“Delicious”— The Los Angeles Times “Full of menace and delight.”—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love Introducing an electrifying new voice in contemporary fiction that illuminates the many forces that haunt us. An influencer attempts to derail a viral TV marketing campaign with her violent cult following. A marriage between two ghost hunters is threatened when one of them loses her ability to see spirits. The lives of a famous painter in the twilight of her career and a teenage ufo enthusiast converge when a mysterious glowing orb appears in their small desert town. And a slasher-flick screenwriter looking for inspiration escapes a pack of wild dogs only to find herself locked in an suv with a strange man beside her. From the all-too-real horror of a sexual predator on a college campus to a lost sister transformed by cave-dwelling creatures, Lena Valencia’s debut story collection, Mystery Lights , grapples with terrors both familiar and fantastic. "Eerie. . . . depict[s] women as artists, cult leaders and lost souls who are often on a path of self-discovery and frequently brush up against the supernatural."— New York Times Book Review T"he American Southwest is a stage for slippage between reality and the weird, between horror and beauty, and between speculative and literary fiction…. If you enjoy the work of Kelly Link or Carmen Maria Machado, you will find much satisfaction in Mystery Lights ." — Esquire , A Best Horror Book of 2024 "Delicious. . . . In the umbra of these darkly tinged stories, readers will experience late-night fears and the sweet relief of daylight."— The Los Angeles Times , A Best Book of Summer "Where there is glamour, there is terror in this self-assured debut collection. . . . In 10 eerie stories, Valencia leans into the horror and grit under a shiny world."— Kirkus Reviews "Accomplished . . . . Valencia exhibits a mastery of plot and keen perception of her characters’s vulnerabilities. These alluring stories deserve a wide readership."— Publishers Weekly "Eerie and unsettling; Valencia’s deft writing allows her readers a peek into each character’s specific nightmare."— The Rumpus "Southwest Shirley Jackson: that’s the comparison that floats like ectoplasm through the minds of readers who encounter the horripilating stories of Lena Valencia."— Library of America "Shimmers with eerie desert locations. . . .She conjures up vivid characters with complicated relationships, and chill-inducing supernatural phenomena. Each story reverberates with strangeness and suspense."— Lit Hub "Social media influencers, ghost hunters, and slasher writers populate these stories…. giving supernatural Southwestern Americana."— The Millions, A Most Anticipated Book of Summer "Razor sharp and disconcerting, Mystery Lights is a collection of speculative short stories with a bite. From the supernatural to the otherworldly and beyond, these ten stories range from the terrifying to the ugly, suspenseful to quietly disquieting. Valencia will make you stare at the sky in wonder and awe." — Barnes & Noble, A Most Anticipated Debut of 2024 "These dark and moody stories are such a treat to read. . . . Read this if you want something a little off-kilter. It delivers on making you squirm, gasp out loud, and think hard."— Debutiful, a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 "Cinematic. . . . Using the raw, strange setting of the desert, and its uneasy proximity to the glossy grit of Hollywood, Valencia probes the dark obsessions her characters have with control and sublime spectacle."— Shelf Awareness "Wryly crafted. . . . a delightful debut that renders our most abstract hauntings concrete."— Adroit Journal "Delightful—menacing, smart, cozy-creepy, both strange and familiar—and it provides a vexing reflection of modern society."— The Brooklyn Rail "Valencia’s fiction often ventures to desert landscapes, illustrating the strange and fantastical goings-on that take place there."— Reactor "Valencia is not afraid to dip a toe—hell, her whole foot—into the speculative uncanny. If you enjoy the work of Kelly Link or Carmen Maria Machado, you will find much satisfaction in Mystery Lights ."— Redbook , A Best Horror Book of 2024 "These are stories full of menace and delight, drawing from that deep well of human complexity, perversity, sincerity, and hope. Mystery Lights is gorgeous." — Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love "Lena Valencia writes some of the best stories I've read in years, as sharp and finely honed as knives. Here are women who turn out to be powerful enough to meet the threats of their worlds in kind: their lives may cut them, yes, but they can cut back, and astonishing truths are laid bare in the process. Both bold and sly, in turns righteously angry and sinister, Mystery Lights offers a brilliant new vision of what it means to be a woman in this world." — Clare Beams, author of The Garden "I've loved Lena Valencia's brilliant, beguiling stories for years and