Leanne Olson

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia
Published September 7, 2021 by Tor Nightfire

Certain Dark Things was just a treat to read. I picked this one up because I loved Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and because the cover is stunning and gave me a bit of a Blade Runner feel. 

I haven’t read a vampire novel in ages — I was pretty sick of urban fantasy after reading a lot of it in the 90s/2000s. But Certain Dark Things is something different: a character-driven Mexican neo-noir vampire novel based in Aztec lore.

Moreno-Garcia’s alternate Mexico City is completely immersive, with complex, morally grey characters and a wonderfully fun twist on the mythology of vampires from around the world. It’s violent and gritty but very fun and intelligent, considering the impact of colonialism on the monsters of North America. Moreno-Garcia’s writing is so smooth and assured that even when she’s slightly info-dumping, I never got bored. I particularly loved that the tone is completely different from Mexican Gothic.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy for me to review.