“Mexican Gothic” is a beautifully written nod to the women who wrote horror before. From references to Rosemary’s Baby to The Yellow Wallpaper, Garcia lures the reader into a haunted house and lets the horrors unravel. After her father received a letter from her cousin, Catalina, she claimed that her new husband was poisoning her, the walls talked to her, and that she is a prisoner in this spooky mansion. He sends his daughter to check on her.

Noemi arrives at the mansion, and right away knows something is off. Catalina’s husband doesn’t want Noemi to see Catalina even though she was sent there to check on her. Virgil and Francis don’t want her there. And when she is allowed to visit her, Virgil has to be present. While staying at the house, Noemi begins to see women trapped in the wallpaper. The scent of the house becomes increasingly mustier. Soon, she begins to have visions and is trapped continuously in an almost somnambulistic state.

The pacing of the novel was perfect. It was slow and creepy, ramping up the tension with every chapter. It was very atmospheric, full of beautiful descriptions that made this play out like a movie in my head. It’s length, although it was eerie and slow, luring the reader into the story. It wasn’t too long of a story, and my god, was the pay off worth it at the end! Garcia did not waste words in this book. She told the story perfectly.