Title: Sinner (Santa Muerte #1)
Author: Carol James Marshall
Pages: 215
Publish Date: May 31, 2023
Trigger Warnings:
. Body .mutilation
. Physical violence/assault
. Emotional abuse
Matea has always felt different and separate from her peers; plagued by a growing black smudge on her hand, and visions of rattlesnakes following her. She can't explain what's going on, but all Matea knows is that the darkness calls to her and she struggles to stay away.
Sinner starts with Matea at the age of 9 being forced to go to church with her mother. She was marked by Santa Muerte (the Holy Lady of Death) before entering a church and ever since that moment, she started to see rattlesnakes, and her mother and grandmother started treating her differently.
As Matea grows into her early 20s she starts working at a distribution enter.
At the center you are introduced to 3 more main characters - Esme, Brandon, and Gina. While Brandon and Gina become her close confidantes and lovers, Esme quickly becomes her sworn enemy as they both practice Brujeria.
Matea harbors a deep-seated hatred towards Esme and does everything in her power to harm Esme. Matea gets her wish and realizes just how powerful she is when Esme ends up losing a finger at work and eventually a toe. Throughout the novel, Matea's grandmother's religious beliefs are explored, revealing why Santa Muerte plays such a significant role in Matea and Esme's lives.
I enjoyed the story a lot. I had a vague understanding of Brujeria before I read this novel and I enjoyed how it was incorporated into the story - it gave me a great opportunity to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole on the topic!
What I didn't like about the book was how many POV's were involved - off hand I can think of 7 POVs. Each chapter will contain 4-5 POVs and sometimes it got weird and didn't flow. At least 5 of the POVs, I thought, were unnecessary. If you just had Matea and Esme's viewpoints, it would have made a more cohesive story. I wish there were most chapters just on Esme, her story was more interesting than Matea's.
This book is great if you're dipping your toes into the horror genre!
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