I was blown away by this twisty thriller from debut author Celso Hurtado.

After his grandmother receives a grim cancer diagnosis, seventeen-year-old Erasmo Cruz must find a way to earn money for her treatment. And fast. But Eramso, along with his down-on-his-luck friend Rat, get more than they bargained for after placing an ad as paranormal investigators on Craigslist.

The stakes are continuously raised as they encounter a man allegedly haunted by his deceased date, a young boy allegedly possessed by a flesh-eating demon, and a man claiming to have disturbing visions of the future. Not to mention that Erasmo must come to terms with his own brush with the supernatural. Was he really rescued by the spirits of the Ghost Tracks on that fateful night?

This gory and gruesome horror novel blurs the lines between perception and reality, and begs the question of just how far Erasmo is willing to go to help these disturbed individuals.

Erasmo Cruz is such an intelligent and likable protagonist. Although initially motivated by money, Erasmo continually puts his own life on the line in the name of family, friendship, and love. Readers realize that his no-bullshit exterior is not a matter of indifference, but rather of caring too much.

And Celso Hurtado writes with such a deft and knowing hand, especially when building feelings of dread throughout the text. Sometimes information that is withheld can be even more powerful than a grisly description.

This is highly recommended reading for genre fans.

What I liked best about this book is that it’s got the perfect tone and pitch for a YA paranormal/ghost novel. I’m middle-aged now, but as I was reading I reflected back on my teenage years and how much I loved ghost, horror, and paranormal novels and this book would have fit perfectly among those books. It has spunk, an interesting premise, and a touch of both occultism and the phenomena of urban legends that I’ve always adored.

One of the most interesting dichotomies in this book is how no main or supporting character in this book is reliable. We can’t even trust the tale of what the book’s protagonist, Erasmos, went through that has made him so notable in his hometown that gives birth to not only the book’s title but also lends him the authority to put the book’s plot into motion. And once that plot is put into motion, Erasmos and his best friend (and business partner), Rat, are suddenly sucked into what seems to be a never-ending series of events that take twists and turns over a series of months that only seem to become creepier and more violent as time goes on. And as events spiral downward, so does the physical and mental health of both Erasmos and Rat.

There is a romantic subplot in the middle of the book that I felt would’ve done the book a world of good had it been left out or changed. It slowed the book down and lessened the nice tension and suspense that permeated the rest of the book. It would’ve made the book shorter, but I think the book would’ve been much better for it.

All in all, it really is a great young adult ghost/paranormal story. If I were a teenager who devoured these sorts of books, I’d definitely pick it up.

Do you know your local lore? Maybe there’s a house near yours that’s haunted, or maybe a friend of a friend swore that your school was built atop an old cemetery. For Erasmo, he knows that the local train tracks are haunted by the ghosts of children; having died in a horrific accident, they now lie in wait around the area, hoping to save others from the same fate.

Years ago, Erasmo was saved by those ghost children and now people think he’s been “touched”. He doesn’t know what to think, but now that his grandma has been diagnosed with cancer, he needs to start believing in the power of the supernatural quick. But his new career as a paranormal investigator is proving to be more dangerous than he thinks, and it’s not the ghosts he has to worry about.

Full disclosure: I am super into witchcraft and occult-related topics, so in reading this, I couldn’t help but nitpick at certain topics. That being said, most of the information provided in The Ghost Tracks was accurate and it’s clear Celso Hurtado did their research. I say “most” information because there is some discussion here about closed practices that I have no knowledge of, so I can’t verify the claims.

My main critique of this story is that despite its title and blurb, it’s not actually a ghost story. Hurtado constantly leads us down a path that seems paranormal at its core, only to pull back the curtain at the last moment and reveal there’s nothing lurking in the shadows. Even Erasmo flip flops on his own beliefs on whether there’s actually anything spooky in his town despite his job.

There’s nothing wrong with a horror story that isn’t centered around ghosts, of course, I have reviewed a couple of horror books this year that are about the evilness of humanity but I guess that the blurb had misled me and I found myself getting constantly frustrated with the book.

The premise of the book is exciting though and I love the idea of a paranormal investigation agency. What makes it all the better that Erasmo is not going in like your average horror movie protagonist, instead he’s armed to the teeth with knowledge about any and all entities. He can be a bit naive of course, but weren’t we all when we were 17?

The antagonists in the book are actually terrifying as well and I felt genuinely scared for Erasmo when he was in over his head. The villains really carried the novel with their warped perspectives of the world, and their crimes are enough to make anyone living along lock their doors.

Had the book actually been about ghosts and this 17 year old boy going about his town trying to exorcise them, I think I would enjoyed this book a lot more. But as it stands, I don’t think The Ghost Tracks is the one for me.

Forget believing in fairies, The Ghost Tracks asks whether you believe in the paranormal. Do ghosts really exist? What about demonic possession? Join Erasmo and his friend Rat as they seek to find out for real, and get more than they bargained for…

The Ghost Tracks is one of those books where you sit down to write about it, and end up scratching your head. To try to put this book into words is difficult, because it’s not a book, it’s an experience from start to finish. It reminds me of the TV show Preacher, where so many random things are happening all at once, many of which are so outlandish that a voice in the back of your mind is saying to you that this doesn’t work, it shouldn’t work. Yet somehow the chaos and the mayhem does work. The utter ridiculousness of the situation, bordering on slapstick comedy with a dangerous edge of reality.

When Erasmo Cruz and his buddy Rat decide to become paranormal investigators, they expected the rude responses to their Craigslist ad. They even expected to get some weird ones. They thought they were prepared for everything, and of course, when you think that you couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’m just going to say that Erasmo and Rat end up going down a dangerous rabbit hole that shows the darker side of their city.

For most of the novel, I thought I had found yet another magical realism novel parading as a paranormal (or fantasy) novel. Minor spoiler; The Ghost Tracks is the real deal. It’s one of those books that you need to stick with it all the way to the end, and you will not be disappointed. Along the way, Hurtado takes us on a journey of self-discovery that is unlike anything else you will find in a young adult novel. This isn’t a Bildungsroman because neither Erasmo nor Rat are children growing into young men; they have already been made to grow up too fast by events beyond their control.

These are two people who are trying to understand what has happened to them, and how they are supposed to deal with the hand they have been dealt in life. It’s something that people two/three times their age struggle with, and Hurtado doesn’t shy away from the issues. He faces it head on, and that is something that we need to see more of in young adult novels.

The Ghost Tracks is the perfect novel to crack open this Halloween. It’s full of mayhem, friendship, demons and ghosts. Are they real? You’ll just need to read and find out

The Ghost Tracks by Celso Hurtado is described as a YA horror and suspense novel and has been compared to the Fear Street novels by Stine. It definitely made me think of those books, but this book is way more detailed in the horror department. I was surprised to see that some of the descriptions actually qualify as using adult instead of adult. I'm not complaining because it really conveyed that horror element that the story is going for.

I believe the author did a good job of developing the characters. I genuinely liked the characters and the realism of the world building. I do believe that the overall narrative could have been better developed. The story was good but lacked a little depth, but it may be that the author wasn't going for depth and instead was just trying to tell a scary story. The pacing was pretty decent for me as well, so the story retained my interest throughout.

3.5 stars.
This was very different than what I expected. Very different, and darker, more gory and frightening than I anticipated when I opened the book. The author deals with the pain and loss of children abandoned by their parents, of wanting to find a rewarding path in life, of confronting one’s fears, and mental health.
In fact, most of the individuals in this gripping story of two seventeen-year old friends most would consider losers because of their family circumstances, and who decide to start a business helping people with their paranormal concerns, are examples of loneliness and some sort of mental health situation.
The three inquiries the pair of friends receive all seem to fit the bill, but over several weeks, main character Erasmo and his best friend Rat discover some ugly things about the situations they’re called to help with. (On a side note, there are a few pretty horrible and deeply disturbing moments in the book as Erasmo digs deeper into the lives of the people in his investigations.)

I had figurative warning bells going off loudly with each bizarre case Erasmo investigated, and kept wondering how he wasn’t having the screaming meemies. So, I can attest that the author had me both turning pages quickly to find out what happened next, while making my skin crawl with the seriously scary people Erasmo was dealing with.
This is primarily a story of a very lonely person and his equally lonely friend who are trying to find meaning and validation for themselves, making some pretty poor choices along the way and getting into bad places, physically and otherwise, consequently. It’s also a story with some hope in it, thank goodness, for its protagonist and his friend.
I should say also that this isn’t something I would normally read, but that I found compelling once I started.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Inkshares for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I ended up DNFing this one at approx. 30%.

The writing was very choppy and I had trouble following at times. This was the eARC, so it could have been edited more thoroughly by the final copy, however, what I read had a lot of issues with the writing. The pacing was all over the place, as I said it was hard to follow & at times it was straight up dull.

I also really didn't like the MC and I don't believe that he was necessarily meant to be unlikable. He was irritating and the whole way he was running this paranormal detective business drove me insane. He knows the paranormal exists but then doesn't believe ANYONE that comes to him with problems they can't explain??

I loved the idea of this one but execution just wasn't there unfortunately.

Sadly I was disappointed by The Ghost Tracks which centres around a young man called Erasmo who has started a paranormal investigation venture to pay for his Grandmother's medical treatment. The narration felt really flat and the pacing (especially at the start) was either too fast or too slow making the whole novel feel super disjointed.

The horror just wasn't there either. Although it had some particularly gory moments they were not scary/creepy and just felt like an obvious attempt to add a shock factor. I also really did not like the direction the plot took. We follow Erasmo's investigation into three cases and I disliked to conclusions to all of them. At one point in the middle it looked like the plot would take a turn for the better but sadly this was not the case.

Moving onto the characters, there was no good female leads AT ALL and all the male side characters were incredibly unlikeable and one dimensional. Something I did particularly like though, was our protagonist Erasmo. He showed some brilliant growth throughout and I felt his heartbreaks along with him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares for an advanced reader's copy.

The title, The Ghost Tracks, as well as the book description, suggested that this was a ghost story. While there are some possible paranormal aspects, please do not pick this up thinking you'll be reading about a haunting the entire book. There are some ghostly/demon type scares, but that is only a portion of the story.

There were some good character twists and turns and a lot of tension. Somehow every character (and there were at least 6 or 7) got their own ending and the main character found his true self by the end of it all.

As for trigger warnings, there is some mild body horror/violence, animal corpse abuse (which thankfully is not described a whole lot), child abuse and talk of suicide and drug abuse.

Although I wish I had a dollar for every time the main character found himself unable to move his legs due to fear or anxiety, I still couldn't help enjoying this book. I'm also not a huge fan of continously bad things happening to one person... but once again, I can't help myself, it was a good book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the book's publisher, I received a free ebook copy of this book to review. And, I'm thankful because I liked it enough for a 4 ⭐rating. It is definitely worth the read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ghost Tracks spins us a story of three different paranormal experiences and the young man who tries to make sense of it all. Erasmo Cruz has some noteriety in his town. He has been touched by the Ghost Tracks, a local haunt story which makes him considered a credible source when it comes to the paranormal. When he and his friend, Rat, decide to place an ad on Craigslist they are met with three extremely different cases. What horrors await Erasmo, and will he be able to save anyone?

Let me begin this review by saying this: you will either LOVE this book, or absolutely HATE it. I adore this story start to finish in all it's gore and gasps. The way the three cases unfold throughout the book give each a perfect timing, never focusing solely on one for too long. There is massive gore multiple times through the book and one of the instances includes an animal; so if that is not your cup of tea then just steer clear. They absolutely mind-fuckery(for lack of any other word that fits) of this novel is top shelf. It is one that I will be recommending every year to people looking for a good spook. Nothing in this book was unnecessary or under thought making it a masterpiece of the macabre. If you have the stomach for it, make this one a spooky rainy day read.

I recommend this for readers 17+ as the gore is very detailed and can be too much for younger readers. I do not recommend this for those who cannot handle trauma to animals, child abuse, or can be easily triggered by talk of addiction or suicide. Thank you for the amazing ride, Celso Hurtado. I can't wait to see what you bring next.

This book is undeniably fun; Erasmo Cruz was the funniest and realest protagonist that I've had the pleasure of reading in quite a while. Don't get me wrong, though: this book is definitely creepy! I love paranormal thrillers, and this one did not disappoint: it was a thriller, it was spooky, it was well written, and it moved along at a great pace.

Thank you to Inkshares and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Celso Hurtado's "The Ghost Tracks."

I was drawn to this by the cover and title combination (which I think are excellent) and intrigued by the blurb but was not at all convinced that I would enjoy it and even through the first 20 pages or so, struggled a little but when I got into the flow I thoroughly enjoyed this debut outing.

It's all very weird and improbable but isn't that the point? That said, the mental, cultural/societal struggles of the main characters - Erasmo and his grandmother and his friend Rat - felt well done and real. This may be about fledgling and initially inept paranormal investigators but it's certainly not Ghostbusters.

There a few too many examples of teasing some big development or plot point only to have to wait for many pages for them to be revealed or for the explanation to happen and that requires the reader to rewind through the narrative in your head to make the connections. It's fine to have some of those slow burns in the book, it adds to the suspense, but it felt like everything that moved the plot forward and explained the context was a tease and a big reveal later on.

All-in-all, an enjoyable debut and I can see this author really developing into a very good storyteller and one that adds to the growing number of authors spinning horror tales from a Latino and/or indigenous people's point of view.

The Ghost Tracks was not what I expected. But in a good way. It’s a spooky mix of horror and YA with some nice twists. The main character is very likable. You really root for him. This is a nice one to read during the spooky season or anytime you’re in the mood for something scary.

Thank you @netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Ghost Tracks follows Erasmo Cruz, a teenage boy who has decided to turn a paranormal experience and an interest in the supernatural into a business to help pay for his grandmother's cancer treatments. He and his friend Rat put an ad on Craigslist and receive three responses. A novel ensues.

I read The Ghost Tracks in one day. I enjoyed it very much. I liked the character development and the twists and turns of the plot. It took me a little while to get into, but once I did it was an afternoon well spent.

The premise sounds a little made-for-tv, but the books deals with some very serious themes and goes to some very dark places. The supernatural aspects of the book are handled well, but it's the actions of humans that bring the real horror.

I enjoyed this book a lot.

What a debut. This book had so many twists and turns my head is still spinning. Loved the main character and sympathized with him. A good ending as well. Overall highly enjoyed and will recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for this fun arc!

Erasmo Cruz becomes a paranormal investigator so he can make money to help pay for his Grandfather's cancer treatments. He begins working with a friend on several cases that seen right up his alley.

I had a lot of fun reading this but overall this story just didn't seem to do it for me personally. I was having a hard time relating to the characters and scenarios but I still really enjoyed reading this!

Definitely give this book a shot, especially if you love paranormal investigations!

🪜 Wow! Where to start with reviewing this amazing debut novel?

🪜 Character development was on point and not just for the protagonist but all the characters had their own stories come to life.

🪜 As with any good horror book there was some gore but it was not overwhelming - thev hardest bit was an animal being killed but it was not a huge section of the book.

🪜 Unlike many horror stories, TGT stories seemed believable and like they could have happened to you or me!

🪜 I enjoyed the real life heart breaks and growth shown by Erasmo especially. How his best friend Rat, looked out for him and his grandmother as much as he could, showing real loyalty and friendship for 2 outcasts.

🪜 Hurtado gave the reader many twists and turns to keep us invested and wanting to know more about what was going to happen next!

Such an odd book but it's oddness keeps you going. It's a little unbelievable and the part with Echo was horrifying. I did enjoy the end twist with Nora; I did not see that coming at all! The flow of the book seem stilted and seemed to jump from place to place. I think if it read more smoothly it would be 4 stars for me.

I like the premise of this book--a young man dabbling with the paranormal in an effort to help his grandmother, But the story is a bit messy, and sometimes not easy to follow. Who's dead? Who stabbed who? What's happening now? I'd love to read it again after one more edit for temporal clarity and better character definition.

While the Latinx representation is welcome and needed, particularly in genre fiction, this one might be too finally and gory to pass muster with school gatekeepers.