Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Summary
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed 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.
GoodReads Winner for Favorite Horror 2020
My Review
This was my first book written by this author, and my first gothic novel. Honestly, I did not know what to expect, but I knew it would be haunting, spooky, and generally unsettling, which it definitely was.
At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I kept waiting for the story to pick up in pacing, but this is a very, very slow burn. I was a tad bored at the start of the story and anxiously kept waiting for something to happen or for more of the story to reveal itself. However, the tone is extremely atmospheric, which I loved. It’s eerie, creepy, and a bit disturbing at times. We get incredibly immersive descriptions of the old mansion, the grounds it surrounds, and even the nearby town.
The family in this story is very odd. There is something sinister and strange going on. You definitely feel like something isn’t quite right from the very beginning. As the story unfolds, we’re becoming more engaged with these characters, this strange, dark home, and the secrets that are kept very well hidden.
Noemí is a likable main character. She’s sassy, witty, intelligent, funny, and a bit snobbish since she’s from high society. But we see that she wants the best for her cousin and wants to help her get better. Unfortunately, Noemí begins to fall under the spell of the family and mansion, and before she knows it, she’s swept up in the family’s secrets.
I didn’t feel scared reading this book, but it was pretty creepy and disturbing. I started reading this story before bed, and then found myself having some strange or bad dreams, so I quit reading at night and switched to earlier in the evening. It is a bit grotesque in some of the dream sequences and descriptions, but nothing that I was too grossed out by. These dream sequences helped add that layer of uneasiness and eeriness to the story.
I’ve seen my fair share of gothic movies to know that usually the reveal is not a ghost or haunting, but something strange and unusual, usually in the fantasy realm. I kept trying to guess the plot twist, but never did. The mansion they all stay in is very old and has a lot of mold and mildew, so I thought people were getting sick from the mold. But I couldn’t have been more wrong! To me, the big reveal was so unpredictable and bizarre that I had to read it twice to make sure I understood it.
The first half of the book was a little hard to get through, but once we hit the 75% mark and get the plot twist, things really pick up, and this is where it starts to get good. I flew through the last quarter of the book because I was so engrossed with it. Honestly, my heart was racing a bit in those last few chapters.
I could easily see this book being adapted to a TV series. I’m not sure a movie would be a great format but definitely a 10-episode series on one of the streaming platforms. For most of the book, I was feeling a solid 3 to 3.5 stars, but that final quarter and the ending made me push my rating to 4 stars. I really enjoyed it at the end, and let it sit with me when I was done reading it, and the more I thought about it, the more I really liked it. It was very well crafted. Definitely recommend this book! I will be reading more from this author!