Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

In Alejandro Torres De la Rocha's Mortal Vengeance, Marcos is a student in Santo Domingo who has endured the humiliations of Profesora Lourdes, a teacher feared throughout his school. When he joins his friends in planning revenge, their scheme draws classmate Enrique into an incident that attracts police attention. As the students face questions about what happened, a masked figure known as the Grim Cojuelo begins targeting people within their circle. Alex, one of Marcos’s closest friends, becomes the subject of suspicion, leaving the others uncertain how much he knows. Melissa, who is close to several members of the group, is drawn into the search for answers as the threat reaches beyond the classroom. The students must discover who is behind the attacks before another of their friends is hurt.

In Mortal Vengeance, Alejandro Torres De la Rocha delivers a deliciously vicious young adult psychological slasher, with a cast whose friendships feel dangerously fragile. As a reader, I always expect the main character to be fully fleshed out, but what stood out to me here is that the co-leads, and even ancillary characters, are given equal treatment. They are characters in their own right. Mario was fascinating to me; he has an unstable conscience that turns every threat into a test of what he might do for his friends. That fear is brilliantly staged when he gets the worst possible call someone can receive—during a rainstorm, no less—and has to reconcile that. The author uses the settings as an integrated part of the horror. The standout is a dark shed with a twisted addition, reminiscent of the jabberjays in Collins' The Hunger Games, but worse, if you can imagine that. Cinematic descriptions are just as effective when the horror reaches Enrique's coastal property. This is a wonderfully macabre novel and a wholehearted recommendation for readers who love masked killers and unsettling psychological horror. I'd give it a whole bucket of stars if I could.