The Book Wench

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed 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.

Mexican Gothic was by far my favorite read of 2024. It was just such a mysterious and wonderfully written novel. I immediately fell in love with Noemi, Moreno-Garcia’s writing, and the beautifully macabre setting of High Place. Not necessarily the characters who live there or even the house itself, mind you, but the darkly gossamer way that Moreno-Garcia describes everything was just exquisite. I could literally gush for hours on how much I loved the book and the writing.

Noemi is meant to be a character that you hate to love. She is conceited, fashionable, selfish, and inexperienced in life. But she is also a young woman in 1950’s Mexico, a vastly different time and place to the present day. I loved her, no hate needed. She reacted to things in a believable manner, and just how someone with her background, in my opinion, would naturally react to the things she sees and learns at High Place. Just another thing that Moreno-Garcia got right.

If you have ever seen Crimson Peak, I would say without any doubt that this book gives off those sorts of vibes, especially regarding Noemi’s cousin, Catalina, who reminds me of Crimson Peak’s Edith, both in stature and with some of the things that transpire at High Place. What, exactly, those things are I’ll leave to you to find out. Mexican Gothic, however, is not a copy of Crimson Peak; it boasts its own mystery and incredibly rich history.

Moreno-Garcia did an incredible job fleshing out her cast of characters, from Noemi to Francis and Howard to Virgil. Each character had a distinct presence and necessity to the book. I never felt like anyone or anything was contrived or over-stretching their boundaries in terms of what their purpose was in the book.

My favorite part about the book, however, aside from Noemi, was Moreno-Garcia’s writing, specifically regarding how she describes High Place and all of the events that happened on the estate. Every word and descriptive phrase felt like it was chosen with such care to make sure that readers understood exactly what she was trying to convey. I felt so swept up in the language and honestly could find no fault in it.

While it’s a different period and place to Crimson Peak, I would recommend this book to any CP fans and other horror fans who love a beautifully written book.

A/N: As you may have noticed, I say in the review that this book was my favorite of 2024. I wrote the review shortly after I read it (and still feel just the same, if not loving it even more) but I didn’t have the guts to post the review (or anything on the blog) until recently. I hope that is okay.