Want to know what’s better than Christmas in July?
Dia de Muertos in July!
I don’t know about you guys but as we get closer to the start of the new school year, my mind tends to skip over August (the longest Monday Eve ever for a teacher) and starts thinking about all things creepy, evil, and undead. Bring on Halloween already, I say!
Book of the Month did a stellar job fulfilling my craving for skin-crawling haunted houses, demented families, and devious intentions for the month of July. I almost wanted to wait to read Mexican Gothic until the official Halloween season starts, but honestly, it’s been scary days for a while now, so there’s no better time!
Synopsis:
Noemi Taboada is a glamorous debutante from Mexico City, living the carefree and frivolous life of a young lady blessed with beauty and the deep pockets of a wealthy family. She spends her days flirting with handsome undergrads, attending lavish social events and debating which major might strike her fancy next (she’s already made her way though three unsuccessfully.)
Then Noemi’s father summons her services for a very different kind of venture. Noemi is tasked with traveling to a small town that harbors her cousin Catalina and her new husband at a mansion called High Place, after Noemi’s father received a disturbingly cryptic letter from Catalina that hints at mental instability.
Once at High Place, Noemi is unceremoniously made aware of the house rules: No smoking, No coffee, No talking during meal times, No driving into town alone, No hot showers..
Her times for visiting Catalina are policed and monitored scrupulously by the matron of the house, Florence, and the small snatches of conversation they are able to engage in leaves Noemi perplexed by the bizarre behavior of her cousin.
The patriarch of High Place, Howard Doyle, is a sickly and perverted old man who smells of rotted fruit and has a disturbing fascination with eugenics. The rest of the Doyle clan revolve around him as if he is the sun to their solar system and everything that happens in High Place is done with prime consideration being given to his whims.
Virgil, Catalina’s husband, is undeniably handsome, but Noemi feels both an inexplicable repulsion for him and an unsettling attraction. There’s something cold and sinister that lies beneath Virgil’s come-hither grin. Something that hints at disaster.
And then there is Francis. Pale, slight, kind Francis. The only Doyle who seems to fit the mold of the family the least. The only one Noemi sparks even a slight possibility of friendships with. The only one who may be able to help her uncover a mystery that could save Catalina’s life…
Strange, unsettling dreams haunt Noemi’s sleep and even stranger encounters with the Doyles have Noemi questioning her own sanity and grasp on reality in the daytime.
Is there a secret that the town harbors about this strange English family? Or is there something haunting the recesses of Noemi’s mind alone?
Mexican Gothic is all I could ask for and more from a skin crawling, gothic story. It reminded me a little of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, with the creepy mansion shrouded in tragedy, the secretive family who mistrust outsiders, and the mysterious deaths of more than one young bride.
Moreno-Garcia is a very talented story teller. She does a beautiful job of painting a picture of the physical and mental states of the characters throughout the book, as well as the grandiose and sinister image of High Place.
“The house loomed over them like a great, quiet gargoyle. It might have been foreboding, evoking images of ghosts and haunted places, if it had not seemed so tired, slats missing from a couple of shutters, the ebony porch groaning as they made their way up the steps to the door…”
-Mexican Gothic
As the reader becomes immersed in the story, the house deteriorates even further, the secrets that lurk beneath the floorboards and behind the disintegrating walls beginning to reveal themselves. A common image found throughout the house, on doorknockers and emblazed on wallpaper, is a snake eating its own tail.
This is called the Ouroboros. The Ouroboros is an ancient Greek symbol which represents eternal life or rebirth. It also happens to be the Doyle family crest. The significance of this image is very important to the creep-factor of the book. Another theme that pops up is the overwhelming amount of fungi that dots the grounds of High Place. If you know anything about mushrooms, they tend to grow as a result of the death of something else…*cue goosebumps.*
Unlike the protagonist in Rebecca however(who we never learn the name of (!!!!)), Noemi is a bad ass. She’s sassy, she’s quick with a comeback, and she is definitely not a pushover. All of her practice at doing her own thing throughout her life proves pretty useful in keeping a straight head.
A combination of a haunting, dark gothic tale and mythical fireside ghost story, Mexican Gothic is the perfect nightmare read for those who feel a thrill when they hear bumps in the night…
Get your copy at the Amazon link above! 😊
Happy & healthy reading!
Lexi 💜
