Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Synopsis:

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

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin, Noemi Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside, unsure what she will find.

Noemi is un unlikely resucer : She's a glamorous debutante, more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But shes also tough, smart, and not afraid: not of her cousin's new English husband, a stranger is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems fascinated by Noemi, and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi's dreams with visions of blood and doom. 

Noemi's only ally in this inhospitable place is the family's youngest son. But he too may be hiding something dark. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place, as Noemi discovers when she begins to unearth the stores of violence and madness.

Mesmerized by this terrifying yet seductive world, Noemi may soon find it impossible to save her cousin - or even escape the enigmatic house. 

Isn't that cover amazing? Tell me you didn't want to recreate that cover as soon as you saw it and I will tell you that you are lying. It's amazing!

So, this was my top pick for my July Book of the Month (click HERE for discount off your 1st box) . I was excited because 

1. The cover looked beautiful. I know they say Never judge a book by its cover, but when its this beautiful, you cant help it.

2. I had never read a gothic suspense novel before.

3. It had "Mexican" in the title. This book is related to MY culture. 

So, we meet Noemi. She is a Mexican socialite in 1950's Mexico City. Her dad calls her in to discuss her cousin, Catalina who her parents raised because Catalina lost both of her parents rather young. He was worried about her because she sent a frantic letter to them about her newlywed husband trying to poison her.

Dang, right off the bat, there's drama. This makes for an interesting start. He tells her he already contacted her husband,Virgil Doyle but feels like it wouldn't be right for he himself to go down there to check things out. He wants to send Noemi down there to check on her and if there's anything wrong, she needs to bring her home. Noemi's father feels there is something wrong with Catalina's mental state.

Now, my 1st thought when I read this was … Mexican's worried about mental state? In the 50's? Seems a little strange to me. I didn't grow up in Mexico, but even in the US, even now, I feel like mental health isn't talked about enough. So, for him to automatically seek out medical treatment for his niece seemed weird to me.

Anyways, back to the story. She gets to the house and its creepy. Actually,  I don't even think CREEPY is the right word to describe it. What's worse than creepy? Eerie? Disturbing? Sinister? All of the above, my friend. 

The house looks gross. It hasn't been updated in years. Its very dark and there's no light. And its also to remain very quiet. Apparently Uncle Howard, the head of the house is very old and near death and requires the house to be quiet.

The longer that Noemi stays there, the more she learns about the house. As I'm reading, I start to get a mix of "The Amityville Horror" and "The Skelton Key" vibes. Have you watched those movies? AVH with Ryan Reynolds 😍 and TSK with Kate Hudson?

Noemi starts getting these crazy, lucid dreams. There has to be something in this house. With Florence, the house manager if you will and Uncle Howard's niece who keeps up with house, she makes it very difficult for Noemi to get any real alone time with to figure out what is wrong.

Her only glimpse of hope is befriending Francis, Florence son, and Virgil's cousin. He seems to be the most level headed of everyone the lives at High Place, which by the way is the name of the estate. 

As time goes on and Noemi spends more time at High Place, things get stranger and stranger. Along with the crazy dreams, everything feels off about the place. Something is not right and Noemi cant seem to put her finger on it. 

High Place seems to be a creepy character, too. The secrets that get revealed later on throughout this book are very hard for me to swallow. Its was just gross. High Place was gross and gorey. The details really put me there, as disturbing as that is cause it just seemed so gross.

At the end of this book, I found it a little disturbing. It wasn't really my cup of tea. The goriness grossed me out that I don't know if I will pick up another gothic novel. The build up to the twists wasn't really something that I enjoyed either. I felt like it took too long. It did take me about a week to finish because I kept putting it down and didn't find it intriguing enough to pick it up again.

MY RATING

⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Now, here comes my favorite part of every post, the discussion questions. I got these questions off of LitLovers.com

1. How would you describe Noemi Taboada, the heroine of Mexican Gothic? As the novel progresses, in what ways does Noemi defy expectations of her image as a privileged socialite with which the story opens?

👹I didn’t expect this rich privileged socialite to turn into such a bad ass boss. She did what she had to do to do the job her father trusted her and sent her down for. She didn’t take no for an answer and continue to learn about the family and house to make her plan for her and Catalina to escape the evil family and house. 

2. Noemi's cousin Catalina has claimed that High Place "stinks of decay, brims with every single evil and cruel sentiment." Is this a melodramatic hyperbole… or an apt description of High Place? How would you describe the Doyle county manor?

👹 The description Catalina used was very accurate. The place was a direct effect of the years of horror that happened there. To the suspicious deaths to the incest and more. It’s down right frightening. 

3. (Follow-up to Question 2) How would you describe the Doyle family, both past and present? Consider Howard, Virgil, and Francis. Also, Catalina? Is she a sterotypical damsel in distress?

👹 The only one I had hope for was Francis. He was the only one who seemed genuine about helping Noemi even if it didn’t always seem that way. He knew the ins and outs of what this creepy house. As far as Howard, just reading about him gave the creeps. It’s sent shivers up and down my spine. Creepy old man, yuck. Virgil was your typical narsassistic asshole. We’ve all know one who thinks they are greater than God.  

4. If you're a gothic fiction fan (think Daphne du Maurier, Emily Bronte, or Mary Shelley), pick out some of the gothic elements that author Moreno-Garcia incorporates into her story. At what point, however, does gothic evolve into horror?

👹 This is my first gothic novel so I can’t really provide much more insight.

5. What do you make of Noemi's lurid dreams of Virgil. She dreams of him at night but finds him repugnant by day. What is going on?
  

👹 That was this family’s privileged way of manipulating her. Which is unfair and creepy. They knew what they were doing and it’s disturbing.

At the end of this novel, I’m not sure if I’ll ever pick up another gothic novel. It wasn’t quite my cup of tea. The gore and horror grossed me out, and I’m not sure if that’s something I want to relive. Don’t get me wrong. I love suspense and thrillers, but the gore didn’t suit me. Have you read this book? What did you think ? Leave me a comment and let me know! 

Until next time...... ☮️ 

Next book:

Faking Ms. Right by Claire Kingsley