Book Review: Mexican Gothic
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Del Ray
Publish Date: June 30, 2020
Format: Hardcover
★★★★★
This book is perfect for those that like: Family Secrets, Houses That May or May Not Be Alive, and Eerie Settings.
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Non-Consensual Sexual Activities, Possible Incest, or Mushrooms.
Purchase: Bookshop / Barnes & Noble / Amazon
From Goodreads: After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find - her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.
I finally sat down and read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and y’all, if I never see another mushroom in my life again, I’ll be fine. 😆
Like any gothic novel, the book starts out slow to set the scene. It feels almost too slow at first, but that’s the point, isn’t it? To draw you in despite its disquieting feeling. This isn’t so bad it tells you. You’re fine. It’s your brain making more out of nothing. But then you begin to feel as if every facet of this book is pressing in on you. Slowly, but steadily opening your eyes to the horrors of this story until eventually, you’re holding on by a thread desperately ready for it to end but also not quite ready to let go.
This book will make you feel things you don’t exactly want to. That you don’t give yourself permission to...at first. And then you do and you’re like WHOA, WHAT. It’s a most unnerving, yet thrilling read that I couldn’t put down. Excellent now that the weather is cooling and we’re about to start the Spooky Season. If you can, read this over a dark and rainy weekend. You’ll swear that you can smell the earth and the moss and the rain while you turn the pages. Perfection.