Mexican Gothic

I love this book. Very well-paced and suspenseful.

I rarely read horror but I seem to be on a bit of a horror bender at the moment, and picked this up to continue the ride. My initial thoughts are that it's quite disturbing and I both love and am afraid of this book!Set in 1950, Noemi lives in Mexico City, enjoying the parties, games and the flirting with handsome heirs to vast companies. When her cousin Catalina sends a telegram saying her new husband is trying to poison her, Noemi sets off to investigate her cousin's strange claim. Trekking across the Mexican countryside, Noemi arrives at High Place, a Victorian-style manor house that lords over a small town once famed for its silver mine. All that remains of the silver is Catalina's husband's family, the Doyles, and a few silver trinkets. Unwelcomed by the Doyles, Noemi finds her cousin has become a nervous wreck - making claims the walls are talking to her and her husband Virgil is trying to poison her - and vows to stay with her to keep her company. But as Noemi investigates her cousins claims, she unwittingly uncovers dark mysteries surrounding the Doyles and their silver mine. The more she scratches at the mysteries, the deeper Noemi begins to fall into the same dark trap as Catalina.This is NOT my usual read, however I'm lately taken by creepy houses/towns with creepy histories and this definitely delivers. It's a bit of a slow burn to begin with, but it absolutely knocks it out of the creepy park about 3/4 of the way through and looking back, it's not possible to do that without the slow setup.What I loved most about this book was the time period and the setting. The author describes everything so richly I had no trouble picturing it. Noemi also has several disturbing dreams and they too were handled really well - the creepiness of this book is delivered in the writing. Everything is so easily pictured and I think that's why I both love and am afraid of this book.It's honestly a gem and you should give it a go!

Set in Mexico in the early 1950s, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novel 'Mexican Gothic' focuses on beautiful socialite, Noemi, who finds herself travelling to a remote mountainside estate after receiving a desperate letter from her recently married cousin, Catalina, who thinks her new husband, Virgil Doyle, is trying to poison her. When she arrives at High Place, a crumbling gothic mansion, Noemi meets the Doyle family, who are of English origin and all of them rather unusual characters. The handsome, cool and very collected Virgil tells Noemi that Catalina is merely suffering from a fever caused by a bout of tuberculosis and that Noemi need not worry herself about her cousin, but when Noemi tries to investigate further, she finds herself stonewalled by Virgil and the rest of the family - apart from the shy and gentle Francis, the youngest member of the family, who becomes very attracted to the lively and confident Noemi. As Noemi spends more time at High Place, the strangely menacing atmosphere begins to affect not only her waking hours, but also her dreaming hours and before long Noemi is having violent and macabre nightmares which seem too horribly real to be merely dreams. As time passes, and Catalina shows signs of acute mental distress, Noemi becomes convinced there is something rather sinister going on behind the scenes at High Place - but will she be able to discover what that is before something very unpleasant happens?This story is one that I can only describe as an incredible gothic romp - and, by incredible, I mean it is just not credible. It is true that I initially became caught up in the story and I enjoyed the author's descriptions of High Place with its unsettling atmosphere and its proximity to an eerie, mist-enshrouded cemetery, but this tale was just too far-fetched for me to really take on board and it became even more unbelievable as the story progressed. I have to say that I'm quite easily scared, but I'm frightened by things that I believe could possibly happen and not those which seem altogether too bizarre, so instead of finding myself "mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place" (as promised by the 'blurb') I actually found it almost comical in places - especially when amongst all the gory descriptions provided by the author, Ms Moreno-Garcia takes time out to describe Noemi's fashionable clothing for the day. That's not to say that there weren't parts to this story which held my attention and, as already mentioned, I enjoyed the atmosphere created by the author (and the cover on the book is gorgeous), but this was all a bit too fantastically bizarre for me and the book is now off to a friend who reads fantasy novels and who I feel will enjoy this more than I did.2.5 Stars.

Over the last few months I have read quite a few positive reviews for the novel, set in 1950s Mexico, at an estate linked to an erstwhile British-run silver mining company, high in the mountains. The building is text book spooky Victorian and the family members are an eclectic mix of curious individuals, who are each leading a strange life, incarcerated in their spookily atmospheric surrounds, a long way away from civilisation. Part Hammer Horror, part Addams family – or as the Guardian newspaper puts it – Lovecraft meets the Brontës in Latin America. The setting is perfect for the storyline and evoking this ghostly and atmospheric backdrop is something the author does superbly well. And. There are plenty of comparisons to Jane Eyre.I confess that this took me out of my comfort zone, I am not naturally drawn to the gothic/horror genre but I have to say it was the cover that swung me in the book’s favour; that, and also because it was set in Mexico. Just see, the power of the book cover ad location!Catalina is living with her husband Virgil Doyle, in the misty mountains near El Triunfo in the family mansion, where patriarch Howard Doyle is still wheezing away his days on his looming death bed. The family have mined the silver in the area for several generations. Catalina has sent a letter to her cousin Noemí’s family in Mexico City and Noemí is despatched to check on the health and well-being of Catalina. It seems that she might be experiencing psychological disturbance.Noemí arrives and almost immediately a shiver runs down her spine. It is a dank and dreary building, and the household is ruled with an iron fist (absolutely no speaking over dinner), with sharp-tongued Florence as at the helm.As Noemí delves deeper, she discovers all kinds of horrors and mysteries – and death.It is a reflective storyline, leaving the reader to ponder whether the house is sick or whether the sins of the ancestors – colonisers plundering the land for its resources – are being visited upon this generation.I was enthralled by the first third of the book, the writing and storytelling fully drew me in. Thereafter it levelled out for me. The longer she stays, the more Noemí sinks into the bowels of the sinister clutch of the house and its occupants. She starts to sleep walk, apparently, and the blur between reality and ghostly adventures starts to add confusion to her days. Soon thereafter it goes into more otherworldly realms. This is not my genre of choice and sometimes one just needs to step out of one’s comfort zone and expand one’s horizons. In many ways I am very glad I have read it. The New Yorker says its addictive prose “..is as easy to slurp down as a poisoned cordial…” It is indeed!

‘Crimson Peak’ (brilliant film) meets ‘A Cure For Wellness’ (terrible film), but make it Mexican.The only redeeming feature of this book was the fact that for once that the main character is in their twenties and not their teens 🙄Very forceful and cliche with the spookiness:-Fog.-Haunted House on top of a hill.-Minimal electricity causing need for intricately detailed candelabras-Old, creepy men who look like vampires/ zombies-Furniture covered in white sheets,-Creaky doors and floorboards,-Old, mouldy libraries,-Rooms and furniture covered in dust. -Graveyard...All of that before page 47! 🙄 This made the book feel extremely tacky for me.And that ending... the “twist” on why the house is creepy.....what a pile of crock!

I have so many feelings about this book.I will start by saying that love gothic novels. This has all the trappings of a perfect gothic novel - creepy house, a distressed cousin sending an ominous letter, a strange, unsettling family and a lot of creepy secrets. But it's also so much MORE than that. It was unique and gripping, bringing so many new ideas but blending them seamlessly into an old formula.Noemi is a very strong character and I absolutely adored her. She's feisty and passionate and intelligent. She's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of Catalina's letter and is loyal and brave. She's so much more than she seems when we are introduced to her at the beginning of the novel, and she's the gothic heroine that I've always needed. She refuses to be anything but what she is.The setting of High Place has a feeling of overwhelming heaviness. It's permeated by a miasma of despair and dominance over it's occupants. Its unsettling, hostile and strange. It's covered with damp, decay and full of the uncanny. It's the perfect setting for this book, and I wouldn't have been able to set foot in it. The atmosphere of this book and house are so deeply entwined, and it was so incredibly well written!Mexican Gothic is filled with horror in so many ways. There are some disgusting descriptions of horrible things that I felt almost ill reading (and they followed me into my dreams, and I NEVER get affected by horror or gore in books usually) which were beautifully written despite the nauseating images! The book also has some very different moments that made me sick to my stomach- there's definitely triggering content in here, that at times was difficult to read, but it also added a whole new level of horror and awfulness to the story.There are so many things I want to say about this book but can't because almost everything is a spoiler, but it is incredible. I honestly loved this book so much. It was incredibly written, gripping, tense and had an incredible gothic heroine in Noemi, as well as some other fascinating characters. The setting was atmospheric and creepy and the book had an overwhelming sense of mystery and wrongness. If you like your books creepy and unsettling, your characters strong and well written with a touch of gothic horror, then you NEED to read this book!