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Mexican Gothic

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Mexican Gothic Kindle Edition

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 31,217 ratings

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Locus AwardWinner, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “It’s Lovecraft meets the Brontës in Latin America, and after a slow-burn start Mexican Gothic gets seriously weird.”—The Guardian

ONE OF TIME’S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME • WINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD • NOMINATED FOR THE BRAM STOKER AWARD

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, The Washington Post, Tordotcom, Marie Claire, Vox, Mashable, Men’s Health, Library Journal, Book Riot, LibraryReads

An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.

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.

“It’s as if a supernatural power compels us to turn the pages of the gripping Mexican Gothic.”—The Washington Post

“Mexican Gothic is the perfect summer horror read, and marks Moreno-Garcia with her hypnotic and engaging prose as one of the genre’s most exciting talents.”—Nerdist

“A period thriller as rich in suspense as it is in lush ’50s atmosphere.”—Entertainment Weekly

Print length

321 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Del Rey
Publication date

June 30, 2020
File size

5370 KB
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Popular Highlights in this book

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It was easy to kiss someone when it didn’t matter; it was more difficult when it might be meaningful.
Highlighted by 2,819 Kindle readers
“So I’ll be wed in the Church of the Holy Incestuous Mushroom?” she intoned. “I doubt that’s valid.”
Highlighted by 1,634 Kindle readers
Like the old car that had picked Noemí up, the town clung to the dregs of splendor.
Highlighted by 1,376 Kindle readers

From the Publisher


	Gods of Jade and Shadow	Velvet Was the Night	The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
			See Details
Customer Reviews	6,403	2,029	2,267
Price	$10.19	$9.99	—
	The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.	A simmering historical noir about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of the missing woman they’re both desperate to find.	A dreamy reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of July 2020: The gothic novels of today are not like those of yesteryear: Female protagonists are smart and proactive, and vaguely disquieting events become truly terrifying. Yet Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Signal to Noise, Gods of Jade and Shadow) cleverly doubles down on the gothic’s overwrought reputation by setting Mexican Gothic in the 1950s and putting a young socialite in the starring role. Unsettled by a strange letter, Noemí leaves cosmopolitan Mexico City to check on her newly married but naïve cousin, who now lives at a remote estate called High Place. Noemí—who smokes cigarettes, drives a convertible, and knows her mind—discovers that High Place lives in the past: mold runs across the wall paper, the electricity barely works, and the servants don’t speak. Plus the ancient English-born master of the house has a thing for eugenics, and Noemí’s cousin is clearly losing her mind. And then Noemí herself begins to hear voices.… Put plenty of me-time on your calendar, because you won’t want to stop for breaks while you race through Moreno-Garcia’s creepy, glorious read that is pitch-perfect for today’s audience. —Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review

Review

“An inspired mash-up of Jane Eyre, Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, Dracula, Rebecca and that 1958 classic sci-fi movie, The Blob . . . Inventive and smart, [Mexican Gothic is] injecting the Gothic formula with some fresh blood.”—NPR’s Fresh Air

“Stylish and edgy. . . While the book draws inspiration from Gothic classics like Rebecca and Jane Eyre—there is a spunky female protagonist and an ancient house filled with disturbing secrets—its archly intelligent tone and insightful writing make Mexican Gothic an original escape to an eerie world.”—New York Times

“[An] irresistibly dark feminist reimagining of the Gothic fantasy novel . . . It’s all wonderfully creepy, blending chilling scenes of horror with classic Gothic tropes for a seductive and subversive tale. A book to devour in a few—very thrilling—sittings.”—Vanity Fair

“The author’s postcolonial spin on the gothic tradition evokes the usual suspects: Daphne du Maurier, Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley, even Anne Radcliffe. Like those authors, Moreno-Garcia works in a tradition in which chills and thrills tap into elemental cultural fears—runaway science, carnal passion. But to these she adds a more politically inflected horror, both ancient and timely.”—Los Angeles Times

“A new classic of the genre . . . alluring and foreboding, ambiguous and beautiful. And like its heroine Noemí, its ambitious, determined, and well worth getting to know.”—Chicago Review of Books

“This twisty horror fantasy is engrossing and wonderfully repulsive. . . . This is a must-read for fans of gothic writers like the Brontës, Daphne du Maurier, and Shirley Jackson, and also for those who enjoy the feminist, surreal fiction of Carmen Maria Machado.”—Buzzfeed

“Deliciously creepy . . . Read it with your lights on—and know that strange dreams might begin to haunt you, as they haunted Noemí.”—Vox

“Masterful . . . a gloriously moody adventure, spooky, smart, and wry. Chic, no-nonsense Noemí Taboada is one hell of a tour guide through this world of mystery, scandal and spirits.”—Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

“Mexican Gothic terrified and fascinated me. Silvia Moreno-Garcia proves once again that she's a genre-jumping wizard, one of the most exciting and necessary authors writing today.”—Charlie Jane Anders, nationally bestselling author of The City in the Middle of the Night

“Darkly brilliant and captivating . . . Readers who love old houses and family secrets will devour this book (as I did!). The setting itself—High Place, with its reputation for swallowing the dreams of young women—is a character in this marvelously fantastical novel, stretching from glamorous 1950s Mexican high society to the crumbling pride of an abandoned silver mine. Silvia Moreno-Garcia enthralls with this twisty tale of love and betrayal.”—Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Tiger and The Ghost Bride

About the Author

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed speculative novels Gods of Jade and Shadow, Signal to Noise, Certain Dark Things, and The Beautiful Ones; and the crime novel Untamed Shore. She has edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (aka Cthulhu's Daughters). She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1

The parties at the Tuñóns’ house always ended unquestionably late, and since the hosts enjoyed costume parties in particular, it was not unusual to see Chinas Poblanas with their folkloric skirts and ribbons in their hair arrive in the company of a harlequin or a cowboy. Their chauffeurs, rather than waiting outside the Tuñóns’ house in vain, had systematized the nights. They would head off to eat tacos at a street stand or even visit a maid who worked in one of the nearby homes, a courtship as delicate as a Victorian melodrama. Some of the chauffeurs would cluster together, sharing cigarettes and stories. A couple took naps. After all, they knew full well that no one was going to abandon that party until after one a.m.

So the couple stepping out of the party at ten p.m. therefore broke convention. What’s worse, the man’s driver had left to fetch himself dinner and could not be found. The young man looked distressed, trying to determine how to proceed. He had worn a papier-mâché horse’s head, a choice that now came back to haunt him as they’d have to make the journey through the city with this cumbersome prop. Noemí had warned him she wanted to win the costume contest, placing ahead of Laura Quezada and her beau, and thus he’d made an effort that now seemed misplaced, since his companion did not dress as she had said she would.

Noemí Taboada had promised she’d rent a jockey outfit, complete with a riding crop. It was supposed to be a clever and slightly scandalous choice, since she’d heard Laura was going to attend as Eve, with a snake wrapped around her neck. In the end, Noemí changed her mind. The jockey costume was ugly and scratched her skin. So instead she wore a green gown with white appliqué flowers and didn’t bother to tell her date about the switch.

“What now?”

“Three blocks from here there’s a big avenue. We can find a taxi there,” she told Hugo. “Say, do you have a cigarette?”

“Cigarette? I don’t even know where I put my wallet,” Hugo replied, palming his jacket with one hand. “Besides, don’t you always carry cigarettes in your purse? I would think you’re cheap and can’t buy your own if I didn’t know any better.”

“It’s so much more fun when a gentleman offers a lady a cigarette.”

“I can’t even offer you a mint tonight. Do you think I might have left my wallet back at the house?”

She did not reply. Hugo was having a difficult time carrying the horse’s head under his arm. He almost dropped it when they reached the avenue. Noemí raised a slender arm and hailed a taxi. Once they were inside the car, Hugo was able to put the horse’s head down on the seat.

“You could have told me I didn’t have to bring this thing after all,” he muttered, noticing the smile on the driver’s face and assuming he was having fun at his expense.

“You look adorable when you’re irritated,” she replied, opening her handbag and finding her cigarettes.

Hugo also looked like a younger Pedro Infante, which was a great deal of his appeal. As for the rest—personality, social status, and intelligence—Noemí had not paused to think too much about all of that. When she wanted something she simply wanted it, and lately she had wanted Hugo, though now that his attention had been procured she was likely to dismiss him.

When they arrived at her house, Hugo reached out to her, grasping her hand.

“Give me a kiss good night.”

“I’ve got to run, but you can still have a bit of my lipstick,” she replied, taking her cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

Hugo leaned out the window and frowned while Noemí hurried into her home, crossing the inner courtyard and going directly to her father’s office. Like the rest of the house, his office was decorated in a modern style, which seemed to echo the newness of the occupants’ money. Noemí’s father had never been poor, but he had turned a small chemical dye business into a fortune. He knew what he liked and he wasn’t afraid to show it: bold colors and clean lines. His chairs were upholstered in a vibrant red, and luxuriant plants added splashes of green to every room.

The door to the office was open, and Noemí did not bother knocking, breezily walking in, her high heels clacking on the hardwood floor. She brushed one of the orchids in her hair with her fingertips and sat down in the chair in front of her father’s desk with a loud sigh, tossing her little handbag on the floor. She also knew what she liked, and she did not like being summoned home early.

Her father had waved her in—those high heels of hers were loud, signaling her arrival as surely as any greeting—but had not looked at her, as he was too busy examining a document.

“I cannot believe you telephoned me at the Tuñóns’,” she said, tugging at her white gloves. “I know you weren’t exactly happy that Hugo—”

“This is not about Hugo,” her father replied, cutting her short.

Noemí frowned. She held one of the gloves in her right hand. “It’s not?”

She had asked for permission to attend the party, but she had not specified she’d go with Hugo Duarte, and she knew how her father felt about him. Father was concerned that Hugo might propose marriage and she’d accept. Noemí did not intend to marry Hugo and had told her parents so, but Father did not believe her.

Noemí, like any good socialite, shopped at the Palacio de Hierro, painted her lips with Elizabeth Arden lipstick, owned a couple of very fine furs, spoke English with remarkable ease, courtesy of the nuns at the Monserrat—a private school, of course—and was expected to devote her time to the twin pursuits of leisure and husband hunting. Therefore, to her father, any pleasant activity must also involve the acquisition of a spouse. That is, she should never have fun for the sake of having fun, but only as a way to obtain a husband. Which would have been fine and well if Father had actually liked Hugo, but Hugo was a mere junior architect, and Noemí was expected to aspire higher.

“No, although we’ll have a talk about that later,” he said, leaving Noemí confused.

She had been slow dancing when a servant had tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she’d take a call from Mr. Taboada in the studio, disrupting her entire evening. She had assumed Father had found out she was out with Hugo and meant to rip him from her arms and deliver an admonishment. If that was not his intent, then what was all the fuss about?

“It’s nothing bad, is it?” she asked, her tone changing. When she was cross, her voice was higher-pitched, more girlish, rather than the modulated tone she had in recent years perfected.

“I don’t know. You can’t repeat what I’m about to tell you. Not to your mother, not to your brother, not to any friends, understood?” her father said, staring at her until Noemí nodded.

He leaned back in his chair, pressing his hands together in front of his face, and nodded back.

“A few weeks ago I received a letter from your cousin Catalina. In it she made wild statements about her husband. I wrote to Virgil in an attempt to get to the root of the matter.

“Virgil wrote to say that Catalina had been behaving in odd and distressing ways, but he believed she was improving. We wrote back and forth, me insisting that if Catalina was indeed as distressed as she seemed to be, it might be best to bring her to Mexico City to speak to a professional. He countered that it was not necessary.”

Noemí took off her other glove and set it on her lap.

“We were at an impasse. I did not think he would budge, but tonight I received a telegram. Here, you can read it.”

Her father grabbed the slip of paper on his desk and handed it to Noemí. It was an invitation for her to visit Catalina. The train didn’t run every day through their town, but it did run on Mondays, and a driver would be sent to the station at a certain time to pick her up.

“I want you to go, Noemí. Virgil says she’s been asking for you. Besides, I think this is a matter that may be best handled by a woman. It might turn out that this is nothing but exaggerations and marital trouble. It’s not as if your cousin hasn’t had a tendency toward the melodramatic. It might be a ploy for attention.”

“In that case, why would Catalina’s marital troubles or her melodrama concern us?” she asked, though she didn’t think it was fair that her father label Catalina as melodramatic. She’d lost both of her parents at a young age. One could expect a certain amount of turmoil after that.

“Catalina’s letter was very odd. She claimed her husband was poisoning her, she wrote that she’d had visions. I am not saying I am a medical expert, but it was enough to get me asking about good psychiatrists around town.”

“Do you have the letter?”

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07YK1K1YK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey (June 30, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 30, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5370 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #3,260 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #22 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #40 in Historical Fantasy (Books)
- #75 in Gothic Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.1 31,217 ratings

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Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of Silver Nitrate, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Mexican Gothic, and many other books. She has won the Locus, British Fantasy and World Fantasy awards.

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Customers find the book enjoyable and spectacular. They appreciate the storytelling as colorful, detailed, and original. Readers praise the writing quality as great, lyrical, and poetic. However, some find the value for money boring and repetitive. Opinions are mixed on the suspense and pacing.

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430 customers mention "Readability"360 positive70 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, great, and wild. They say it keeps them interested and is worth the ride. Readers also mention the story is compulsively readable and beautifully written.

"...It gently unfolded in the most unexpected ways, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience...." Read more

"...Issues with pacing aside, I found it overall to be an enjoyable read...." Read more

"...It’s a good read with lots of spooky, scary stuff and I recommend it." Read more

"Moreno-Garcia executes this delicious novel with gusto, precision, and vivid imagery...." Read more

291 customers mention "Storytelling"281 positive10 negative

Customers find the storytelling colorful, detailed, and original. They say the plot is enticing, captivating, and thrilling. Readers also mention the book has a unique take on an old trope.

"...third person narrative, Mexican Gothic is a novel with suspenseful, intriguing, paranormal and almost fantastical themes...." Read more

"...It's very much a slow-burn story, allowing the reader time to gradually get to know the characters and the setting before delivering its climax...." Read more

"An interesting story with many twists and turns. A paranormal tale that makes you think about the what, how and why, and then really surprises you." Read more

"...The heroine is strong, and flawed, and it was a true treat to experience her evolution...." Read more

223 customers mention "Writing quality"180 positive43 negative

Customers find the writing quality great, lush, and poetic. They also say the author is entertaining and easy to follow. Readers mention the characters are dynamic and have depth.

"...It was so very well written. Despite the earlier confusion, I was happy I stuck with it...." Read more

"...Each word, expertly chosen, envelopes the reader in 1950s Mexico and feels worlds away from other speculative fiction novels...." Read more

"This book should carry an SA trigger warning. It was masterfully written, but it was also disturbing...." Read more

"...prolific and descriptive novelist, she captured me on every page, with humor, fears, and historic ideals and truthfulness about the things we as..." Read more

468 customers mention "Suspenseful"319 positive149 negative

Customers find the book suspenseful, spooky, and original. They say the mystery and suspense keep building. However, some readers find the story disturbing, jarring, and intense.

"...Mexican Gothic was equally enchanting with its ghosts and many mysteries, and I really enjoyed Noemí as a main character...." Read more

"...Written in third person narrative, Mexican Gothic is a novel with suspenseful, intriguing, paranormal and almost fantastical themes...." Read more

"...revelations seem to come a bit too rapidly, once again short-changing dramatic tension in favor of bringing the plot closer to its conclusion...." Read more

"...It’s a good read with lots of spooky, scary stuff and I recommend it." Read more

175 customers mention "Pacing"56 positive119 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's set at a slower pace, while others say it's extremely slow-paced in the beginning and takes longer to finish than anticipated.

"...In fact, these climactic revelations seem to come a bit too rapidly, once again short-changing dramatic tension in favor of bringing the plot..." Read more

"...When I began reading, I found it hard to get into - the pace a bit slow...." Read more

"...Each word, expertly chosen, envelopes the reader in 1950s Mexico and feels worlds away from other speculative fiction novels...." Read more

"...The trauma bounds presented here were just super intense and difficult for me to stomach and the claustrophobic nature of how it was written reminds..." Read more

159 customers mention "Character development"109 positive50 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book. Some mention they're captivating, interesting, and charismatic. However, others say the characters don't get developed much beyond the first act and are rather flat.

"Moreno-Garcia doesn't disappoint! Loved the characters, the flow of the story and the unexpected twist of the villains' origins and intents." Read more

"...I loved how this author created unique superbly detailed characters but also the time period the story takes place (1950), the history of both the..." Read more

"...rather, on the pacing and the fact that I felt some of the characters were rather flat and needed more fleshing out...." Read more

"...The plot line was captivating from the start. And it was easy to root for the main character...." Read more

35 customers mention "Difficulty to read"11 positive24 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the difficulty of reading the book. Some mention it's an easy read, while others say it's hard to get into and understand.

"...When I began reading, I found it hard to get into - the pace a bit slow...." Read more

"...Overall I loved this book so much even though it was rather confusing at times especially towards the end..." Read more

"...The heroine is terrific and easy to love...." Read more

"...writing was wonderful it was a bit to prose for me and the book was easy to put down. That was until Chapter 19...." Read more

74 customers mention "Value for money"7 positive67 negative

Customers find the book boring, bland, and repetitive. They also say it's underwhelming and doesn't build suspense.

"...The mind games they played were awful, too...." Read more

"...the end.. entertaining writer, but felt like parts of the book became repetitive and too unnecessarily wordy. Gory, gothic, dark, and predictable...." Read more

"...it does as it can be wickedly stirring, but in other ways it felt underwhelming and like I wanted there to be more from the plot that seemed to drag..." Read more

"...well, not meaning to be too unkind about it, but it was amazingly juvenile...." Read more

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Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?

"Silvia Moreno-Garcia is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!"

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Gods of Jade of Shadow was my first book by Moreno-Garcia, and I absolutely loved the Mayan mythology that was woven in throughout the story. Mexican Gothic was equally enchanting with its ghosts and many mysteries, and I really enjoyed Noemí as a main character. I'm already looking forward to reading my copy of Certain Dark Things and Velvet Was the Night. I'm pretty sure I have The Beautiful Ones on NetGalley, too. (See? Obsessed.) If you haven't read anything by this author yet, you don't know what you're missing!

I ended up listening to an audiobook for Mexican Gothic (despite starting with a physical copy), and I'm really happy I did! Frankie Corzo was an amazing narrator that really brought Moreno-Garcia's story to life. Every character had a unique voice and presence within the book, although I was particularly fond of Noemí and Francis. Noemí was very strong-willed and undaunted by the weirdness of the Doyle family. She endured their silence, their judginess, and their unwillingness to accept her presence within their home. She cracked and wavered, considered giving up once or twice, but stayed committed to helping Catalina (her cousin) and to figuring out the house's secrets.

It's clear from the start that something weird is going on, and that Catalina's sickness isn't normal. Her husband, Virgil Doyle, is as disgusting as his father, Howard Doyle. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I despised the two of them instantly. They both spoke like they were above everyone else, and they had a superiority complex that was nauseating to read about. The way they spoke to Noemí, how they treated the women in their own family - UGH. I hate that everyone just accepted their behaviors because that's how things were done. The mind games they played were awful, too. They would say one thing when they meant another, and they seemed to enjoy making Noemí feel like she was imagining certain things. Their sick sense of humor made me feel stabby and violent. I wanted something terrible to happen to both of them.

Francis was the only descent member of the Doyle family, although he seemed fine with being a sheep for most of the book. I would have appreciated more of a backbone from him, but I can also understand and appreciate the characteristics he had. He had been raised a certain way and been burdened with knowledge and expectations that no sane person would want. I think he did his best to help Noemí and Catalina, but his family also had a very firm grip on his life and actions. No secrets were safe in High Place, and you could never be sure who was listening, or even if what you were seeing was actually happening.

Moreno-Garcia really messed with my head throughout Mexican Gothic. I never knew what was real and what was imagined, and I struggled along with Noemí to sort dreams from reality. I really loved how this story developed and the way the author chose to reveal certain chunks of information. It gently unfolded in the most unexpected ways, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I also really liked how the book ended, because while this particular story is over, it still felt like there was something unfinished about their individual lives. How will they recover after everything they've been through? What will their lives look like now? While I love a good epilogue, I think not knowing really suited this book. (★★★★★)

12 people found this helpful

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Ghiselle St. James

A novel with suspenseful, intriguing, paranormal and almost fantastical themes

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

Noemí Taboada is just a carefree young woman, ready to take on further studies rather than a courtship and marriage. When her father gets a worrisome letter from her cousin, Catalina (who had been newly wed), she must get to the bottom of what is going on and save her cousin from her husband and whatever is haunting her in High Place. When she gets to High Place, Noemí finds herself similarly haunted and troubled, but she is determined to fight back; to not let this ugly, achingly depressing house and it’s morose occupants consume her and her kin. She finds an ally in Francis, one of High Place’s residents and the patriarch’s grandson. He protects her, tries to get her to leave, but is he strong enough to protect her from all the house’s secrets and the nefarious plans of his family?

This book was a pleasant surprise! In the beginning I’d been so intrigued, but then somewhere after, I became confused. When things cleared up, I noticed that it also cleared up for the protagonist as well. That’s when I thought, “Well, this author is weaving a sort of black magic with her words!”

Written in third person narrative, Mexican Gothic is a novel with suspenseful, intriguing, paranormal and almost fantastical themes. It’s a world so darkly spun that I found myself checking my room ever so often - checking for shadows and mold and apparitions. 😅

During the middle of this novel, I found that things were as murky as the gloom the plot was surrounded by and I found it hard to maintain the connection I’d found with it in the beginning. I felt the story had dragged on, but then that could have been because work had become increasingly hectic, this stealing much of my precious reading time.

This past week, I dug deep and, eventually, I began to have theories as to what was going on. It put me in mind of the movie “Get Out”. As a result, I could feel the story leaning in that general direction. By 70%, I was invested and couldn’t wait to get through to the end to see how things unraveled! When it got to 90%, I started to hate that things were coming to an end and knew that the ending would have been sort of rushed.

With all that happened between the 70-100% mark, I needed more of a resolution. Nevertheless, this was a book that had my mind conjuring the descriptions. It was so very well written. Despite the earlier confusion, I was happy I stuck with it. The author had an uncanny ability to make me feel as Noemí felt: confused, inquisitive, fearful, angry, frustrated. I felt as though I was THERE in the book and there are not many novels or writers who can do that to me.

Bravo! 👏🏾

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Karen Arnold

Nithing

Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2024

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It was a good book enjoyed reading it

Gerardo R.

Uno de mis libros favoritos del año.

Reviewed in Mexico on May 17, 2021

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Mexican Gothic salió a la luz el año pasado, pero apenas lo pude conseguir en una ganga. La tapa dura es preciosa, llegó super pronto a mi domicilio y lo devoré en un par de días.
Perfecto para fans del horror, gótico, realismo mágico y ficción histórica.
¡Pronto se lanza la serie de Hulu!

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Matheus Monteiro

Uma boa apropriação dos elementos góticos

Reviewed in Brazil on November 22, 2020

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Silvia Moreno Garcia faz algo muito interessante em "Mexican Gothic". Quase que uma colonização conceitual as avessas, ela traz os elementos clássicos das narrativas góticas para terras mexicanas (conceitualmente e literalmente na história ao colocar uma mansão inglesa em uma pequena cidade) a fim de tecer diversas críticas sociais. Da forma como a mulher é vista, até o perigo das histórias que romantizam a dor e o sofrimento e o impacto que isso pode gerar no olhar feminino, Silvia usa do gótico para tecer uma análise também a própria relação da colonização. O horror de "Mexican Gothic" vem de uma branquitude que se apropria e usa de todos os meios possíveis para se manter no poder e na pureza. Os comportamentos bizarros estão lá, assim como a falta de ética e a monstruosidade das ações. É um livro que traz elementos críticos para sua narrativa e a história ganha muito peso com isso. Sai do lugar comum das histórias góticas que comumente conhecemos, um ar fresco a um gênero já muito repetido.
É uma boa leitura, ainda que com algumas ressalvas. Em determinado momento da história, o livro não consegue continuar sua progressão de eventos e assim como os urobouros tão mencionados na narrativa, a história fica de repetindo e não sai do mesmo local. É uma constante sensação de momentos que se deparamos com nadas, o que cria uma sensação enfadonha, uma prolixidade que tira um pouco do brilho do texto.
Não é um livro que dá medo, ainda que consiga criar cenas mais horríveis por conta do body horror que se mete na narrativa, indo para um aspecto mais nojento. O clímax segue cenas muito comum em produções góticas, o que ao mesmo tempo mostra o comprometimento da obra com o gênero que quer mirar, cria um senso de "já vi isso antes". Gostei muito da sacada do elemento sobre-natural da história

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Vania

Great standalone that I will keep re-reading

Reviewed in Spain on January 17, 2022

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🌟4.85/5🌟

I declare myself in love with this book!

I was first swallowed by its immersive plot but it was the continuous twists what made it imposible to put the book down. I couldn't be sure who was good and who was evil, or what was real and what wasn't, and I really enjoyed that.

Moving on to the aesthetic, I simply have to congratulate the author. The descriptions, the environment, the weather, the house...it was on point. I even felt some Crimson Peak/Guillermo del Toro vibes, which I adored.

As for the characters, I liked Noemí as a MC. The way the character developes is really good. As for Francis, well, I loved how mysterious he was. I can't say more without spoiling anything!

Lastly, I expected to see more of Catalina in the first 2/3 of the book and certain scenes were a bit too grotesque (nothing that I couldn't handle, though).

In short, this is a great standalone, full of mystery, lots of gothic stuff and horror. I will definitely read it again!

Julia Widmark

It came really bent…

Reviewed in Sweden on January 15, 2022

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It was bent in half and no matter how much I try to straighten it, it’s still really bent.

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