sure to please not only fans of horror and weird fiction, but also anyone interested in contemporary international literature.

This edition also features brilliant full-page illustrations by Spanish artist Luis Pérez Ochando and an introduction by Mariana Enriquez.

‘Bernardo Esquinca is a writer who knows that fear is another form of desire. Of the desire for the dark, the desire for the mysterious, and the desire for life in death. His writing grabs you and takes you by the hand through obsessions where what is beautiful and monstrous in humanity dwells. Read him: you’re going to be terrified and amazed at the same time.’ – Mónica Ojeda, author of Jawbone

‘These stories are fully cognizant of Horror’s past, but they also provide clear signposts for Horror’s possible future. Very deft, smart stories that manage to do in ten pages what most novels struggle to accomplish in thirty times that. Esquinca is a writer to watch.’ – Brian Evenson, award-winning author of Song for the Unraveling of the World