Buried Secrets: A True Story of Serial Murder

by Edward Humes

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist comes what Publishers Weekly called the “definitive study” of the grisly mass killings in Matamoros, Mexico.
 
In the 1980’s, Adolfo Constanzo, devotee of Santería and powerful cult leader opened shop in Mexico City as a fortune-teller. He soon realized that there were greater profits in drug money than the occult, and as his status grew in the drug trade, so too did his legendary brutality. Kidnappings, torture, and murder were three weapons in his arsenal that he used to keep a vice grip on the drug trade.
 
In Buried Secrets, Edward Humes explores the intersections of the drug trade and politics in a way that still resonates today, touching upon the religious elements that play into the iconic status of drug kingpins. This unflinching, unforgettable story is brought to vivid, terrifying life in “one of the best true-crime tales in recent time” (Publishers Weekly).
 
“Chilling . . . A masterful job.” —The Washington Post
 
“Terrific . . . A highly readable, authoritative account of a particularly gruesome chapter in border history.” —The Dallas Morning News
 
“A chilling story of murder and religious mania.” —Library Journal

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Religion

541 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Edward Humes is a Southern California author, journalist and writing teacher whose most recent nonfiction book is “The Forever Witness.” His next book, “Total Garbage: How to Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World,” will be published in time for Earth Day 2024. He shares his home office with a pair of rescued racing greyhounds, Valiant and Dottie.

Reviews

[Hotavio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book documenting the mass sacrificial murders on the border [and Mexico City:] in the late 80s. Buried Secrets is a mostly ghastly account of a few of the Palo Mayombe cult members and the officers who led the hunt for these perverse fugitives. Atrocities committed ranged from rape to mutilation, accompanied by the occassional drug deal.

The book reads quickly and is as shamefully fascinating as a bad car wreck. The evil of cult leader Adolfo Costanzo is felt by all who cross his path and almost eminates from this book as he abuses his charisma to sell his psycho-sociopathic practices to drug dealers, police, and A+ college students alike!

While footnotes occasionally add to the story, they, at times, become distracting with accounts of happenings varying between cult members. Naturally, the author relays the most conducive account in his book. My only other complaint was the lack of pictures, the mere four pages too scant to fully satisfy curiosities (not one picture of the US college victim Mark Kilroy).

Wish there was a follow up, because I know this isn't an isolated occurrence!

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically a real life version of a 1970s B movie slasher horror film mixed with Narcos or some similar type tv show. I can only vaguely remember hearing about this saga when it happened back in the late 80s. It's odd with what is more or less a serial killer/true crime/satanic panic industry in books and documentaries these days that nobody even talks about this particular case anymore and even when it happened it seemed to be forgotten fairly quickly. You had a cult of human sacrificing homosexuals centered around some Cuban American mullet haircut pretty boy that were major drug traffickers and had ruthless high level drug traffickers, very well off people in the legitimate world and cops, even the head of Interpol in Mexico in terror of them and doing their bidding and helping them not just in the drug dealing but even helping them out with finding people and participating in literal human sacrifices. This is just a wild story.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read. The author took the trouble to do extensive research, and the result is perhaps a little more information on mumbo-jumbo and weird-ass religion than the reader really wants to know. Worthy of note is the fact that the "narcosatanicos" were not the only frightening group in Mexico; the various law enforcement agencies are even scarier, if that's possible. There probably isn't an Archbishop in the world they couldn't torture into a confession of satanism. Bad people on both sides of the fence.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent study of the Matamoros murders from many angles -- the vicissitudes of the police, the motivations of the killers and their dupes, the interpretations of the families who lost someone to the drug gang.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book by far on the Mark Kilroy case.

[Ceeceereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to finish this book for a while but I’m not enraptured by the bizarre and deeply disturbing case and find it unpleasant to read about. Time to DNF and move on.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but overly long account of a series of grisly ritual murders carried out in Mexico in the 1980s.

[Karnig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on a light stomach, this book is dark.

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buried Secrets gives the history and bloody ending of the El Padrino killing spree that utilised black magic and human sacrifices in Mexico. It is one of the most feared and powerful form of Black Magic and the book reveals the truths behind the Santeria religions.
The book describes the effects of the drug trade in a small border town which is in Mexico and how someone like Adolfo Constanzo rose to power with charm and fear and can then take control of anyone who befriends him. As the book unfolds the story of the horrific murders of fifteen people in Mexico by the El Padrino cult. The book is not for the faint hearted as Edward Humes goes into graphic details through the book.
It is extremely well written, and I found the book very dark, but I still could not put this book down until the very end. I still wonder how these people walk among us today and how they can still manipulate people by obedience, subservience, or readiness to accept instruction or direction.
I am part of the ARC group for Wildblue Press and BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Viridiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro está basado en un excelente trabajo periodístico y narrado con soltura, exponiendo el punto de vista de cada personaje sin apenas sesgos, pero con ese asombro y esa casi incredulidad de los que no son parte de la cultura e idiosincrasia mexicana.
Es un libro duro. De esos que nos gustaría que solo fuesen ficción en lugar de una historia novelada de los hechos que en realidad sucedieron.
Y, a pesar de que es una historia ya vieja, hacia el final del libro se aborda un aspecto muy importante: desmantelar una banda no significa acabar con el rito ni con las ideas, que cada vez cobran más fuerza y consiguen más adeptos en este país.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well-researched and cited, with photos in the back to boot! Truly stranger than fiction; it's hard to believe something like this actually happened...

It goes into great detail....maybe too much detail....into the numerous gruesome sacrifices and ritual torture conducted by El Padrino and his cult. After a while, the details of those scenes could have been glossed over, to be honest. There's only so many times a normal person can read such scenes without wanting to put the book down.

But still, a compelling read that I've already recommended to a couple of people.

[Alessandra ♣️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed account of a series of gruesome ritualistic murders and other crimes committed by a cult on the United States-Mexico border in the 1980s. The story is absolutely horrifying and difficult to read. As you proceed with the book, you are always left wishing it were only fiction. But unfortunately it is all true.

The author does a great job of providing a complete analysis of the events, as well as of the cultural and religious background that surrounds them.

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This true crime book is not for the faint of heart. It ranks right up there with the most gruesome murders I have ever read about. It took me a while to get through it. I kept putting it aside for happier books. It is a good look at how people can get involved in a cult and there is a lot of supernatural things happening here. This was definitely not your run-of-the-mill true crime story.

[Mrs Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book not for the faint hearted

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but the perpetrators were savage to their victims. Be warned the description and torture takes your breath away hence not for the faint hearted.

[Sheila Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and hard to read due to the extreme violence perpetrated by this group of murderers

[Pamela Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad. Thirty years later spring break has been forever changed.

[Goodbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day I found a book at the thrift store. It was a book about different serial killers. I liked it alot. I lent it to my sister one day and she read it with her friend at school. All the serial killers were quite disturbing to read about. However they decided that reading about the "Satanic Godfather" was more disturbing.

Then I was at another bookstore this summer and I found Buried Secrets. I was a bit doubtful of it at first but then I saw a good review from Ann Rule on the back. I started it. I really liked it even though it was very disturbing at times. I had to take breaks. It really made me think about how real life is stranger than fiction. I definitely recommend this book if you like to read true crime. Its comprehensive and shows what led to the cult killing and sacrificing people.

[Unreliable NarraTBR · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25
It's cool, but it's too much of a thriller, and i don't care much for thrillers. A good time.

[Sarenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read books on true crime, but since I've gotten into a reading funk because I'm tired of the same old story lines, I decided to try reading a completely different genre.

I have a hard time saying this was a "good" book. How can a book about real-life murder be "good?" I will say, however, that this book was fascinating, well researched, and incredibly disturbing.

Humes does an excellent job of remaining neutral narrating the events of the disturbing El Padrino murder rituals. While some of the descriptions can be graphic, I didn't feel they were overdone, or written simply for shock value.

The violence described was enough to show the depravity of a madman, but not so much that it read like some over-the-top gross-out horror flick. Humes did a good job of showing the decline of some of the cult members from normal to crazy (like Sara and Omar), to the downward spiral of the criminally insane to the psychopathic (like Adolfo and Duby).

But this book told more than just the story of the horrific murders of fifteen people in Mexico by the El Padrino cult. It described the effects of the drug trade on a small border town in Mexico and how someone like Adolfo Constanzo could rise to power. It explained why people could go missing and the police didn't seem to notice or care. It explained why people w

ould buy into El Padrino's strange brand of witchcraft. It explained the climate of fear that allowed Adolfo to run his cult so successfully for so many years. It explained how he was able to evade capture for as long as he did.

Humes took care to separate the perverted religion that Constanzo practiced from the true religions like Santeria, Palo Mayombe, and witchcraft - pointing out the differences in the "black" and "white" magics that are practiced in these beliefs. What Constanzo's crew practiced was a religion of his own making. What it spawned was a tidal wave of panic and speculation of widespread satanic cult activities throughout Mexico and Texas. I liked how Humes pointed out the differences between Costanzo's religion and the true religious practices, making a point to state that the result of El Padrino's work was mass hysteria and misunderstanding.

This book was well researched and well written, but probably not for everyone. For those not able to stomach the horrors that some "humans" can inflict on others - steer clear of this book. Otherwise, it is a fascinating, yet gruesome look into a world that 99.9% of us will (thank goodness) never understand.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most fact based books I have ever read. It reveals the truths behind the "Santeria" religions and its many faces. Here it speaks of the Dark side of Santeria. The "Palo Mayombe". (Palo meaning branch or stick.) (Mayombe meaning Mysteries of the spirits.) Originating from the African Congo this practice/belief is one of the most feared and powerful form of "Black Magic". Brought to the new world through the salve trade. It is striking to the reader that such practices still take place in our 21st century. This book explains in detail the rites and tools used in each of these white and dark practices. The Santeria religion believes, through its rites, that they can strike down their enemies by spells and animal sacrifice while Palo Mayombe believes it takes human sacrifice to accomplish the same. Hence come the death of American college student Mark Kilroy in Mexico on spring break. One thing I have found after doing some research is that these practices are also prevalent here in the U.S. Once thought practiced only outside the U.S. (Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and others) police in N.Y. have found the same alters and tools of the trade in their crime scenes. This book explains how one madman can cultivate others until he has a following (cult) to do his very bidding no matter what morals they once had. No matter the consequence's that may come they are so indoctrinated they are stone cold loyal.

[Robert Breeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously Researched

Very long, but very well researched, "Buried Secrets" gives the history and bloody ending of the El Padrino killing spree that utilized black magic and human sacrifices in Mexico. Hard to imagine such violence, so if you are in the least bit squeamish this book may not be for you. It's almost hard to believe this case was ever cracked between U.S. and Mexican authorities and inter-departmental backstabbing. I've always heard Mexican justice was an oxymoron, but the U.S. government and police were no better.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very graphic and probably isn't for the faint of heart. It follows the lives of some very sick and what I consider insane individuals, illuminating the dangers of life on the boarder between the US and Mexico and the drug and cult involvement of those individuals. Kidnapping, rituals, murder, and terror are all prominate parts of this book and a darker existance is hard to imagine.

[Emily Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly written: the narrative is engrossing and the story morbidly fascinating. This is a well-researched piece that pays attention to detail and explores not just the story of Adolfo Constanzo, but also provides in-depth information pertaining to life on the border.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have FINALLY finished this book. It was very intersting, though took me what felt like forever to finish.

[Thomas Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most terrifying true crime book I've read. Check it out, and tremble at the horror of the Naganga!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely could not lay it down.

[Sami Koskinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stranger than fiction: black magic, cult, drug deals and corruption.