Mortal Vengeance: A Grim Tale By Alejandro Torres De la Rocha – A Dark and Haunting Descent

Mortal Vengeance: A Grim Tale by Alejandro Torres De la Rocha is a psychological thriller that explores how monsters are made, not born. The book is a gripping blend of dark academia, folkloric horror, and raw human tragedy.

Spoiler-Free Plot

Injustice always demands a price. The story begins with Julián Díaz, a scholarship student at Excelsior Academy. For ten years, his working-class parents have sacrificed everything to keep him enrolled, selling their car, working endless overtime, and even skipping meals so he could have a future.

But Excelsior is not what they paid for. Beneath the gold and polished marble, the school does not educate so much as it controls. The teachers and priests rule through fear, demanding obedience and silence, all in the name of protecting reputation and power.

Julian is barely holding on. His past trauma, the disorders he has been struggling with, and the crushing weight of guilt are slowly consuming him. In such a fragile state, the only place he finds comfort is in his sketchbook. And the figure he returns to again and again is Grim Conjuelo, a haunting symbol of death.

But the Grim does not remain confined to paper. Julian begins seeing him in the shadows, in mirrors, and even within himself. And whatever it is, it seems hungry for something.

When the school announces an art contest, Julian becomes obsessed. He spends his days and nights drawing Conjuelo, his hands stained with ink and charcoal. But at Excelsior, standing out is dangerous, and the punishment meant to break him soon follows.

His friends try to help, but what begins as a small act of rebellion spirals into something much darker. Their fight for truth turns inward, testing their morality, loyalty, and sanity.

Who would have thought that speaking the truth could cost so much, even to the point of death? As the story unfolds, Grim Conjuelo emerges in a way that changes everything. Is it a demon, death itself, or the embodiment of guilt finally catching up with them?

My Take on Mortal Vengeance: A Grim Tale

Mortal Vengeance is the prequel that reveals how everything began. Having read the first book, I already knew the broad strokes, the killings, the revenge, and the destruction left behind. But reading the backstory showed me that what came before was even darker and far more layered than I expected.

This is not a slasher. It is a slow-burning psychological story filled with tragedy, unraveling, and emotional damage. Julian does not break all at once. He falls apart piece by piece, slowly and painfully, under the weight of a system determined to crush him. The school, the teachers, and the priests dismantle him methodically, and what makes it even more disturbing is the sense that this cycle has happened before and will happen again.

What stood out most to me about Julian was how human he felt. Even at his lowest, he tried to hold himself together. There was something deeply moving about the fact that the only sense of peace or solitude he could find came through drawing Conjuelo.

Alex was also a surprising character. The coldest and most calculating person in the story did not begin that way, and that added an important layer to the novel. In fact, one of the book’s strongest aspects is that every character has a past and a reason for becoming who they are.

The author’s writing style stands out once again. It is sharp, psychological, and clean. One of the strongest elements of the novel is how the characters evolve. Their development is messy, unpredictable, and believable. No one in this story is entirely good or entirely evil, and that moral complexity makes the narrative even more compelling.

The atmosphere is immersive from beginning to end. The setting pulls you in immediately and does not let go, creating a constant sense of unease that lingers throughout the story.

If you read the first book and found yourself hooked, this prequel is absolutely worth picking up as well. Mortal Vengeance: A Grim Tale is a haunting story of justice, vengeance, and the cost of speaking the truth.

Age Rating

Recommended for readers 18+

Trigger Warnings

Physical abuse, self-harm, and LGBTQ+ themes.

---