Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

 

Mexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Noemí Taboada visits her cousin Catalina at High Place, an old Victorian mansion high in the misty hills of the Mexican countryside. Her father has received a distressing letter from Catalina with cryptic messages and he thinks she may need psychiatric care. he sends Noemí, a society girl used to dating pretty boys and bantering with those in her circle, to visit Catalina and assess the situation.

Catalina moved to High Place after marrying a handsome, cold heir to a silver mine named Virgil who lives at High Place with his elderly father Howard Doyle, his aloof and proper aunt Florence, and his quiet and slight cousin Francis, along with three servants. When Noemí arrives she immediately feels unwelcome and learns this family has a thing with pure heredity, as in pure white English heredity, particularly that of their own family. All is not what it seems. The house is in decay and seems to have a mold problem. Catalins, kept in her room most of the time is listless and "unwell." Noemí learns from Catalina that the house is "haunted," that she hears voices and sees ghosts. Noemí is thwarted in her attempts to get Catalina a psychiatric evaluation, but she is aksed by her cousin to get her a draught from a woman in the village.

The gothic environment is heavy in this book, with cold and calculating characters appropriate for that type of genre. As Noemí begins to hear and see things for herself the secrets of High Place and the family's history are revealed. It is a low burn that ramps up about two-thirds of the way in. Some of the story seems fantastical and a suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy these elements of the story. Just what is this family up to? As the mystery is revealed, Noemí knows she needs to find a way to leave High Place, even though she is told the house will not let her leave. She gains an unwitting accomplish to achieve her scheme, one she falls in love with even though he is nothing like her type. In the end High Place falls and Noemí, Catalina, and Francis escape it.

This is a four-star book for me. It had incredibly vivid details and grossed me out more than once. The atmosphere is what sells the story, as well as the characters that inhabit High Place. It was almost like a V.C. Andrews novel in a lot of ways, which didn't turn me off in the slightest. The writing was good and held my interest, and once the plot ramped up I was dying to know what the deal was with the Doyles. Noemí at first seemed like an unlikely heroine, but she is revealed to be tough, intelligent and resourceful. I liked her banter and her wit. Really good read.