Book of the month for January was Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The Big Review is below.
***Big Reviews are written from the point of view that you have read the book. If this is not yet you, bookmark the page and come back once you have***
Mexican Gothic – the blurb
He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me.
When glamorous socialite Noemí Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging to be rescued from a mysterious doom, it’s clear something is desperately amiss. Catalina has always had a flair for the dramatic, but her claims that her husband is poisoning her and her visions of restless ghosts seem remarkable, even for her.
Noemí’s more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she heads immediately to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin. She’s 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 is fascinated by Noemí; and not 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 wants to help – but he 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.
Magic Mushrooms
I’ll be honest I went into this book expecting (hoping) for vampires and Virgil had all the potential for ‘hot Dracula’. Howard was totally the creepy old Dracula with the red cape (thinking Bram Stoker’s Dracula here, I am after all nearly 40). So I was surprised to find out there was no blood sucking but instead mushrooms! Yep, life prolonging, body snatching mushrooms. Yet Moreno-Garcia pulled it off. Because everyone has heard of magic mushrooms hallucinogenic properties and alongside the body snatching Moreno-Garcia weaved intoxication, madness and all too real dreams.
Mexico with it’s folklore was a perfect setting and gave a really original slant on the traditional gothic tale. Rebecca is one of my favorite books and High Place with it’s previous mistress very much echoed it. Cut off from the town, from the world it was at times claustrophobic. Noemi was no faint of heart heroine, she was very much aware of her effect on men and used it to her advantage. I do think though the connection between Noemi and Francis could have been developed at bit more. When faced with a house of truly horrible people it was easy to see Noemi would find him an ally but a full blown love affair? Speaking of horrible people, I found Howard truly repulsive. The scene in which he poured black bile into Noemi’s mouth turned my stomach. How vividly he was written. Yuck!
I really enjoyed Mexican Gothic and found it a perfect start to my reading year. Strongly recommended.
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with the Book Of The Month choices try answering the Book Club questions published every month. Just search in the footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. A new book is chosen every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on February’s book of the month soon.
