Mexican Gothic

This was one I had been looking forward to checking out and frankly it ended up not being very appealing to me. The chapters were long and the plot was slow. I just never found myself very invested to the story or the characters. Frankly, i surprised myself because I almost always get too invested into my reads. I don’t think the plot was predictable by any means but I had sort of figured out where things were going so I wasn’t itching to figure out what was going on. I think my biggest hangup was Noemi. She wasn’t a character I particularly related to or liked so I was never emotionally connected. Overall, I thought the overall concept of this horror was terrifying and a crazy story, I could actually see it becoming a horror movie, so I can definitely see the intrigue for this story. it just wasn’t one that satisfied me.

I'm not sure what to give this...stars-wise.

I went in with the idea that this had the same vibe as Rebecca...one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE books. And yes, the secluded mansion home and the mystery surrounding the marriage and people at said mansion...but that is where the similarities END! So, with such expectations in my head, I didn't like the book very much. But, had I known nothing going in, would I feel differently? I don't know...

Also, without giving away too much, if you are squeamish, just walk away! It's not so much blood and guts as much as boils and rotting mouths. Yeaaaaaah. No, Thank You...

Overall, it was... ... ...fine. I think I would have really enjoyed the writing if I hadn't been so distracted by what was going on in the story. I prefer my Rebecca and could have done without all the very, very graphic descriptions.

Edited to add: This is a PERFECT description of the "gore" of the book that I found on the Goodreads page...

"Gore in the sense of bloody violence: none. But in the sense of bodily fluids ending up where you wouldn't want them? Yeah, that is part of the psychological horror."

The sexual assault and rape threat added a different kind of cringe to the narrative.

Mexican Gothic is a creepy tale that takes the mind on a colorful and grimy adventure to find out why Noemi's newlywed cousin sent a mysterious letter with a sketchy S.O.S. The author does a fantastic job of scratching all the itches for the gothic novel genre with impeccable wording, sensations and imagery. Her character development and pacing could use a little pick me up but overall this was an outstanding read.

Fun but silly.