Book Review – Mexican Gothic

He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me.

When glamorous socialite Noemi Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it’s clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her.

Noemi’s chic gowns and perfect lipstick are more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she immediately heads to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin.

Tough and smart, she possesses 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 Noemi; and not 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, 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 Noemi digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. 

And Noemi, mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind . . .

My thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel.

This is actually the first novel from Moreno-Garcia that I have read, although I own Gods of Jade and Shadow, I haven’t read it yet. I was really excited to get stuck into her work, I have heard so many good things about her writing! This novel sounded like a super intriguing and eerie horror novel, and I was really in the mood for a novel like this when I picked it up. This worked out really well, because I absolutely loved this read, and it was exactly what I was looking for!

This novel has such a menacing and creeping evil feel to it, every single page was filled with this sense of menace, and I loved it! The author’s ability to create this feeling was very impressive, and I really liked being totally absorbed while reading this novel!

It is set in the 1950s in Mexico City, and the move to the mansion in its misty isolation was so well juxtaposed with this bustling city, it made it seem so much more extreme. The glow and shine of Mexico City was heightened by the gloom and darkness of High Place in the countryside.

This novel reminded me strongly of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It has a similar atmospheric feeling, and both authors handle the setting and the sense of menace with deftness. Rebecca is one of my favourite novels so I was more than happy to be reminded of it!

There is a very nice slow burn romance within this novel which was very tenderly created. I liked how the characters found each other in such a bleak house. It is a very soft, gentle romance, and I appreciated this, I liked that it wasn’t an important and prominent element of the story. It didn’t force itself to the front, it was allowed to grow and develop in the background.

The main character of the novel is Noemi, a rather spoiled city girl who travels to High Place to help her cousins who has recently married one of the residents of the house. I really liked Noemi a lot, yes she was spoiled and entitled but she was endearing and I couldn’t help but root for her against the malevolence of the house and its other occupiers. She was so fierce and cheeky. The descriptions of her clothing were so glamorous too!

Overall I loved this Mexican Gothic. It was eerie and gothic, and an excellent haunted house novel. The sumptuous writing style of the author only added to the enrapturing nature of the story!

Buy the books from Waterstones here (affiliate link)

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