Hello everyone!
Today’s review is on Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
About the Book
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 Noemí’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.
My Thoughts
Well, this was a bit of a ride. Not quite what I had been expecting. I’ll be honest and say that it didn’t really scare me like I thought it would – maybe I am not as much of a chicken as I thought. However, that’s not to say that it didn’t have some unnerving parts.
Mexican Gothic started out kind of slow and it didn’t really pick up until the last 75 pages. I do get that is kind of the point as we follow Noemi as she tries to figure out what is going on at High Place. High Place was definitely an eerie place and I liked how we discovered the different layers to the house. Also, all the Doyles, except Francis, were awful. Howard was extremely creepy with his eugenicist ideals, and it was interesting just how deep that went. Virgil was just disgusting. Francis was the only one who was tolerable, and I really liked how he tries to look out for Noemi.
Noemi was okay, although she felt a little bit bland as a character, but I also get that her character development was not integral to the story.
One aspect that was interesting is that there were moments of this that were reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. I don’t know if that was the author’s intent, but it was still interesting to see those echoes throughout the novel.
There is more I would love to say but I also don’t want to go into spoilers. Overall, this didn’t fully scratch the spooky itch for me, and it also went in a weird direction in the end. But it was still somewhat good. 3.5/5 Stars
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Meanderings of a BookWorm 