Synopsis:
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.   
 
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with 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 even 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 Noemí, 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, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

Review:
This book was recommended to me ages ago by my good friend and cover artist of both my books Pas de Deux and The Case Files of Alessandra Clement: La Llorona, Kostis. I did pick it up both in paper and then on kindle format, but it sat, waiting, waiting, waiting… until T. Kingfisher mentioned at the end of What Moves the Dead how amazing of a gothic novel it was so I had to immediately go to it.

This book has an irresistible story. From the beginning Noemí knows what she wants and is more than willing to say the right thing to twist the situation, yet she needs all her smarts and allure to try to deal with what is happening at High Place. Though Noemí is set up to be considered a brat and someone who takes advantage of people, there is great characterization to show that she isn’t the perfect partier that everyone thinks of her as. “But it isn’t like you should have to make up your mind about everything at twenty-two, she thought.” (Chapter 1, Page 11) The atmosphere was secluded, dark, spooky, and the house itself seemed as if there could be something wrong with it. The house almost seems like there may be something very reasonably wrong with it causing issues and yet, it seems that the mystery of the family and house must slowly be riddled out from various outside connections from the town or her own ideas entirely.

I absolutely loved how Noemí found herself caught up in various dreams and realizing just how much she really disliked someone, and the sleep walking that came with it. Many of the characters were set up to be unapproachable by the townsfolk and Noemí herself and that, in many ways, made them unlikable–which considering the family’s history is unsurprising. I loved the descriptions of the landscape and that there is a big cemetery involved in the sprawling estate. Everything about this novel was gothic, spooky, and utterly perfect. I did quite enjoy the ending even though originally I hadn’t thought I would have if that possibility came to fruition.

I highly recommend this book if you like Gothic Horror/Gothic Fiction, and enjoy a good creepy dark ambiance. Once you start it, you’ll find it hard to put down! I was raving about it for quite a while after I read it!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯