In one of my earlier reviews, I was disappointed in a book that I expected to be scary but it was decidedly not. Turns out, Mexican Gothic was almost exactly what I was looking for back then: not scary, absolutely not gory (thank goodness), but a hovering sense of dread throughout the entire novel. Put it in my veins!
Noemí Taboada is young, glamourous, and carefree. She is a wealthy debutante who is exploring what she wants to do with her future. Her family receives a strange, almost nonsensical letter from her newlywed cousin, Catalina. Noemí’s father doesn’t want to endure the social embarrassment of forcing Catalina to leave her new husband so Noemí is sent to her cousin to find out what’s going on.
From almost the first moment Noemí steps foot in her cousin’s new home, weird things are happening. The house itself is a bit rundown and moldy. The sister-in-law and servants are rude to her. The family eats their meals in silence and they get mad at her when she goes to town. Noemí has vivid, but very strange, dreams. Moreno-Garcia does an excellent job of making Howard, the father-in-law, a super creepy old man from his first introduction. Catalina’s husband, Virgil, seems normal at first but is quickly revealed to not be an ally. Catalina herself is clearly not well.
I loved the tension created by the limited power of a woman in the 1950s. I finished this before the recent disastrous Supreme Court decisions in the U.S. and found myself frustrated for Noemí in a way in which I thought I could not relate. My only complaint is, as the story went on, I was increasingly uncomfortable with the looming threat of sexual assault. That threat is mild compared to some other media I have encountered in the past. This might have become a plot point I just don’t have the stomach for anymore. Moreno-Garcia is a talented enough writer that I will seek out more of her work though. In fact, there was an exerpt in my paperback copy for Gods of Jade and Shadow that has me quite interested.
ETA: The pup in the pic is Echo. I’m laughing to myself that he appears to have no eyes. This dog makes the weirdest faces and I have such a hard time getting decent pictures of him.