Title: Mexican Gothic
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publication: June 30, 2020
Publisher: Del Rey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 321
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
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.
REVIEW:
I had seen this book all over social media that is book related. I knew that I needed to read it. I added it to my Amazon Wish List to watch the price. Imagine my surprise when I went to Goodwill and I found a basically perfect copy of the book on the shelf. I couldn’t wait to read it, but I was saving it for the spooky season.
Noemi is the belle of the ball. She comes from a wealthy family. She is kind of allowed to flit from thing to thing except for the one thing that she wants to go to University but her father refuses. One day he tells her that she needs to go and rescue her cousin whose letter home has concerned the family. He tells her to take care of her cousin and she is allowed to go to University. When Noemi gets there it is nothing like she imagined. She starts having terrifying dreams. What unfolds next is a thing of nightmares. This book took a little to get going but once it did I was devouring the book in big chunks. I stayed up way too late the last two nights reading it because I had to know what was going to happen. It was so good. The characters were well rounded and easy to fall in love with. Yes, even the evil characters, I was invested in them as well.
My only reason I gave it 4 stars was that I felt we really didn’t get enough of an ending. I needed to know what actually happened with the cousin. We never touched on it. I needed to know what happened with Noemi at the end! Did she fall in love with Francis? Did they get married? Did she go to University? It bothered that much that it caused me to ding the book one star. I must say that I have never ever seen a horror book with the evil person quiet like this. It truly was ingenius. However, I will say that while it was definetly creepy, it certainly wasn’t something that kept me up at night. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author. I hope they will be just as stellar as this one was. If your looking for your next spooky creepy read I would recommend this one!
