An independent woman called Noemí finds herself in a crumbling manor, trying to unravel a mysterious and sinister plot engulfing a dear family member. Strong-willed and intelligent, she doesn’t fit in with the brooding English family her cousin has married into. A dazzling aristocrat and nightmarish visions follow in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, which pits the city debutante against her cousin’s charismatic husband. If you couldn’t stop thinking about the plot of Mexican Gothic, you might like these ten novels that span the gothic, horrifying, and otherworldly.
1. Fever Dream by Samantha Schweblin
Still haunted by the eerie nightmares Noemí encountered in the Mexican Gothic book? You’ll be riveted by Argentine author Samanta Schweblin’s debut novel, Fever Dream. Here we find a young woman dying in a hospital bed somewhere in rural South America. A boy sits beside her, but who is he? As the two weave a
2. Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb
Did the haunting dreams in Mexican Gothic draw you in? Daughters of the Lake is a perfect follow-up. Newly divorced Kate Granger heads to the shores of Lake Superior to rebuild her life. Soon, she discovers the body of a woman. Kate has dreamed about this woman time and again—but who is she? When she takes
3. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
This collection of short stories by Mariana Enriquez explores the intersections of feminism, power, and the sociopolitical landscape. Like Mexican Gothic, this book serves up its share of chills and horrors. Whether dealing with fetishes or the darker episodes of human history, Enriquez knows how to tap into the
4. Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle
This futuristic thriller is set in a world where convicted murderers don’t go to prison but are instead sent to Jurassic times. Riddle introduces us to Adeline Anderson, a strong young woman whose inventor father has been forced to confess to a murder he didn’t commit. Adeline is confronted by danger and
5. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The best gothic books give us more than just heroines and visceral scares. They give us a window into morality and human possibility that is, dear reader, often the most terrifying thing of all. So it goes with this contemporary classic from Donna Tartt, where we meet a classics professor in New England who
Bonus Picks! Watch and Listen to These Titles Similar to Mexican Gothic
The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
Loved both Mexican Gothic and the horror classic The Devil’s Backbone? Meet The Orphanage. Directed by Guillermo del Toro’s longtime friend J.A. Bayona, the film follows Laura as she brings her children to visit her childhood home—which was once an orphanage for disabled children. We all know Laura’s made
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Based on the classic book by Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle tells a story of family secrets and hidden rituals set on an island in mid-century America. Like Mexican Gothic, this is the tale of a cousin trying to make sense of a sinister home. If you’ve read the book, you’ll appreciate the
