A haunting exploration of female friendship, desire, and memory set against the sultry backdrop of Florida’s swamplands.
It’s been years since Ingrid has heard from her childhood best friend, Mayra, a fearless rebel who fled their hometown of Hialeah, a Cuban neighbourhood just west of Miami, for college in the Northeast. But when Mayra calls out of the blue to invite Ingrid to a weekend getaway at a house in the Everglades, she impulsively accepts.
From the moment Ingrid sets out for the house, danger looms: the directions are difficult, she’s out of reach of cell service, and as she drives deeper into the Everglades, the wet maw of the swamp threatens to swallow her whole. But once Ingrid arrives, Mayra is, in many ways, just as she remembers — with her sharp tongue and effortless, seductive beauty, still thumbing her nose at the world.
Before they can fully settle into the familiar intimacy of each other’s company, their reunion is spoiled by the reemergence of past disagreements and the unexpected presence of Mayra’s new boyfriend, Benji. The trio spend their hours eating lavish meals and exploring the labyrinthine house, which holds as much mystery and danger as the swamp itself. Indoors and on the grounds, time itself seems to expand, and Ingrid begins to lose a sense of the outside world, and herself.
Against this disquieting setting, where lizards dart in and out of porches and alligators peek up from dark waters, Gonzalez weaves a propulsive, unforgettable story about the dizzying power of early friendship and the lengths we’ll go to earn love and acceptance — even at the risk of losing ourselves entirely.
‘I ate this greedily; I swallowed it whole. Beguiling and moody and strange, Mayra shimmers with supernatural eeriness and the mercuriality of memory … Gonzalez unspools all the disorienting, lonely-making work of getting unstuck and finding home and bliss — then, she terrifies you, has you turning pages while you’re reaching for your keys, checking the locks, wishing you could text Ingrid and urge her to get a grip. This is a mesmerising, hallucinatory adrenaline rush of a novel, and Gonzalez is the future of horror writing.’
Claire Luchette, author of Agatha of Little Neon
‘The story that unfolds between Mayra and Ingrid lovingly embodies the vibrant beauty of Hialeah and the Florida Everglades … Mayra is a haunting testament to the literal terror of being consumed by the very thing you’re trying to escape.’
Jennine Capó Crucet, author of Say Hello to My Little Friend
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‘Gorgeous and hypnotic, surreal and unsettling, Mayra is part coming-of-age story, part Twilight Zone episode, part thoughtful meditation on all the ways that memory is itself a haunted house. I loved this book.’
Karen Thompson Walker, author of The Strange Case of Jane O
‘Eerie, haunting, and gorgeously written, Mayra is a powerful story of memory, home, and the friendships that make us. I was entranced by its luscious dreamworld of secret doors, traps, wonders, and the uncanny. Gonzalez is a master of tension, tenuous lines, and complicated love.’
Ananda Lima, author of Craft: stories I wrote for the devil
‘This debut examines the ways people can either find or lose themselves in intense friendships … this slow-burn novel will have readers on the edge of their seats by the end. Recommend to fans of Stephen King’s Duma Key, David Mitchell’s Slade House, or Bunny by Mona Award.’
Booklist
‘A ghost from her past brings a woman to a peculiar, isolated Everglades mansion — and to the brink of delirium — in this ominous and compulsively readable gothic debut … A brilliantly rendered fever dream from which readers won’t want to wake … this mesmerising and luscious trip is perfect for fans of Rachel Harrison and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.’
Library Journal
‘Ingrid and her charismatic childhood friend Mayra — described as “a kind of wild animal” — are planning a reunion … Settle in for swamp flora that encroaches claustrophobically, “intestinal” green snakes, and plenty of long-simmering antagonism between the two leads.’
Vulture
