Mexican Gothic (Moreno-Garcia) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
[T]he turn from mannered mystery to twisted horror will seem as inevitable as the nightmare logic of a Grimm fairy tale. Yet Mexican Gothic has an ending that turns Western fairy tales upside down. In the process of surprising us one last time, Moreno-Garcia proves that it’s possible to create a believable female protagonist who defies… the patriarchy of her time… and to fight for what she knows is a more righteous future.
Bethanne Patrick - Los Angeles Time


High Place is an ominous presence, and Moreno-Garcia uses its grim atmosphere to great effect…. But this is a novel about powerful women…. It’s as if a supernatural power compels us to turn the pages of the gripping Mexican Gothic. The true identity of the Doyles and the fate of these women is an intoxicating mystery that allows us, for a little while, to forget the horror story taking place in the real world during the summer of Covid-19.
Carol Memmott - Washington Post


[A] thoroughly enjoyable, thought-provoking novel…. There is a gradual rise of dread… [that] never quite falls off, even at the end, which I loved for its satisfying ambiguity; this is a novel that will leave you wary even after the last page.… This is Silvia Moreno-Garcia's greatness as a storyteller: She makes you uneasy about invisible things by writing around them…. Mexican Gothic is a pitch-perfect Gothic novel.
Jessica P. Wick - NPR


[This] romp through the gothic genre is delightfully bonkers.… [With its] debt to the nightmarish horror and ornate language of H.P. Lovecraft… [r]eaders who find the usual country house mystery too tame… won’t have that problem here.
Publishers Weekly


Noemí confronts the predestined, secretive pathos of the family, hoping to rectify its corruption. This original, well-paced novel from Moreno-Garcia has great gothic elements with a little VanderMeer creativity thrown in. —Tina Panik, Avon Free P.L., CT
Library Journal


A shiver-inducing tale…The ever-present imagery of twisting vines and snakes swallowing their tails blends with ghostly memories of death and disease to create a fascinating atmosphere of dark dreams and intrigue.
Booklist


Moreno-Garcia offers a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror, set in 1950s Mexico.… Fans of gothic classics like Rebecca will be enthralled as long as they don’t mind a heaping dose of all-out horror.
Kirkus Reviews