Mexican Gothic ⭑⭑⭑
Genre: Horror
US Publication: June 30, 2020
Print: 301 pages
Audio: 10 hours 30 minutes
Confetti Rating: 3 stars
REVIEW:
If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to read a book because of its irresistible paper doll collection… I’d have a dollar. Just look at these beauties!
Okay, so maybe I had a few more motivations to pick up Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic. The cover (obviously). The horror genre, perfect for spooky Halloween reading season. The #ownvoices authorship during October National Hispanic Heritage Month. The 2020 Goodreads Choice Award win for Best Horror Novel (beating out the King). The planned Hulu-series adaptation (in early stages of development). The FOMO, because it seems like I’m the last person to have read the darn book.
Now that I have read it, the paper doll collection is still my favorite thing about it. I loved the premise - It’s 1950s Mexico, and high society Noemí goes to a big ol’ creepy house in the country to check in on her cousin who’s written to say she needs help. After a bit of a slog setting up the moodiest of moody moods, things get a little bit crazy and a whole lot gross. They also stayed pretty boring for this here reader.
I’m glad to have read it to finally know what the fuss is about. Moreno-Garcia is a gifted writer possessing a unique way with words. I just don’t think she’s the right writer for me. And with that, I’m off to print and play with some dolls and dresses.
PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí 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 Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí 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 Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’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 Noemí, 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 Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.