🪦NO PLACE TO BURY THE DEAD🪦 by @laksb and translated from the Spanish by @lizmondo was a dystopian fever dream of a story that "illuminates the often-overlooked human dimension of the migrant crisis." Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @harperviabooks for the e-ARC.

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Angustios Romero is looking for a place to bury her newly deceased twin baby boys while running from a spreading memory-stealing plague that decimates the mind of anyone who is infected with it. She finds herself in a somewhat liminal space known as the town of Mesquite (in an unknown Latin American country) where corruption reigns and the town is filled with refugees, storytellers and terrifying gangs that prey on newcomers. When she finally puts her babies to rest in a cemetery called the Third Country, she meets charismatic and stubborn Visitación Salazar who is dedicated to caring for the dead. When the cemetery becomes the target of a wealthy land baron named Alcides Abundio, Angustios is caught in the crossfire.

A meditation on loss, struggle, grief, death and the preciousness of life, I was absolutely charmed and devastated alike by this story. It asks questions such as who deserves housing, access to land or dignity in life and/or death. It discusses the fact that folks with nothing are often asked to accept even less. The clash of personalities of all of these characters was mesmerizing to experience.

Read this one if:

💀Quests and walking adventures are of interest to you
🦴You love magical realism mixed with horror elements
💀Strong character verbal and mental battles intrigue you
🦴You are a supporter of the rights of refugees and want to see that played out in a fictional novel

No Place to Bury the Dead was an excellent read. I loved the writing and it was propulsive. Great character study. I would read more from this author.

Rating: 2.15 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2.75/5
-Story: 2.75/5
-Writing: 4.75/5
Genre: Horror, Magical Realism
-Horror: 1/5
-Magical Realism: 5/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Eh

I want to first thank Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this!

The story was just honestly more sad than scary. The struggles were laid in front of us but I felt no real emotion behind the words.

This book has me sobbing. As a mother of premature twins, with heart defects, I was with our lead the entire time. Of course she wants to do right by them. She gave birth to them.
This book is almost too good. It is not an escape. It was just fulltime breaking my heart.
The book gets better and better as you go. I love all the symbolism and I even somehow loved the violence.
I love the ending!

No Place to Burry the Dead was a bit slower paced than what I normally like. I enjoyed the peek into the migrant story but felt that the topic was bleak.

Karina Sainz Borgo paints a bleak picture of a world where violent gangs, corrupt politicians, and ruthless businessmen hold all the power. Oh wait, that’s starting to sound like real life! The setting is harrowing, yet compelling; drawing clear parallels to real-world issues. In this dystopian hellscape, the characters have been hardened by suffering, and the author contrasts their harsh realities with the tenderness and care they show to the dead. The themes of life and death are beautifully written, particularly through Visitación, who provides dignity and peace to those who have passed.

The synopsis had led me to expect a story that would be continuously pulling at my heartstrings, and while it began with an alluring emotional intensity, that grip loosened as the story progressed. I struggled to finish it. While I appreciated the atmosphere and the novel’s insight into migrants in desperation, I struggled with the execution. The pacing was slow, especially in the middle, and the story only seemed to gain momentum in its final third. Visitación was a compelling protagonist, but the supporting characters lacked complexity and depth. The short chapters, though they make for a fast read, often felt disjointed, and at times, the narrative veered into a chaotic, almost soap opera-like style. This left me feeling disconnected, diminishing my emotional investment in the novel.

This book does succeed in capturing an interesting cultural and political climate and then projecting it into a world that feels like a not-so-distant future. My personal disconnect may not reflect the experience of others. But, this was a book I found incredibly depressing which makes it hard to recommend to others.

In this haunting magical realist novel, Sainz Borgo explores grief and memory through the lens of an unnamed Latin American country ravaged by a memory-erasing plague. The story follows Angustias Romero, who, after losing her children, finds herself in the surreal town of Mezquite and its mysterious Third Country cemetery.
While the premise is compelling and the imagery striking—particularly in the portrayal of Mezquite and its cast of desperate characters—the narrative sometimes gets lost in its own metaphorical wilderness. The relationship between Angustias and Visitación Salazar, the cemetery's formidable caretaker, provides emotional anchor points, but their conflict with the menacing landowner Alcides Abundio feels less fully realized.

Sainz Borgo's prose creates a dreamlike atmosphere that effectively blurs the lines between reality and hallucination, life and death. However, this same ethereal quality occasionally undermines the story's emotional impact, keeping readers at arm's length from the characters' raw grief. Despite these shortcomings, the novel offers a unique meditation on loss, memory, and the politics of death in a land where violence dictates law.

I haven't been confused by a book in awhile. I wanted to like this book. I wanted to enjoy the visuals and symbolism that is portrayed in the pages.
Yet, something felt lacking for me. I honestly don't know if I could fully tell you what the story was about, aside from a story of grief and women trying to be strong in a world that wants to beat them down. That, however, is very surface level. There's more, I know that, but I don't know what.
I think this may have been a right book for the wrong time for me.

DNF at 51%

I paired the audiobook with the e-book and was so excited to read this, but unfortunately was not able to get through it. I think this was intentional, but a lot of this story felt really disorienting - but not in a way I could keep up with at all. I'm fine with not feeling grounded in a story if I can at least hold on to the main plotline and characters, but it was hard for me to do that. I found myself repeatedly rewinding the audiobook to confirm who was talking and what was happening. After about 15% the story reached a standstill that I don't think it got over by the time I DNF'd and that was just too long for me to hold interest.

This may be a soft DNF that I will attempt later but for now I have to put it down.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

A dark look at a mother’s grief, power dynamics in Latin America, immigration, plagues and how all humans deserve to be buried in some form or fashion. This was truly harrowing and heart wrenching as a mom myself, but the pacing was strange. I kept reading with my eyes and not my brain at somy points so id have to go back and reread. Other than that it'll be sticking with me for quiet some time.

While hard to get through due to the content I am just enamored with the style. Even at its toughest moments I was so enthralled with the world and culture being explored. Karina Sainz Borgo is an autobuy author for me now.

a very dark and twisted look into a very interesting culture. There are stories within here that I felt were so unique and new from anything else i have read !

“Where do we bury the dead when the living are still searching for peace?”

Karina Sainz Borgo’s No Place to Bury the Dead is a haunting, multi-layered journey that weaves loss, resilience, and the fragile threads of humanity amidst a violent, surreal landscape. Through the lives of unforgettable characters—like Angustias, a grieving mother, and Visitación, a defiant cemetery caretaker—the story explores the transformative power of grief and the courage it takes to build sanctuaries in chaos.

🌟 My take: This novel is as heartbreaking as it is eye-opening, with moments of stark beauty even in its darkest corners. While the narrative dances on the edge of magical realism, its true magic lies in how it confronts death and loss with unflinching honesty.

📖 Perfect for readers who crave:
✨ Deeply emotional, thought-provoking reads
✨ A blend of realism and surrealism
✨ Stories that illuminate the human condition

🔖 Favorite quote: “The only thing worse than being alone was being with someone who didn't understand what it was like to be alone"

If you’ve read this one, let’s talk about it. And if it’s on your TBR, what’s drawing you to it?

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I really enjoyed this. It is more "genre" fiction than I generally read, with emphasis on action and somewhat flat (but colorful) characters, but I thought that that mode really worked for such a heavy story being told--especially because the drama of Venezuelan migration to eastern Colombia is only very lightly fictionalized in this story.

No Place to Bury the Dead by Karina Sainz Borgo grapples with some of the most trenchant current problems in society in a sort of metaphorical third space. What readers end up is a bit of an onslaught of plot devices, encompassing border crises, migration concerns, and a plague. Editing a bit would likely have allowed a more balanced and focused narrative. Still, I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This was a book I had really high hopes for, but unfortunately, it fell short. I truly appreciated the parallels the author created and the exploration of culture and identity in connection to death, survival, and so much more. However, it felt like the book bit off more than it could chew. While the description and synopsis were captivating, I found myself losing interest as I read. Sadly, none of the characters really stood out, except for the cemetery caretaker.

What could have been a poignant and meaningful narrative about grief, identity, and loss didn’t fully take off until the final third of the book. I think the story would have been much more engaging if it had focused on the initial premise outlined in the synopsis. For instance, the concept of a virus causing memory loss was incredibly intriguing, but it wasn’t explored deeply enough.

While I was let down by the execution, I believe many readers will connect with the heartbreak and despair this story portrays. The author excels at transporting readers to the metaphorical, grim environment they’ve created. But for me, the atmosphere alone wasn’t enough to carry the story. I will still be on the lookout for more from this author as I always appreacite originality and taking risk with concepts and themes.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperVia for this e-galley.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of No Place to Bury the Dead. I liked this book. It was a 4 stars for me. It was a fast paced book for me.

The way you get dropped into this plot and it HOOKED me. Angustias, her husband and her two new premie twins flee their hometown avoiding a plague but continuing a journey filled with sorrow and destitute. Our main character meets a so called grave digger, Vistacion, the only person willing to conduct any burial rites.

A lot of characters were introduced in the beginning and little explanation, as a heavier plot story, so I felt myself getting lost who was who at the start. Especially when flipping from third and first person. But I loved the character of Vistacion- her no non sense attitude and her blunt way she handled things. The POV switch ups were jarring, not much in the form of transitions. Which could also be why it took a bit to try and figure out who was who. But the story was still interesting and intriguing, I just wish it didn’t feel so jumbled and disconnected overall. This feels almost like there is a backstory that I wasn’t I aware of.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Recommended for fans of Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías. I absolutely loved It Would Be Night in Caracas, and expected to love this, but unfortunately it didn't do it for me. I know this book has its audience; it seems to be a "love it or hate it" kind of novel. I wish I had loved it, but after the protagonist buried her children (which happens very early on - I had actually expected this book to end with that), I found myself losing interest in her and any of the characters. The beginning was very captivating, though, and I loved the premise - very topical after COVID.