Mexican Gothic

A classic gothic horror novel in the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca, updated in the best way. This is the diverting page-turner to keep you up at night.

Set during the 1930s in Mexico, this Gothic novel hits all the right notes—a crumbling old mansion with a family cemetery, a dying patriarch, twisted family history, suicide and murders. Socialite, Noemi, travels to High Place, the home of her recently married cousin after her father receives a strange letter from Catalina that includes references to the walls “talking,” among other oddities.

When Noemi arrives, she finds her once vibrant cousin subdued and sickly, attended by members of her new husband’s family. Noemi is uncertain what to make of the handsome and charismatic, Virgil Doyle, but finds his stern and aloof Aunt Florence—Catalina’s primary caregiver—uncommunicative and regimental. Florence’s son, Francis, is somewhere in the middle, a bit timid, even awkward. These characters drive the plot, but revelations come slowly. Although set in Mexico, nothing really marks this as a Mexican mystery. Except for Noemi and Catalina, all the characters are English.

For the most part, I was glued to the pages, especially the descriptions of the moldy, depressing mansion and cemetery. The history of the Doyle family, including their ownership of a once profitable silver mine is intriguing, as are glimpses of several Doyle ancestors and the murders and suicide that bind them. As the main character, Noemi is strong, an excellent protagonist.

I give an A+ for all the above, but the horror elements didn’t work for me. I was hoping for a good ghost story, but the “big bad” is something entirely different. That plot thread got tedious, especially in the middle of the book, although the ending is fast-paced and climatic. C+ for the horror elements/plot thread, so 4 stars overall. I did like how everything turned out, and would certainly read this author again.

Tense, atmospheric, and beautifully written, Mexican Gothic will carry readers back in time to 1950s Mexico, where a dark secret looms large, insidiously winding its way through the pages. A spellbinding, suspenseful, immersive read!

Wow, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is definitely one of the most unique and creepy books I have read in a bit! I loved the gothic vibes, and even though the pacing is slow, it still felt steady enough that I wasn’t bored. It takes a while to get to the action, but once you are there things move at a very quick pace until the end. I don’t read too much horror, but I loved the way the author married suspense and horror together in this book. It was also incredibly atmospheric, and it would make for a terrific fall/Halloween read. It is super dark as you would expect from a gothic horror novel, so be prepared to be both horrified and seriously creeped out!

I listened to the audio and Frankie Corzo really killed it with her narration. I think listening to it made it even creepier, so I would highly recommend going that route for this one. I was super into the book and listened to it in just a couple of days. When I got over the 50% mark I knew I would be finishing it the same day and that’s exactly what I did. You just can’t help but wonder what will happen next and just how disturbing the author will take things. I didn’t love Noemí at first, but I grew to love her as the book went on. She was clearly a strong female character which I loved, and I was rooting for her to get her cousin out of that creepy-ass mansion.

If you are ready for a chilling, gothic novel I highly recommend Mexican Gothic. Even though I think it would be best read in the fall, I would still read it in any season if you are in the mood to be creeped out. I also liked how there was a little dash of romance in the book to lighten things up a bit, but overall the feeling of the book is definitely dark and ominous. High Place is one of the creepiest settings ever and I think a lot of people will fall in love with this book and Moreno-Garcia’s writing style. She really killed it with Mexican Gothic, and I can’t wait to read more from her!

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.

I love a good Gothic story. Decaying grandeur, shadowy corners, questionable motives . . .right up my alley. So perhaps I’m an easy sell for this book. It definitely made good use of my favorite kinds of setting details and tropes.

So, what’s different about this one? Part of what makes it stand out is the portrayal of gaslighting in progress, and the paralysis of doubting the evidence of your own senses. There’s also a eugenics and colonialism angle that paints thing in a different sort of dark light than just the financial avarice that often drives Gothic villains. I appreciated the active nature of the heroine–no passively waiting for rescue. A bit of science intermixed with the mysticism pleased me as well.

I could hardly put it down and will definitely seek out more work by this author

“Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia transplants the Gothic ideology beautifully into the Mexican countryside of the 1950’s. The glamorous, independent, and kick-butt heroine, Noemi, ventures to the estate called “High Place” to check on the well-being of her newly married cousin, Catalina. Once there, readers encounter suitably creepy inhabitants, stifling isolation, a growing love interest, and mysterious illnesses. Drawing on historic Gothic works, “High Place” becomes a character in its own right, a skeleton upon which to build ghost stories, depraved eugenics, ancient wrongs. In fact, the scenery exudes decadent decay. The dream-like pacing builds to an ending crescendo which should leave readers with much to consider.

“You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me. I cannot save myself as much as I wish to, I am bound, threads like iron through my mind and my skin and it’s there. In the walls.”

‘Mexican Gothic’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a wonderfully dark story filled with twisting paths and wicked antagonists. I absolutely loved it.

Centering around wealthy Mexican socialite, Noemi Taboada, the story follows her to a creepy old mansion in the countryside in response to a desperate sounding letter from her recently-wed cousin Catalina. The missive is fraught with anxiety and implores the family to send someone to save her. Her father doesn’t really take it seriously and neither does she, they both think the girl is on the dramatic side, but he asks her to go for a visit to assuage his mind in any case and see if she does indeed need help.

Upon her arrival, what she finds is a seemingly menacing new husband.. not the classy, charismatic Englishman Catalina seemed to be marrying, a chilling patriarch who appears to be obsessed with racial traits and uncomfortably interested in Noemi, and a household run with a rigidity that is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. Having come from the city.. a glamorous debutante with her choice of parties and dates to accompany her.. regardless of her sometimes inconsiderate behavior, High Place is definitely a culture shock.

Francis, brother to her cousin’s new husband, seems to be the only one who might be trustworthy. Unlike Virgil, Francis is rather soft-spoken, gentle, and seems to want only to help her. Though he too may be hiding dark familial secrets and as the house begins to invade Noemi’s dreams, she digs deeper.. trying to get to the bottom of what’s happening in an attempt to help her cousin.

“Noemi felt suddenly like a girl who had her knuckles rapped, and this made her raise her chin and stare back at the woman in the same way she had stared at the nuns at her school, armored with poised insurrection.”

Honestly, the family is messed up. Howard, the patriarch.. is the most unpleasant person to experience. Even sitting at a meal with him.. trying to have a regular discussion, it’s pretty plain that his views are so removed from polite society.. I’d want nothing to do with him. The moment he appeared in the story.. I disliked him.

The house is managed by Florence, Howard’s niece, and she’s almost equally unpleasant. Her demands of structure seem outrageous and the friendliest emotion she seems to manage is disdain.

I really believed I knew early on what the origin of the family was going to be.. but I was wrong. It’s an incredibly unorthodox story and I love that it wasn’t explained in a big ‘gotcha’ reveal.. so much as a slow, dawning understanding. For me personally, I felt I was sort of battered over the head with the symbolism a bit too frequently, but it’s plausible that zealotry could manifest in that way.

“In a sense all dreams foretell events, but some more clearly than others.”

Initially, I thought the book started out a little slowly, but as I read on I came to believe it was a methodical pace designed to put the reader in that carefree, rich party girl headspace. It gave me a chance to settle in, frown at the main character, and be dismissive of what was ahead because it didn’t feel pressing. Likewise, my first impressions of the Doyle family only encouraged that thinking. I found them rude and cold, but not necessarily frightening.

Moreno-Garcia does a fantastic job of making sure the reader is exactly where she wants us to be. She’s unafraid to use truly disturbing themes and manages to convey graphic scenes without the usual accompanying language. She’s a gifted writer and now I find myself curious about one of her previous works, ‘Gods of Jade and Shadow,’ as well.

If you’re thinking about picking this up and you like gothic horror, this is for you. There’s plenty of mystery and extremely uncomfortable interactions to keep you turning the pages even before you understand what has occurred.

(More reviews like this at Betwixt The Sheets.)

(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)

Mexican Gothic. As the title indicates, Silvia Moreno-Garcia takes the classic gothic literature tropes and transplants them to a 1950s Mexico setting, all the while retaining many of this genres very English trappings.

After receiving a distressing letter from her recently married cousin, Noemí leaves the parties and nightlife of Mexico City for a remote villa and High Place, a sprawling estate tucked away in the mountains and hidden in fog. Her cousin, Catalina, was recently wed to a British man and mining magnate, Virgil Doyle, whose family owns High Place and once operated the now-defunct silver mine the home overlooks. She suspects Virgil of poisoning Catalina, but the secrets she uncovers about High Place and the Doyle family are far worse than she could have possibly imagined.

Moreno-Garcia checks off all the usual staples of gothic horror in eloquent fashion, all the while subverting them in marvelous ways. Yes, we get the gloomy, secluded British castle with secrets of its own, but in a wonderful reversal of roles the virginal maiden, brown-skinned Noemí, is also the hero, a welcome feminist spin fully appropriate for the times. She’s a woman with agency and ambitions, and is not a wilting flower constantly in need of a man’s saving. This is particularly important given there’s not many noble men in High Place at all, let alone ones that actually want to save her. Trapped in High Place and unwilling to abandon Catalina to this family’s depravities, Noemí is certainly outnumbered by the awful, predatory males of the Doyle family, and the few redeemable and decent men she encounters are themselves victims, either directly or by circumstance.

The author does a fantastic job keeping us guessing about the motivations of the Doyle clan, slowly filling in their history. We learn of the roles they’ve played in shaping this villa alongside Noemí, who quickly learns of the family’s fascination with eugenics, and slowly unravels the violent past surrounding the Doyle’s mine and the family’s own internal conflicts. Moreno-Garcia subtly explores aspects of British imperialism and white supremacy via the Doyle’s mine and the treatment of their Mexican laborers, as well as toxic masculinity and misogyny. Even the dirt the manor is built upon is imported from England, and the fact that High Place is rotting from the inside — and its interior filled with rotten, evil people — makes for a wonderful metaphor regarding racism and classism. Mexican Gothic is a slow-burn potboiler, but the plot provides plenty of grisly fodder and emerging threats to keep readers fully engaged.

It’s the book climax that really helps put this book over the top, though, and Moreno-Garcia lets her talents as a horror writer shine as she fully turns her attention to the supernatural elements underpinning this work. To say that it’s absolutely glorious and wholly satisfying undersells it, but it is a magnificent, violent, and moving set piece, and I loved the ways she tied everything together in the end.

Mexican Gothic is a vital and necessary #OwnVoices update for gothic horror literature, and it sets a high bar for Moreno-Garcia’s contemporaries and their works to follow. If you loved Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson’s Monster, She Wrote and are in need of a prime example of present-day gothic horror done right, then you owe it to yourself to read Mexican Gothic immediately.

Harkens back to all the gothic faves. Creepy and intriguing. I couldn’t put it down. Trigger warnings for: body horror, non-con, rape, sexual violence, incest, and more. I loved this twisted book, but reader beware. Also, it’s not a romance in the conventional sense, though there is a romantic subplot.