My Goodreads review: Silver Nitrate

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


(My thanks to NetGalley, who provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Despite its occult horror vibe (Nazi sorcerer! Secret magic cabals! Demon dog-creatures!) , this dark mystery derives a lot of its power from the relationship at its heart. Childhood best friends Montserrat and Tristán are barely getting by in Mexico City's 1990s film industry. Though Montserrat in particular is entranced with horror films, neither of them are prepared for a dive into the real terror behind a legendary lost horror flick of another era.

Taking place over only a few days during early holiday season, the compressed plot heightens anxiety by throwing mundane and occult realities into stark contrast. Not unlike the dramatic chiaroscuro effects of silver nitrate stock, shadows deepen across Montserrat and Tristán's lives as they struggle to recover a stolen film reel meant to create ritual magic. All the curses aren't exterior, however. Tristán carries the burden of a scandalous death he may have helped cause, while Montserrat is secretly/unwillingly in love with her friend.

Moreno-Garcia knows how to craft satisfying, unnerving action -- and there is plenty of it, especially through the last third of the book -- but there's more to Silver Nitrate than that. Thrillers work best when the characters are complex enough to care about. However dark and intriguing the occult trappings of this novel are, the reader is never allowed to stop caring.

For those curious about the origins of this story, and some of the sources used, the author has included a short afterword. I'm a sucker for this kind of Secret History, and I'm grateful that she included it.




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