This book absolutely blew me away. I wasn't entirely sure I'd enjoy this book going into it as it's in a genre (horror) that I've never really read much of but the synopsis sounded so intriguing that I just had to give it a go. And I loved it.

Mexican Gothic follows Noemí as she attempts to rescue her cousin Carolina after the family receives a worrying letter suggesting Carolina's new husband and his family home are not all as they seem. In the house, Noemí begins to realise how strange things really are and starts to wonder if she and Carolina are going mad, or whether there really is something going on inside High Place.

For me, the absolute best thing about this book was the atmosphere, Moreno-Garcia crafts an absolutely amazing setting. Noemí is stranded in a remote and dilapidated mansion, away from anyone she knows, and I felt that. There was an uneasiness in the story that was translated so well and I felt that I could feel exactly what it would be like in this mysterious house. I, like Noemí, was uneasy. This book was so deliciously creepy, I'm not necessarily one for gore and jump scares so this was right up my alley, this was the kind of story that makes your hair stand on end and has you really questioning what is going on and who you can really trust, it was absolutely exceptional.

Noemí herself was a solid lead, although my one complete about this novel would be that while Noemí herself was wonderfully developed and we got to know her so well over the course of the novel, some of the other characters felt like they could have done with some more time spent on them. But this was very much a plot and Noemí driven story, rather than one driven by a whole host of characters.

And the plot was certainly something. This book while mainly a gothic horror novel also largely revolves around a mystery; the main issue I find with mysteries is that very few of them find that sweet spot between dropping too many hints and not dropping enough. I want to have enough clues that I can at least guess at the ending, but I don't want to be 100% right, or at least I don't want to be sure that I am until the very last second. Moreno-Garcia did this perfectly, there were some hints I picked up on, and there were some that I did not and while I guessed at some aspects of the ending, the majority of it took me completely by surprise. The ending was not necessarily my 'perfect ending' but it was delivered very well, and made sense given the story we had been through.

All in all this was a highly enjoyable read and one that I found myself unable to put down. The atmosphere was mesmerising, Noemí extremely likeable, and the story itself was so captivating. It doesn't matter what kind of thing you like in a story if you like solid writing and an engaging, mysterious, and creepy atmosphere then I highly recommend picking up this book.

Trigger Warning for Sexual Assault

4.5/5

This is my first Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I went into it blindly . I am not a person who reads horrors in general , but I enjoyed 'Mexican Gothic' a lot. The book definitely starts slowly and sweetly but don't let it fool you! Such creepiness !! I read the last 70% of the book in a day!

I don't want to delve into summary as I mainly want to gush about this book and it is better if you get into this book blindly as the trigger warnings are very spoilery. If you are okay with the words "creepy", " darkly delicious", "wtf is happening" this is your book[ though I slept perfectly in the night] , and , er...uh the sci-fi element is never far away.

Now, let's talk about the negatives [ not really ] without getting much into the spoilers . The only thing I didn't understand [didn't buy is a better word] is the motive behind all of these , well there is a clear motive but what I mean is that what was the point? Although I am aware of the fact that you don't always need clear reasoning , the desire of power and greed is enough. Oh, another thing , I wanted more romance , the existing one was definitely not enough. MORE ROMANCE!!

Now, I definitely want to read Gods of Jade and Shadow .

Ps, Did I mention her good writing style and beautiful prose?

A gothic dilapidated mansion up a perpetually foggy mountain, centuries old dark secrets, rumours of ghosts and whispering walls? Yes please!!

When a frantic and incoherent letter is received by Noemi's father from his niece, Catalina, recently married into the Doyle family, that she is being poisoned by her new husband and kept against her will, he sends
Noemi, a sassy, feisty, spoilt socialite as an envoy of the family to High Place to check on her and report back.

What Noemi finds is a run down mansion, damp and mouldy, with a family of inhabitants that are strange, unwelcoming and unfriendly. She is shocked when she sees Catalina, a shadow of her former bubbly self. Noemi's enquiries of and visits to Catalina are strongly discouraged by the family and as Noemi starts to experience strange dreams and flashbacks, she finds that perhaps not all of Catalina's claims are entirely untrue.

This is a dark and twisted read to give you some very creepy vibes. Think The Silent Companions meets We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Beautifully written, 1950's Mexico, it's people and culture comes alive. This book is a slow burner, particularly the first half but it is nonetheless gripping as it sets the scene for long held secrets and familial horrors to be revealed slowly, all the while ratcheting up the suspense, the tension and the horror!

Review to be published when the book is released.



This book was so amazing!!
At the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect, and while I was reading it, new theories were coming to my mind to be replaced by the next one and still I was surprised until the end.

TW: incest, cannibalism, descriptive gore, drugs, child death, attempted rape.

It was absolutely addictive. I went though different phases thinking it was going to be a family drama with some kind of supernatural horror, a traditional old fashioned haunted house with ghosts but the reality blew out all my expectations. When my mind finally clicked I was left in awe of the author’s ability to surprise the reader with such a finely woven plot.

The ambience is just so dark, so oppressive, so brilliantly done. I usually don’t get scared by books, but this was beyond just being scared, I could feel the tense atmosphere and I was hooked to this pages until I finished it because I needed to know how everything was going to end. All the elements work perfectly: the haunted house, the family, the tragic events, the mysteries. I can’t really describe it in all the details that I would like as I would spoil it for you. This is one of those novels that you will enjoy much more the less you know about it.

At the beginning, I kind of disliked Noemí, the main character, but as I went on reading I grew fond of her and now that I have finished the book I see how this is done completely on purpose. The evolution of her character is stunning. She starts the book as a spoiled rich mexican kid who cares only about herself and what she wants to do in life but the end of her journey will be on another lane. The rest of the characters are equally good, they all work in a perfect equilibrium with the rest of the elements creating this delicate plot.

The only downside that I can find is that it may be a bit slow at the beginning. The way that it starts is very different to where it’s going to take us, so I can understand that at the beginning it may be a bit tedious, while the first pieces of plot are set in motion. It gives a false idea of safety at the beginning. On the other hand, it is a weird book, in an absolutely good way, in my case. But I can understand that this might put some people off reading it.

Mexican Gothic is the kind of book that will haunt you for years to come. It's the kind of book that will make you yearn for a feeling like that again. It is dark, it is twisted and it is so entralling and bewitching that it is hard to put into words. It is the book I will spend all year thrusting desperately into people's hands while screaming READ IT. It is a book I wish I could read for the first time again, because the horror and shock and awe was captivating.

So what's it all about? Noemí receives a frantic and odd letter from her cousin, Catalina, full of frantic pleas to help her as she thinks her husband is trying to poison her. In a bid to find out exactly what the f**k is going on Noemí travels to High Place, the mysterious mansion where Catalina now lives with her husband and his odd, dysfunctional family. In this damp and mould covered house, Noemí is met with fierce disapproval and downright hatred from all except one, Francis, who she enlists in her attempts to work out what's going on.

And boy, it's a fucking ride. This book is so delightfully twisted and creepy. At first glance, this evokes the feelings of classic gothic novels: the fog, the house, the wilderness encroaching on the humanity and living people inside. But Moreno-Garcia has brought an entirely modern twist to the genre, blending elements of the supernatural with science and academia, creating a book that is both a love story to classic gothic and embraces modern dark academia. In daylight, it is a gothic mystery, but at night, through Noemí's disturbing and dark dreams, we see the other side of this novel. Moreno-Garcia's language is stunningly horrific and disturbing - at many points it makes you sick to the stomach, and you dare not turn your eyes away from the page so desperate to see what the everloving f**k is happening.

And let's talk about Noemí herself! Some books you just read the first few pages and know it's going to be bloody excellent. Mexican Gothic was one of those for me. And it's usually down to the ease and strength of the character voice. Noemí really shone in this novel. Her voice was so clear and immediately engrossing, she is both capable and independent, flirty and kind. And we see this strong, capable woman descend into horror across the book and it is the strength of Noemí's voice at the start which makes me care so much for and be so passionate and mad as this house destroys such a wonderful character.

The other characters we meet are:
- Virgil: the new husband to Noemí's cousin, cold and calculating and cruel, with a vicious grasp on Noemí, able to spark deep rage and passion in her
- Florence: an Aunt who runs the household, even more unfeeling than Virgil, strict beyond measure and deeply unkind
- Howard: the patriarch of the family, slowly dying and around whom all revolve in this household
- Catalina: Noemí's cousin who frantically wrote a letter to save herself, and seems constantly seesawing between peaceful and well, and wild and manic.
- Francis: the one individual in the house who dares to be kind to Noemi, sweet and unsure but ruled with an iron fist by Howard, Florence and Virgil.

These characters evolve around each other in an uneasy fashion, lies around every corner and horrors hiding in the dark, mould invested mansion of High Place. Mexican Gothic is a twisted, f**ked up book that will surprise you at every turn. It combines all my favourite elements of gothic suspense but brings the genre into the modern age with glimpses of horror and dark academia. It is the book I am going to gift to pretty much everyone I know because I adored it so much. It gave me disturbing dreams, my heart raced as I read, and I never wanted to stop reading it.

I should start this review by saying that I don’t generally read horror. I’m a scaredy cat and generally steer well clear of all things horror related but if Silvia Moreno Garcia is writing a gothic horror novel with a cover that beautiful, obviously I’m going to make an exception.

This novel follows Noemí, a young socialite from Mexico City, who is sent to visit her cousin, Catalina who has written a distressed letter to Noemí’s father and appears to be unwell. Her cousin married a British man and now lives in his family’s home, High Place, on the outskirts of a small town in a remote part of Mexico near a now closed mine which the family operated. The house is an old gothic mansion perched on top of an eternally foggy hill. Her cousin’s husband’s family are strange to say the least. Noemí is forced to try and work out whether her cousin has TB or whether there is something more sinister going on.

This novel nails the creepy tone from the get go. The setting on top of the foggy hill in the old house is creepy. The family in the house is creepy. The stories the villagers tell about the house and the family are creepy. To be honest everything is really creepy. Moreno is a master of tone and maintained this creepiness through out masterfully making this a very suspenseful novel that I couldn’t put down. I absolutely flew through this, needing to know what was going to happen. That being said, I did think there were some points where things did drag and some unnecessary scenes which bloated the narrative.

I will say that the suspense built during the novel did not let me down and the reveal as to what was really going on in the house was dark and twisted and really grossed me out at times. Moreno García’s descriptions particularly at the end of the book were very detailed and easy to envision and left me feeling uncomfortable and unsettled.

I really enjoyed both Noemís’ and Francis’ character arcs in this book. Moreno García did an amazing job at really allowing them to grow over the course of the story which really made them feel like real fully rounded characters.

A really good pick if you’re looking for a dark and suspenseful novel. I would encourage you to pick it up when it gets released later this year!

*Arc provided for free via netgalley.

This book is an absolutely wild ride and completely bonkers! I loved the build up in this book and the amazing story telling of this author. There is a little bit of everything in this book - creepy characters, a very spooky house, hallucinations, nightmares, family drama and a lot of questionable goings on.

Great gothic horror novel and something a little bit different!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The protagonist of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel Mexican Gothic is twenty-two year old Noemí Taboada, a feisty socialite from a well-to-do family, who is equally at ease flirting with young men at parties and studying anthropology at University, despite both activities being considered quite daring in 1950s Mexico. Her carefree life is unexpectedly interrupted by an urgent missive received from her cousin Catalina, recently wed to mining magnate Virgil Doyle. The letter has a series of incredible allegations: she states that she is being held captive in a haunted house, and possibly being poisoned. Something is clearly amiss. Noemí is not particularly keen to play the (potentially supernatural) detective, but she promises to leave for High Place, the Doyles’ remote country mansion, in return for her father allowing her to pursue university studies.

When she arrives at High Place, Noemí realizes that Catalina’s tall tales might not be so far-fetched after all. The Doyles, in fact, make for a weird household, ruled with a fist of iron by the repulsive old patriarch Harold Doyle. The house itself seems to throb with malevolence, crumbling under the weight of a horrifying secret…

The novel is called Mexican Gothic and it certainly delivers what it says on the tin. Most of the tropes of classic Gothic suspense are thrown into the mix: a decrepit, haunted mansion; “chosen” brides; a young woman who is, for all intents and purposes, imprisoned by a smoulderingly handsome yet terrible husband; a strange family hiding terrible secrets; silent servants; abandoned mines; rituals which seem uncomfortably (to this reader) like blasphemous versions of Catholic liturgy; a mist-covered cemetery; even magical mushrooms...

Sometimes the dividing line between tribute and parody can be very thin. Moreno-Garcia’s novel is a such smorgasbord of Gothic clichés that it easily have degenerated into a parody of the genre. Yet, despite being over-the-top (as most classic Gothic is), it has enough interesting and idiosyncratic touches to make it an enjoyable pastiche.

I noted that one of the authors to give early praise to this book is Yangsze Choo, the author of The Night Tiger (which I review here). I am not surprised as, despite the contrasting geographical settings, and the different folkloric traditions they tap into, both Mexican Gothic and The Night Tiger combine horror and historical fiction, and feature a likeable, independent-minded young heroine. Like The Night Tiger, Mexican Gothic also has a sentimental subplot which will particularly appeal to fans of Romance. I confess I preferred both novels darker aspects…

3.5*

This is the first book I have read by this author, although other ones have been on my TBR list for quite a while. I absolutely love modern spins of the gothic novel and especially appreciated the Mexican setting. This novel has it all: atmosphere, creepy characters, a family curse and a great ending!

This was an absolute wild ride. Was given an eARC to read for an honest review, and I’m so overwhelmed by how weird, trippy, strange, trippy (have I mentioned how trippy it is?) this read was.
It takes a lot for a book to grab me enough to read it in one sitting, but Mexican Gothic does that. I particularly liked the way Moreno-Garcia builds the picture. It's exactly the kind of writing I like to read - beautifully crafted descriptions with such simplicity.

The descriptions are so lush, pacing is good (though everything just explodes in the last quarter of the book) and I loved Noemí. Also Francis. Made me think of The Yellow Wallpaper, but it is so much more than that. It’s such a clever gothic novel - despite all the familiar tropes, you cannot predict the twists and turns!

Think Silent Companions meets the Yellow Wallpaper with a beautiful Mexican backdrop.
The only thing I would say, is that there are a lot of 'high art' references, which might alienate some readers who might not understand them? As a PhD student who works on things like Kubla Khan, Lavater, and Fuseli, I understood the gentle nudges and references to them, but the subtle hints might take away from the enjoyment of reading for others.

Full review to come on personal blog. But this is definitely a book to look out for in June this year!

My second book from Silvia Moreno-Garcia and it turned out to be another 5 star gem. I swear this woman could beat me up and I'd say thank you!!!

The book is set in 1950s Mexico and follows Noemi, a rich socialite who receives an urgent letter from her newly married cousin begging for her help. The request takes her to High Place, a mysterious mansion in the Mexican countryside where something is indeed very wrong with both the place and the people occupying in it. Expect a lot of secrets, things that go bump in the night, and a richly Gothic atmosphere as suffocating as the fog around the mansion.

I honestly could not predict where the book was going and I'm not going to spoil any of it, but prepare to be mind-blown and make sure to strap yourself in for this ride. On top of the brilliant plot, Naomi was an excellent heroine and I really enjoyed seeing her superficial socialite side mix with her passionate, stubborn bravery.

Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so a MASSIVE thank you to Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Quercus Books and NetGalley for letting me read this masterpiece!! Cannot wait to see what's next for the author :)

An epic gothic tale! I loved Gods of Jade, but this story kept me on the edge of my seat and reading well past midnight! Beautiful prose!

Family bonds have never been so strong.

Jazz age socialite, Noemí, receives a worrying letter from her recently married cousin, Catalina, and sets off to investigate. Catalina is now living with husband, Virgil, at his family home, High Place, a remote, dilapidated pile in which the family’s history and traditions are kept very much alive.

This is gothic in the Hammer Horror style, with a haunted house, women wandering around in floaty attire (usually nighties or antique wedding dresses), an attractive Machiavellian antagonist, lots of gore and a malevolent fungus. What’s not to like?

Moreno-Garcia has created a winning character in Noemí, who has her flaws, but over the course of the novel, finds herself and matures. The author has a knack for page-turning adventures.

Pacey, full of action and hugely enjoyable.

My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC.

I’m a big fan of this author and have been looking forward to reading Mexican Gothic for months. It’s a brilliant book, written as masterfully as all her work. I loved the central character, Noemí, and adored the nods to The Yellow Wallpaper and Rebecca. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting the book to go in the direction that it did and much preferred the build up , with all its eeriness and dread, to the rather more fantastical finale. But I very much enjoyed going on the journey.

A twisted, dark set in 1950's Mexico, Mexican Gothic was a deliciously creepy tale to read.

Socialite Noemí Taboada and her father receive an unusual letter from her cousin Catalina, which sets alarm bells ringing and at the behest of her father Noemi travels to the distant mountain village where her cousin and new husband now reside with her husband's family. The strange behaviour of the family and the mansion in which they live are so eerily described by the author and the tension builds almost immediately... something isn't right with Catalina and Noemi is desperate to uncover the secrets of the house and her family and free her cousin from its clutches.

I have been choosing different styles of books to read lately than my usual, and I am so glad I was able to read this book. Although set in decades past, driven by the lead character Noemi, the story did not feel dated and could have taken place in modern times. The descriptions of the mansion, mine and small nearby village eloquently set the scene for the tumultuous tale of desperation and fright,

Noemi is an unusual character but I was immediately drawn to her, although a socialite she is deeply interested in studies and wishes to attend University, her strong will drives the plot forward as she investigates the mysteries of the house and the mine.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite not being the best when it comes to horror or scary things, I was so engaged with the story that I would have been unable to stop reading even if completely scared. (It's not *that* scary, I am just a wimp!) A fantastic, Gothic tale. that I would highly recommend.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

Ok if you know me then you know I am a self confessed wimp and this book creeped me out, but in allll the right ways. Will I have to sleep with the light on for a few nights? Possibly. Was it worth it to read this intense and surreal book? Absolutely.

Noemí is living the life, attending party after party with a line of suitors. So when her father asks her to visit her cousin, after receiving a slightly worrying letter, she is reluctant to give up her social life in Mexico City. After reading the letter, Noemí is understandably worried and agrees to head to High Place and find out exactly what is going on. She arrives to find a house in disrepair, a family far from the one she left behind with strict rules and a cousin who seems to have lost her mind. Her only solace is Francis, the family's youngest son and someone Noemí see's as an ally in this strange and mysterious house. Determined to find out the cause for her cousins illness Noemí starts digging, into the town, into the family and into the house, only she discovers far more than she bargained for and by the time she realises how deep she is in it may be too late.

This book is dark, gritty, mysterious, chilling and immersive in all the best ways. The perfect blend of fantasy and Gothic suspense Moreno-Garcia had my mind working overtime trying to work out the mystery of High House and the peculiar Doyle family, but no amount of guessing could have prepared me for what she had in store.

Noemí is a fantastic perspective to read from. Strong headed, quick to judge and slow to forgive. She comes to High House looking to find out the mystery behind her cousins disturbing letter not knowing the dangers that lurk, not just in the Doyle family who live there but in High House itself. As a reader, following Noemí's journey we are just as much in the dark as she is, and come to the same revelations as her at the same time. Because of this she is such a relatable character and you feel her emotions right alongside her, her wariness of the Doyle family, her fear for her cousin and her revulsion when she finds out what exactly is happening.

The Doyle family are a reserved lot, living in the shadow of their former glory as silver miners in a house that they can no longer afford to upkeep. Howard, Virgil, Florence and Francis made for some intriguing characters, you cant quite work out who you can trust, but you know that there is something deeply wrong with them all. High House can almost be classed as a character itself, with its mould ridden walls and all the secrets it keeps hidden. We don't find out until later in the book exactly the true purpose of the house, but throughout the book, even though I could't put my finger on it, I knew something was off.

I fell in love with Moreno-Garcia's writing after reading God's of Jade and Shadow last year and this book blew me away all over again. She manages to make a standalone seem like a 3 book series with all the character growth, plot twists and terrifying outcome's that keep you glued to the pages. The first part of the book is slow going, however the set up makes the ending that much more powerful. Her descriptive writing manages to bring the book to life in your hands and you feel yourself in 1950's Mexico, the glamorous lifestyle and beautiful clothing drag you back in time effortlessly, and the dankness and chill of Hill House have you clutching for a blanket.

If I wasn't already a huge fan of the author then this book would have cemented that for me. If you enjoy a good mystery, one that's impossible to figure out but keeps you guessing all the same, one with a fantasy element that hits you out of nowhere, filled with gorgeous descriptions and some edge of your seat moments, then this is the book for you.

A mesmerising tale that filled the hole Crimson Peak left in my life and then some. I adored this book from start to finish- Noemi Taboada is a fantastic heroine, flirty and confident with an unapologetic flightiness and love of fashion that you don't see too often. I love that it was the things that made her repulsive to the Doyle family- her smoking in particular, and her propensity for flirting- that helped to save her. I loved her relationship with Catalina, and with Francis.

Writing-wise, I LOVED the absolutely merciless ratcheting of suspense as Noemi spends time in the High Place, and the very organic nature of the haunting that combines tricks of perception with deeply visceral descriptions of decay and ruin. Ina time when I wanted to e anywhere but stuck in my house, reading Mexican Gothic transported me utterly. Highly recommended.

Mexican Gothic is a delightfully dark, creepy and flawlessly paced novel which is so suspenseful, captivating and so skilful, I’m in awe. The novel follows Noemí, a beautiful and quick witted socialite who is tasked by her father to find out the truth behind a bizarre letter sent by her cousin Catalina. In the bid to win his approval and freedom to attend the National university, Noemí accepts the task gladly. However, when she gets to High Place and meets her cousins new family, strange things keep cropping up, an odd set of rules, a buzzing coming from the walls, sinister nightmares and pulsing wallpaper…

One of my favourite things about this novel is the foreboding and dark atmosphere which is so incredibly rich and well crafted. From the first chapter I was hooked and I enjoyed the level of detail immensely; from the descriptions of Noemí’s clothes, to the foreboding landscape of High Place, it’s grounds and the interior of the house. Garcia is so skilled in the way she is able to create such a strong ambience and in such a succinct way, which is so effective. I especially enjoyed the way the passage of time is depicted in the novel, everything at High Place feels like it has lost it’s splendour and been ravaged by time and calamities which enhances the morose atmosphere. As a whole the novel feels very cinematic and I could picture it being an absolutely stunning film.

As well as the atmosphere itself lending itself so well to the Gothic feel and genre, the characters are also so well suited to this story. I think Noemí is a great choice to be the protagonist, she is underestimated by everyone around her due to her youth, beauty and perceived ‘flightiness’ but this underestimation works to her advantage as she unravels the mysteries of High Place and the Doyle family. There’s this one really great passage after a conversation with her father, where Noemí resents the fact that a woman is only thought or allowed to be one thing in society. There is no understanding that multi faceted women exist and you can be interested in parties and fashion and still be intelligent and academically inclined. I thought there was some great examination of social attitudes towards women at the time and some great character work there.

We have Virgil, Catalina’s husband who is cloaked in mystery and seduction, who begins to have a keen and undue interest in Noemí. Virgil is literally like a serpent, and anytime he was on the page I was on edge and could only breathe a sigh of relief once he was gone. I was also majorly creeped out by the ageing patriarch of the Doyle clan, Howard, trust me you have to read the book to see why, just trust me on this one. On the flipside, we have cousin Francis, who is shyer and more bookish, he is also the only member of the family who treats Noemí with kindness and is sympathetic to her cause. I liked that we had these male characters all being such diametric opposites to each other despite being from the same family, it was so interesting and made some points about toxic masculinity and privilege.

As well as representing this toxic masculinity and privilege, Moreno-Garcia also manages to touch upon racial inequality and colourism within the novel. The Doyles are preoccupied with race and genetics, in fact there is a particularly uncomfortable and fraught conversation about eugenics and a dig against Noemí’s darker complexion. There’s also the fact that the Doyles refuse to learn or speak Spanish despite settling down in Mexico which reinforces their ignorance and lack of regard for Mexico and it’s people. This ties in to the larger narrative in a VERY powerful way which makes it all the more important that the author chose to include this thread.

I really don’t want to include spoilers in this review so I’ll refrain from going into details but I really liked the way the story progressed and how perfect the pacing was. For me, pacing is always a big issue and it was done SO well here. I liked how bit by bit the truth of what’s going on is revealed and while I predicted some elements of the story, there were others which I didn’t expect at all. I think readers will be thoroughly creeped out, grossed out and sufficiently terrified so take from that what you will. I’m a fan of horror / thrillers through and through and even I was on the edge of my seat, scared to see where it would go.

Overall, I can’t speak any more highly of Mexican Gothic and Silvia Morena-Garcia’s writing. I can say with confidence that this is already one of my favourite books of the year and I implore anyone who is a fan of historical fiction and the gothic genre to check it out. You will not be disappointed.

*Review will be posted on my blog closer to publication time*

ARC provided by NetGalley.

The cover and the synopsis of the book had my attention right away and needless to say I expected to be sucked in from the very start however I felt like it took ages for the story to start and in the end it never got as spooky and scary as I had imagined. My own fault I suppose

I liked some of the characters and absolutely despised the rest of them all for good reason.

I read it in 2 days because I kept waiting for the good part to start.

I would recommend this book to thriller and horror lovers I guess. It isn't my most read genre so that could be another reason why I didn't love it.

All in all an entertaining enough story but could have done with a bit more happening.

After receiving a disturbing letter from her newly wed cousin Catalina, Noemi is sent by her father to investigate the mysterious goings on at the enigmatic High Place mansion. Set against the backdrop of misty Mexican countryside, Noemi soon finds herself embroiled in secrets and lies hundreds of years in the making.

This starts off very slow, with an atmosphere that creeps up on you gradually, as we follow Noemi from her decadent life in the city to the Mexican countryside. There's monosyllabic staff members, an isolated delapidated house with hidden secrets and even a couple of graveyards to help create this subtle overall feeling of suspense and tension. The pacing at the beginning is almost none existant, as nothing really happens for a good 60% of the book as the writing tries to focus on building this atmosphere and setting the scene. It takes a long time, and isn't always effective - at some points during the early stages I was tempted to set this aside because nothing was moving forward. We have Noemi having stilted conversations with High Place's inhabitants and visiting a couple of townspeople. That's it.

All of the people within High Place are also incredibly odd and unlikeable, including Noemi herself. She's perceived at the start as a vapid party girl, flighty in her persuit of men and changing ambitions. She's determined to exert her opinions on Catalina's husband Virgil and his sister Florence, undermining their rules within the household, while manipulating son Francis into doing her bidding. I will say that her character development does get better, particularly towards the end of the book, it just takes a long time to get there. Admittantly it helps that Virgil and Florence are awful, irredeemable characters.

Now we come to the last third of the book. I'm still not entire sure what I read in the last 30%. It got weird. And a hell of a lot more interesting than your bog standard gothic historical fare. After we get a big reveal and back story the tone and pacing of this completely changes. It gave me definate The Lie Tree vibes, with a subtle science fiction twist. It was completely unexpected, and welcomed, as the plot picks up immeasurably as the stakes get higher and higher for Noemi and her cousin. I can't help feeling however, that this is two completely separate books that struggle to mesh well together and more could have been done to integrate the tone of the latter half into the beginning. It's disjointed, and that's unfortunate as I enjoyed the last section of this so much more than the start.

Go into this blind, and go in expecting a slow build of atmosphere to a weird and truly bizarre ending. It's historical, but it's also really not, and I kind of love it for that.