Certain Dark Things

From Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic, comes Certain Dark Things, a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.

Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in.

Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?

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272 pages

Average rating: 6.46

57 RATINGS

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MaryHav

Mar 26, 2024

8/10 stars

I've had mixed success with SMG books. I LOVED "Mexican Gothic" and but had a hard time making it through "Velvet Was the Night". Well, I'm back in love with SMG! I'm a bit of a snob with my vampires so I'm always a little leery of just any vampire book. But SMG brought allllllll the vampire types with a nice dash of folklore and science fiction? This book is considered science fiction in my library but I didn't really see that. Dystopian maybe but sci-fi? Maybe the dog's enhancements - that was about it. Yes to so many things: Atl as an Aztec vampire, Bernardino, the complexity of the world after vampires were discovered. Even Domingo's story was intriguing. Freaking loved this entire book. SMG doesn't really do series (or hasn't yet) but I would be interested in more of this world. There's a lot that can be explored here.

cavenug

Mar 15, 2024

5/10 stars

Poorly written. Alot of useless blank spots that dont contribute to the story. Some story continuity was off. I could see how the DF with some odd occult lean like the one here could be a neat world for a cyberpunk story. She made it fairly clear this was only published because the publisher started a horror line and had push out content quick. Its ok. A weekend read, if that long. Very light, no real heavy topics unless mentioned in passing. I did find her trying to describe fake violence to be a bit obsessive on the violence part. Im glad i dont fantasize about that stuff

1SOLOCHOLO

Feb 25, 2024

7/10 stars

Moreno-Garcia presents an intriguing premise with its unique take on vampires in Mexico City. While the world-building is rich and the concept is fresh, the pacing at times feels uneven, and some character development could be deeper. Overall, it offers a fresh perspective on the vampire genre but might not fully satisfy all readers.

oh_let3

May 16, 2023

6/10 stars

3.5 -- i tend to feel like the vampire genre has been played out a bit but this story brought a refreshing spin to the genre. a unique set of lore wrapped in a pulp noir thriller.

ammareadabook

Aug 04, 2022

i really enjoyed this.

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