Review:
Certain Dark Things is an alternate history set in Mexico City, a fresh take on vampire lore, with substantial world-building and exploration of global vampire lore. The plot maintained a quick pace, a thrilling atmosphere of Mexican crime and vampire lore. Unfortunately, the ending felt flat, a little sudden and under-developed. Despite this, Certain Dark Things was a great read.

A highly anticipated novel promising crime elements, horror and vampires. Certain Dark Things was a refreshing exploration little known vampire lore. A great read for anyone who enjoys vampire stories, horror and dark fiction. A recommended read!

Summary:
Certain Dark Things is an alternate history where the existence of vampires has become well-known and governments taken measures to control, destroy or contain the threat they pose. Mexico is run by drug cartels and violent gangs, the warring vampire clans at the apex but only Mexico City is a vampire free zone. Or so the police force, much of the population and government think. When Atl escapes the destruction of her own vampire clan, an ancient Aztec vampire race who were warrior priestesses and flees south to Mexico City, she brings another clan of vampires on her trail wanting vengeance in the form of her death. Unable to survive any other way in a city where she is prey instead of the predator, Atl recruits Domingo, a roughened street kid about her own age, honest and dependable to be her ‘Renfield’. But soon Atl and Domingo rely more heavily on each other than a vampire and servant should. Only together can they hope to survive Mexico City, the violent street gangs, the police force and the vampires seeking Atl.

Since the explosive success of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, readers have been blessed by reprints of some of her earlier work. When recommending her to friends i often try to explain that she's a bit like Alfred Hitchcock. I mean, not the white man part, or the slightly sadistic ******* who liked to torture his blond leading ladies. (not that Moreno-Garcia doesn't torture her readers with her twists and turns, but we honestly love her for it). What I love about Hitch is that he seemed to set himself certain challenges with his filmmaking. Who else would make an entire movie set in one single room for example? What makes me think Moreno-Garcia is similar is the fact that every title she writes is different and unique. From body-horror and abjection, to journey's to the underworld, to fantasies of manners, and now vampires.

However, these aren't just any old bloodsuckers, these are vampires with a difference. In a futuristic Mexico City filled with Neo-noir violence, and a history of powerful vampire gangs having taken over in the past before their expulsion from the entire city, the story begins with a young street kid hustling to make a few dollars, and a beautiful woman who offers him a strange bargain. Atl has her own struggle to survive, despite her preternatural power. Not only is she hiding from anti-vampire authorities, but she is also being hunted by another species of vampire. When she meets Domingo, all she wants is his silence.....and his blood.

If you love vampire fiction, or if you loved Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun, or the Obsidian and Blood books by Aliette De Boddard, the you will love Certain dark Things. The richness of the many varied vampire mythologies meets the depth of Atl's Aztec culture, the Naive yet cynical Domingo, and the beautiful, mysterious, ancient and lonely Atl combine wonderfully, and luckily for us, now get to reach a new audience.

BTW, if you haven't read Mexican Gothic yet, what are you waiting for!

A resurrected book and thank goodness it has resurfaced. Every book the author pens is different but are united by skilled writing, tight narrative and a page turning quality.
In Certain Dark Things we find ourselves in a world where vampires are a fact of life, though reviled and living in enclaves in countries which will tolerate them. The species Vampire has several sub-species and our protagonist Atl has a lineage from one of the oldest clans stretching back to the Aztecs. After making some poor choices leading to the murder of her family, Atl is on the run with her faithful dog Cualli and is hiding out in Mexico City - a vampire free zone. There she meets Domingo - a sifter of rubbish with a curious and optimistic outlook on life. Domingo and Atl form a bond which deepens as the story continues and leads to a poigniant end.
If you want a different view on vampires and a gritty, gripping story then this is the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC all views are my own.

4.5 ⭐️

I start by saying that the cover of this book is spectacular, as well as all the references to the cultures of the past. As a lover of folklore in general, this work is "educational" from a mythical point of view and that’s a feature that I really appreciate.
Silvia Moreno Garcia’s writing style is masterful, but that is well known.
It’s a little twisted, but I think that the high register is required for the world we find ourselves into.
The vampires in this world don’t correspond to the same idea of vampires we already have, but to creatures that act differently, even the reasons that motivate them to do certain things are different. The world-building is amazing and detailed.
This book drags you into a world shaken by crime until it traps the reader in its dynamics, as it does with our main characters, Atl and Domingo.
I love Domingo and his personality. Garcia has a wonderful way of building characters. revealing them as the plot progresses.
Atl is an extremely charming, beautiful and intelligent figure. Besides, she’s an extremely smart vampire with so much strength and charisma that several times I wanted to be her. I certainly wouldn’t take many of her actions as an example but she’s one of the most intriguing protagonists I’ve ever met.
"Certain Dark Things" is a book that never bores you despite the slowness that, in my opinion, is the only small flaw I have encountered. It’s a work that covers a multitude of themes. There’s a lot of representation and cultural gems that cannot help but enrich the mind.
I strongly advise you to read it, because it’s rare to meet such interesting characters and stories. Don’t be discouraged by the narrative rhythm and get a copy right away!

Another book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia I really enjoyed. Every book by her is different but they share her good writing style. This was no different. I loved the setting, and the characters and worldbuilding were great.

This was so gripping and so dark, I loved it! Silvia has definitely become an author that I instantly buy without reading up on the book - the books are just THAT good! Don't hesitate to get on this fan bus, it's a ride!

Going into this, I had no idea what “neo noir” meant and I’m not really that into vampire fiction BUT it’s Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I will read anything and everything she puts out into the world. As it turned out, I didn’t need to fully understand what neo noir meant because once you start reading it all makes sense.

One thing that I loved about this book was Domingo as a main character. His innocence contrasts so deeply against Atl’s true nature as a vampire. In fact, I felt the same way about Domingo that I did Nina in The Beautiful Ones. Both characters were seen as somehow undesirable by their society but were beautiful on the inside, showing kindness and loyalty above anything else. As for Atl, well… she was one kick ass femme fatale. I liked that she was eventually able to be vulnerable with Domingo.

Certain Dark Things was both not as dark as I expected and gorier than I expected it to be. That’s on me for making assumptions about the level of gore where VAMPIRES are concerned. So I must admit I did skip a few of the gorier moments. There weren’t many of them but the ones that are present are a bit gruesome.

All in all, I thought that Certain Dark Things was a fantastically engaging story. I thought the inclusion of extra content at the end was a nice touch and not something I’ve come across often. (For reference, there is an encyclopedia about the different vampire clans, an interview with the author, recipes and discussion questions.) I think that fans of vampire fiction or Silvia Moreno-Garcia in general will find something here to love.

A gripping and dark adventure with unique vampires in alternate Mexico City. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a must read author. Her characters keep from the page and feel truly immersive.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jo Fletcher books for a free copy in exchange for a review. All thought and opinions are my own!

This is my fourth book by this author and I think I can truly cement the fact that she is a favourite of mine! While this particular book isn’t my favourite by her, it was still an extremely quick and engaging read.

Going into this book I was not quite sure what to expect. If you know anything about Silvia Moreno-Garcia it’s that she doesn’t just write in one genre, or two or even three. She writes across nearly the whole spectrum of fiction and this is a true testament to her skill as a writer. Her work is still fantastic whether it’s noir fiction or a horror novel. All the books still have the same feel about them and her writing always seems fresh and fantastic.

While normally I’m not a big fan of multiple POV’s, it really worked in this book and helped the story really unfold. The book was very fast paced without seeming overwhelming. Even though there are multiple POV’s and short chapters I felt that I still got to know the characters very well.

If you’ve read from SMG and were a bit uncertain about this novel, I would recommend you pick it up anyway as it won’t disappoint you and is a worthy addition to her repertoire. If you haven’t read from this author before I was still encourage you read it as well.

I loved this book the storylines and imagery were amazing, I enjoyed the characters journey and relished every last page. A definite reread in the future

Mexican author Silvia Moreno-Garcia is having a big year. Following the deserved success of Mexican Gothic last year, 2021 is seeing not only the release of her new political thriller Tender Was the Night but the re-release of two of her earlier books, both in different genres. The first of these – The Beautiful Ones – was a beau-monde style fantasy set in an alternative Central America. The second Certain Dark Things is a vampire novel set in Mexico City, first released in 2016 when it was well received but struggled to find a readership. Which makes this re-release a welcome one for the growing legion of fans of this mutli-talented author.
In the world of Certain Dark Things, vampires have always been with us but it is only in the late 1960s that their existence was revealed to the world. At that point many countries moved to expel or control their vampire populations, causing them to move to more welcoming areas. One of those areas was Mexico, which already hosted an endemic vampire species (ten different species are known in this reality), where more aggressive vampire species have taken over the drug and crime trade everywhere except Mexico City where human gangs and “sanitation” crews have managed to keep them out. This is just the tip of the world building that Moreno-Garcia does, much of which stays unexplored except in a detailed appendix which outlines all ten of the vampire species (most of which readers will not encounter otherwise) and other details of their relationship with humans.
The book itself revolves around a range of characters. The centre of these is street kid Domingo falls in with a young Mexican vampire called Atl. Atl is a Mexican vampire, known as a tlāhuipochtli, her species dating back to Aztec times where they served as priestesses in blood-related ceremonies. Atl is on the run from a vicious group of Necros vampires who have taken over the crime business in Northern Mexico and in doing so have all but wiped out Atl’s family. In this world vampires are not made but are born into long running tribes. Vampires do take human servants, known colloquially as “Renfields”, but cannot turn humans. The danger mounts as Nick Godoy, violent Necros vampire with a grudge, and his father’s human servant Rodrigo close in on Atl at the same time as a local human gang who want to see all vampires run out of Mexico City.
As with her other books, Moreno-Garcia peoples her tale with a range of flawed characters. While Domingo and Atl are the centre of the novel, those after them and those who help them in their quest to escape and no less well drawn. And, most importantly, the fates of those characters are always up for grabs. No one is ever safe.
Just when readers might think that the vampire sub-genre is tapped out someone comes and reinvents it. Certain Dark Things has everything readers might expect from a vampire tale – sexiness, violence, a range of weird powers – but reinvented and recast in new ways. This is partly due to the huge amount of world building that Moreno-Garcia has done for what is, in the end, a fairly intimate and contained story. For example, only three types of her ten species of vampires are encountered in the book (although at least four others are mentioned), with the exception of the appendix which has details of them all.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to demonstrate an ability to deliver in, and to some extent reinvent or reinterpret, any genre. Certain Dark Things puts a new spin on vampire mythology in a violently propulsive tale of survival and revenge. And while she has yet to revisit the same genre twice, given the rich world she has created it would no doubt be a fascinating journey if she did return to this one.

CERTAIN DARK THINGS | SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA
If you are a follower of mine you know that I love a good vampire book and I absolutely LOVED Certain Dark Things from Silvia Morena-Garcia. I’m unashamedly a huge fan of her books and although this was one of her first, which has thankfully and finally received a reprint, it stands shoulder to shoulder with her newer books in the unique style and quality we have come to expect and dare I say it one of my new favourites.
Once again the glorious Mexico City is central to the book and we get tasty glimpses of the city and its past and present through the different characters. The characters themselves are pop off the page glorious from heroically flawed to downright nasty and you can’t help fall for innocent yet street wise Domingo.
Morena-Garcia creates interesting new vampire lore, Mexican mythology fused with old world European vampire lore. The result is both interesting and an exciting take on the vampire tropes. With the mention of the old world in this book I wonder if there is any connection here to here brilliant Mexican Gothic world.
A remarkable and brilliant new horror infused take on the vampire genre. 5 out of 5

If there is a genre that I am pretty cold on, its modern supernatural romance. I like a bit of Gothic but the modern day fumblings and ersatz doom of star crossed vampire/werewolf lovers has never clicked. And that's before we get to the mention of the word Fey....

I asked for this however because I will currently devour anything by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and whilst there is an honest foreword that explains the whys and wherefores of this book (and obviously an insight into being a jobbing author), this still has many of her great qualities. Written over ten years ago in the Twilight of Twilight mania, she has crafted a very specific Mexican take on the Vampire romance (though as a romance it is dialled down low), and happily dumping a load of fascinating world-building that takes your hoity toity European vampires and kicks them into the dust. A book that has a solid rump of ideas about colonialization and that takes the various global vampire myths and sees their different quirks as different species. In particular here we have Mexican, or Aztec vampires, closer to birds than bats, with different strengths and weaknesses. Ana, scion of an old Mexican vampire family, is on the run in Mexico City (a city which has banned vampires), and has to survive both humans and other vampires hunting her. She gets a sort of familiar, Domingo, along the way (titling them Renfields feels a little too specific here but its one of the very few wobbles).

Certain Dark Things is at its best when it is is worldbuilding, and watching Ana and Domingo dance through this alternate but familiar Mexico is lots of fun. The action however is a little stilted, and I felt the eventual idea of romance never quite works (and the ending is very ambiguous on that front). Domingo feels like a first draft of the character of Elvis in Velvet Was The Night, a step behind perhaps but brave and good hearted. She has a little more trouble with Ana - who has to be both imperious and vulnerable, and a bird-vampire to boot. All that said, as early work from a terrific author, you can see the lines she will follow, her comfort with genre fluidity, and even if its not near her best, it was still very interesting.

I'm a big fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books--particularly Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow--so I was very excited to receive this ARC from her backlist of novels. I enjoyed the fusion of vampire mythology from all over the world with the grittier noir setting, and was really impressed with the multiple perspectives in terms of character building and in how they all came together. I eagerly await this author's next release!

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

2 out of 5 stars.

My first Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel and it was such a disappointment.

The concept of competing sub-species of vampires, which reflect various vampire myths from around the world, fighting for survival is what intrigued me about this novel. There was so much potential in that single concept for interesting world-building and plot beats centring around vampire and human politics. Yet none of the truly interesting aspects of that concept are properly explored. Instead, ‘Certain Dark Things’ is a violent and gory Romeo and Juliet love story where it could’ve been a grounded, fascinating twist on vampire lore.

I had been hoping for more depth here. The setting of Mexico City was never properly established in a way that made me feel ground within the narrative, there was little to no atmosphere or personality to the landscape. The protagonists both fell rather flat as well. Domingo is a street kid and Atl is a vampire and drug cartel princess—yet neither of them ever feel like they have substance or personality. In fact, despite how often the novel reminds the audience that Atl is a vicious killer, the pair never feel like anything more than silly teenagers. The other side characters, Nick, Ana, Rodrigo, and Bernaardio are hardly relevant enough to be mentioned outside of stating that they are dull and flavourless. If anything, the multiple side plots stunted the flow of the plot further and made the narrative even more tiresome to continue reading. It seemed like there were always more and more characters for me not to care about.

The prose was likewise fairly bland. Fight scenes that could’ve been exciting, thrilling, or even harrowing had no stakes and were rather boring. The only times I was truly interested in what was being articulated was in exposition and world-building dumps in which vampire lore is being expanded upon. Even so, I found the glossary entries at the end of the book more compelling than anything written in-text. There was no grit here.

With no build-up, a complete lack of character development and prose drier than a nun’s chuff this was a disappointing read that I’m thankful is over.

Urban noir fantasy set in Mexico City with vampires! The story itself didn’t really grab me but I did love the world building, the different types of vampires, the links with Aztecs, both history and myth. Clever writing, all Moreno-Garcia’s books are different, and it makes reading her always interesting.

This was wonderfully original take on the vampire genre. Set in a slightly alternate Mexico city, in a world where vampires are recognized as existing, but strictly controlled by humans, the author makes great use of technology (humans use biometric scanning and temperature diagnostic tools to check if suspected cases are in fact human or are vampires), but also Aztec history, to add depth and richness to her world-building. There are also many different species of vampires, because many have fled to South America after being ousted from their less tolerant home countries - I felt there was almost another book in itself on the interactions and histories of all these other vampires, as they all had different traits and ways of sustenance/being killed - here's hoping the author makes a series out of it!
The characters were great too: Atl, the beautiful young Aztec vampire, is on the run from the horrible insurgent Narco vampires, and enlists the help of Domingo, a still-kind street kid, who is besotted by her beauty. I felt that he was symbolic of the multitudes of vampire fans world-wide, because Atl is not a nice person at all, yet he is so taken with her power and beauty that he can put her less than attractive attributes ( a body odour of decay and a cold and mendacious personality) to the side. Moreno-Garcia paints a fairly realistic picture of life in a corrupt, poverty-stricken, sexist metropolis, and Domingo can balance Atl's harshness with his own horrible experiences with street thugs and bureaucracy.
The plot is pretty good, with just enough set-backs in their flight to safety, but not so many that it appeared the author was stretching, and the ending was perfect, not too saccharine sweet.
Far better than Mexican Gothic, and almost as good as Gods of Jade and Shadow!

Rating: 3.5

Although I have really bad experiences with vampire books this one was surprisingly good.
I really like all the characters. And the plot was really interesting and unpredictable.
I'm starting to think Silvia Moreno-Garcia can really make me like anything she writes. I can't wait to read more books from her.

DNF @ 30%

The writng was fine but I could not get past the characters that were not working for me. I did love the setting and getting to know Mexico City in this world of vampires.

This is a really hard one to rate. There are no damsels in distress in this Mexico City; it’s not that kind of story. Domingo is a street kid whose naïveté is his biggest trait, making a confusing straightforwardness that genuinely works. Atl is trying to survive and work out who she is, it’s noir and it’s crime with vampires thrown in but not YA despite most characters being young adults. Including Nick who is chasing them down. The setting was brilliant, I believed the world and the characters and I had no idea where it was going to end, I just didn’t feel compelled. Really liked the interview with the author at the end of this edition. With thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. This will be a version of vampires (several versions) I remember I suspect.