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A review by joyceheinen
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
“Mexican Gothic” is a mix of a traditional folklore and feminine bravado and has an aftertaste. With this story, author Silvia Moreno-Garcia won the GoodReads choice award for best horror novel.
The story is set in 1950s Mexico. It’s a classic haunted house story with all the elements to go with it. An old mansion, a troubled family, secrets and mystery. Noemi Taboada receives a disturbing letter from her cousin Catalina, who lives in this mansion called High Place, with her new husband. She writes she is being poisoned, she hears whispers in the night and believes the house is haunted. Only Noemi can save her, so she sets ou for High Place to find out what is going on.
I always love a creepy, gothic setting. This book isn’t very innovative within the gothic genre; it follows the well-known paths. Which makes it a tad predictable. But Moreno-Garcia does something with the plot, by putting in some nice twists on a classic genre.
The atmosphere is very present, you constantly have this eerie, ominous feel. Which is mostly because of the great scene setting in the book. You can picture the mansion very easily. I love a story with a strange family that has secrets, this was very well done.
I do believe the book went on a tad too long. There was this really exciting part in the book, that felt action-packed. After that, you still have a big chunk of the book to go. This part feels a bit dragging and that last part could’ve been a bit shorter.
Even though the book never really gets scary, the details are sometimes a bit gruesome and gory. “Mexican Gothic” is a classic haunted house story that colors within the lines, but adds some new elements. The atmosphere is the best part of the book. Although the story is not quite balanced and that last part dragged on a but too long, I did enjoy “Mexican Gothic”. Anyone who likes a nice gothic horror story has the potential to enjoy this.
The story is set in 1950s Mexico. It’s a classic haunted house story with all the elements to go with it. An old mansion, a troubled family, secrets and mystery. Noemi Taboada receives a disturbing letter from her cousin Catalina, who lives in this mansion called High Place, with her new husband. She writes she is being poisoned, she hears whispers in the night and believes the house is haunted. Only Noemi can save her, so she sets ou for High Place to find out what is going on.
I always love a creepy, gothic setting. This book isn’t very innovative within the gothic genre; it follows the well-known paths. Which makes it a tad predictable. But Moreno-Garcia does something with the plot, by putting in some nice twists on a classic genre.
The atmosphere is very present, you constantly have this eerie, ominous feel. Which is mostly because of the great scene setting in the book. You can picture the mansion very easily. I love a story with a strange family that has secrets, this was very well done.
I do believe the book went on a tad too long. There was this really exciting part in the book, that felt action-packed. After that, you still have a big chunk of the book to go. This part feels a bit dragging and that last part could’ve been a bit shorter.
Even though the book never really gets scary, the details are sometimes a bit gruesome and gory. “Mexican Gothic” is a classic haunted house story that colors within the lines, but adds some new elements. The atmosphere is the best part of the book. Although the story is not quite balanced and that last part dragged on a but too long, I did enjoy “Mexican Gothic”. Anyone who likes a nice gothic horror story has the potential to enjoy this.