Mexican Gothic

By Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "It's Lovecraft meets the Bront s in Latin America, and after a slow-burn start Mexican Gothic gets seriously weird."--The Guardian

ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME - WINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD - NOMINATED FOR THE BRAM STOKER AWARD

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, The Washington Post, Tordotcom, Marie Claire, Vox, Mashable, Men's Health, Library Journal, Book Riot, LibraryReads

An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes "a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror" (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noem 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 Noem knows little about the region.

Noem 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 Noem ; and not even 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 Noem , 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 Noem digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

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

"It's as if a supernatural power compels us to turn the pages of the gripping Mexican Gothic."--The Washington Post

"Mexican Gothic is the perfect summer horror read, and marks Moreno-Garcia with her hypnotic and engaging prose as one of the genre's most exciting talents."--Nerdist

"A period thriller as rich in suspense as it is in lush '50s atmosphere."--Entertainment Weekly

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 052562080X
• ISBN13: 9780525620808
• Release Date: June 2021
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

This book felt like a fever dream!

I really enjoyed this book but it was so weird. Many times throughout I was like “wtf am I reading?” in the best possible way. It keeps you wondering what is actually going on in that house.

Loved it!

Science, magic, and gothic romance walk into a derelict mansion, but will our heroine walk out? Great suspense and a clever twist, I enjoyed it immensely for it's originality mixed with old tropes of the genre.

Was Ok

Pretty good read started off alittle boring and went right into interesting.But a one time read for me.

Book has writing all over

I just got my book in today, I either paid for good or very good condition. It's not necessarily in bad shape, but it has writing (in pencil) literally all over. Tons of underlines and circling and notes everywhere. It just really takes away the value of the book and it's honestly just really annoying. I'm glad it's at least in pencil so I can erase it but like I said it's just really annoying lol

Such an enjoyable read!

I went into this book not knowing what to expect since it was my first time delving into this particular niche of horror, but after reading it I can say that I'm hooked! While it felt a small bit slow at the very beginning, once things started to pick up I found myself itching to pick it back up and resume reading every time I had to put it down!

Scary Good

Without spoilers; careful not to consume mushrooms in copious amounts.

Was a great book to fall back into love with reading!

Exploring more genres as i feel i stagnanted with YA novels (nothing wrong with that!) and i did NOT want to put this down. A little uncomfortable part for me personally (maybe 14+ as i could see myself having read something similar in high school) but the book overall was absolutely fantastic!

A Perfect Spooky Season Read

This was EXACTLY what I was looking for when I was trying to find some fall reads. Spooky without being grotesque. Hints of Romance and Body Horror.

Mexican Gothic brought my leisure reading back to life

Truly a magnificent, eerie, inventive gothic horror novel with incredible, complex characters and a vivid sense of place and time. Written with an evident and rare depth of knowledge and care about plot, theme, and writing as a craft. Definitely some trigger warnings to look up, but this isn't just another horror novel out for shock factor. There's thought and care behind every plotpoint. Moreno-Garcia knows the importance writing has in the world, the impact it can have, and she has crafted something masterful and poignant and dare I say deeply healing. She looks trauma in the mouth rather than simply accept a plagued trojan gift horse that could rot any society down to its core--even as it threatens to do so to our very own.

Quick read

Creepy! Lots of twists and turns. Never saw that ending coming!