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jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Fast-paced crime novel from the shape-shifting author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I’ve read one of her books about ancient Mexican gods (Gods of Jade and Shadow) and one that’s a creepy gothic novel of phantasmagoric evil (Mexican Gothic), and now this. She’s an amazing author and I want to read everything she’s written.
This one takes place against the endless desert, sky, and sea of Baja California where multilingual Viridiana spends her time giving tours to the occasional tourist and helping out at her mother’s store. She’s hired on as the secretary for a wealthy American, his young wife, and her brother, and nothing is really as it appears. Her employer is fairly straightforward but the two younger members of the rented house are harder to read. It’s clear there’s a lot of tension in the house and then everything falls apart.
A tense and clever story of a resourceful young woman who will do whatever it takes to escape her small town.
This one takes place against the endless desert, sky, and sea of Baja California where multilingual Viridiana spends her time giving tours to the occasional tourist and helping out at her mother’s store. She’s hired on as the secretary for a wealthy American, his young wife, and her brother, and nothing is really as it appears. Her employer is fairly straightforward but the two younger members of the rented house are harder to read. It’s clear there’s a lot of tension in the house and then everything falls apart.
A tense and clever story of a resourceful young woman who will do whatever it takes to escape her small town.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism