Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Publisher – Jo Fletcher Books
Published – Out Now
Price – £16.99 Hardback £4.99 Kindle eBook
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 chic gowns and perfect lipstick are more suited to cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing, but she immediately heads to High Place, a remote mansion in the Mexican countryside, determined to discover what is so affecting her cousin.
Tough and smart, she possesses 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 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, 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, mesmerised by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind . . .
In about two miles of where I live are two haunted houses. Both Halls and also connected to the rich and powerful landowners of the time. Reading the amazing Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia I was made to reappraise why haunted houses tend to be stately homes - is it just because they’ve been around and lived in by generations so wrapped up in history; or I it perhaps deep down we all have a collective memory about those who once ruled the land and how the lords of the manor actually saw us as their servants and property. Moreno-Garcia adds to the list of strange gothic houses such as Manderley or Hill House the rotting hulk of High Place where secrets dwell and are about to be unearthed once more. A truly stunning read awaited.
In the Mexico of the 1950s we meet Noemi Taboada; a socialite and part of the new rich industrial class of the yet to decide who she wants to be as she reaches the end of college. But she is asked by her wealthy father to answer a distressing call from her cousin Catalina “He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me’ she leaves for the distant countryside and the site of an abandoned silver mind owned by the Doyle family. Here Catalina and her new husband Virgil now reside with his parents, plus younger shy brother Francis. Catalina is bed-ridden; the majority of the Doyles are very unhappy to see Noemi and Catalina is not quite making sense – one moment lucid and next believing the walls are talking. Noemi has to try and piece together what is going on and why the head of the family is so interested in her…the secrets of High Place are about to be revealed.
This is a brilliant taut gothic thriller that balances respect for the tradition and yet brings something fresh in the storytelling. Moreno-Garcia is brilliant at creating an ever-growing atmosphere of oppression and High Place is as much a character as the rest of the book. Strange, rotting, dark, silent and concealing the Doyle family secrets. Moreno-Garcia has created a story that starts off as something eerie but moves to oppressive and in the final blistering act to being something harrowing, nasty and empowering.
As counterbalance we have Noemi as the lead – rebellious, happy to do what she believes need to be done and unused to being told to keep silent at lunch, stop smoking and having no freedom as to her whereabout as the Doyles swiftly impose their rules upon her. Added to that dimension is race as the Doyles are originally from England and she gets subjected to various racist remarks and attracts the unwelcome attention of Catalina’s husband who loves her ‘exotic’ nature. A nasty murky web of intrigue is starting to attach itself to her and she is trying hard to find out the reason to help Catalina and herself. Noemi is the bright light in the dark corridors, but she has bad dreams and is starting to sleepwalk.
This then leads to the horror of the story and Moreno-Garcia really deliver this powerfully. This was a read where late at night strange noises while reading really made me jump. Beginning with unsettling dreams, moving walls and strange figures in the night or the fog make an appearance and these start appearing momentarily in the narrative to unsettle the reader and gradually take over the narrative so by the final third we are much more in a horror story than thriller. But what makes this tale really standout is the weaving of the other often non supernatural horrors – this tale explores sexual abuse, patriarchal control, capitalism and colonialism. Many in the Doyle family want everything for themselves and that hunger and desire is the true rotten heart of High Place placing the English Doyles as the representative for these themes is genius and really made me look again at why the haunted house has such a strange role in our history. Noemi takes up a battle against a family whose family symbol is the Ouroboros the snake forever eating itself – excellent symbolism for those who just want more power.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author I’ve now read several of their books over the last few years and each time found a different setting or exploration of genre from near future SF to telepaths in the early 20th century and never been disappointed. This time another wonderful exploration of gothic horror that both plays to the strengths of the story setting and yet creates a new tale for the 21st century that has a way of pointing out our own world. If you enjoy gothic thriller and horror, then this is a story I strongly recommend. This book will haunt you long after reading it.
