Safe Return Doubtful

translated from the Argentinian Spanish by Andrea G. Labinger

The premise of the novel may be nothing new, a car breakdown in the desert miles from anywhere expect a small town whose inhabitants are up to no good.. but, Abrevaya does a solid job in relating the tale in such a gripping way that it oozes cosmic horror.

Álvaro, a filmmaker, and his wife, Alicia, are the unlucky breakdown couple, and they walk to the small town called Los Huemules, and end up staying at a cheap hotel while the repair takes place. But the following morning, Alicia is gone. Álvaro’s search leads him to the mayor, also the “eviscerator” who runs the morgue, and to the authorities and a nun who oversees an orphanage for children with disabilities. He soon realises this is no ordinary town.

The mayor and the priest run the town, and they have unorthodox ideas about purity which involve demons. There is also something very sinister going on that involves the dogs that used to hunt deer, and the occasional kidnapping of the disabled children from the orphanage. As Álvaro seeks answers, the town turns against him, and pretty soon the story is one of religious zealotry and evil.