It’s that wonderful time of the year, again! That time of the year when virgins light black-flame candles, a stranger calls and asks you What’s your favorite scary movie?, and thrill seekers dive harder than usual into all things creepy. If you are one of those people, trust me when I say that you need to check out Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Moreno-Garcia, with her brilliant writing, gifts us a novel riddled with disturbed characters, a slow-burning sense of terror, and something to say.

After receiving a haunting letter from her cousin, Catalina, Noemí Taboada is implored to pay her a visit at High Place, the familial estate of Virgil Doyle, Catalina’s husband. Though arriving with the good intention of seeing to her cousin’s health, Noemí can’t help but feel a strong sense of unwelcome from the rest of the Doyle family. But even in the coldest and darkest of places one can find allies, as Noemí does in Francis Doyle (Virgil’s diffident cousin) and the locals of El Triunfo, who believe High Place is cursed. With the help of her allies, Noemí slowly pieces together what might be causing Catalina’s ailment. Could her cousin’s wavering health and unnerving ramblings of ghosts be connected to the unsettling past and mysteries hidden within the walls of High Place?

Keeping to the promise of her title, Garcia-Moreno, with her vivid writing style, presents us with a story that is truly gothic, at times reminiscent of classics like Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Suspense filled me as I followed Noemí through the dark and damp rooms of High Place, experienced her haunting dreams, and listened to the stories of the local healer, Marta Duval. This suspense climaxed to a feeling of utter terror as the final connection was made between this grand estate, its unsettling past, and Catalina’s haunting apparitions.

Along with her wonderful imagery, Garcia-Moreno also gives us some well-rounded characters, especially Noemí. Noemí is an intelligent, quick-witted girl who is dedicated to her pursuits but is frequently hindered by a vainness in her character. This contrasts well with the Doyles who possess, in their individual ways, a dark sense of traditionalism and arrogance—with the possible exception of Francis, whose character is timid, slightly naïve, but just as suspicious.

Mexican Gothic, with its superb writing and characters, is a terrific novel that can be enjoyed at its steady pace, like a burning candle on a dark night. And one that can be read into in various ways. Mexican Gothic—in between its lines—illustrates the horrific and pervasive effects of colonization that are very much alive in the mentalities and behaviors of the characters within its pages and of the societies and people beyond them.

While I don’t consider myself to be well-read in the horror/thriller genre, I have seen many movies and listened to a number of podcasts that I am rarely surprised by the ending of a horror/thriller story (though I still enjoy them). That said, the second half of this book took me through a ride I was not expecting and will never forget, and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

Happy Reading!