My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is touted to be the horror book of the year. A gothic novel that became all the rage and as a huge fan of this genre, I was itching to get my hands on this one. But sky-high expectations definitely come with a price. I am not really disappointed with the story but more with myself for having the wrong impressions.

Mexican Gothic has all the right ingredients for gothic horror novel. A huge dilapidated mansion, rumors about curses, creaky floorboards and moving walls, terrible nightmares and a neglected crematorium at its root. But the one thing I was totally not ready for was the sci-fi element woven thru the story and the gore about child eating monsters that was thoroughly revolting and extremely creepy.

The romance between Noemi and Francis was exquisite and the horror elements quite terrifying. The sci-fi aspect of the story can give nightmares to any reader and to experience Noemi’s terror induced incidents raises goosebumps. The author has used the atmospheric menace of the house amidst the mist and the different varieties of mushrooms giving a different vibe instead of the usual ‘things that can go bump in the night’.

Mexican Gothic is the perfect horror book for the month of Halloween for all readers who love this genre. As for readers like me, who love the old ghost haunting with a past and a historical house, this may not be the promised ‘out of the world book’.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed 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 Noemi’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. 

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.wordpress.com/; Amazon India, Goodreads, and Twitter.