I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love mythology, especially in regard to monster lore, so when I read the description for this book I jumped at the opportunity for an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed Mexican Gothic so I figured I would enjoy this novel too.

I did enjoy the concept of the book. Vampire subspecies at war with Aztec mythology mixed in; what’s not to love? Domingo was a very likable character and Atl appeared to have an outward persona of strength that made you instantly love her. The author also has a way of writing so that each chapter flows into the next so that you can’t put the book down.

However, as the book progressed I found myself losing interest. The romantic connection between Domingo and Atl felt forced and uncomfortable at times. While part of Atl’s reasoning is explained later on in the book, it still felt off.

Also, thank you for not killing the dog. I get enough of that with Stephen King books.

After reading Mexican Gothic, I was very interested in reading Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s other works. Unfortunately, Certain Dark Things fell flat to me. The plot seemed to be very predictable and progressed quite slowly. It read similarly to just about any mass-market vampire novel.

Having read three of her novels in the past year, I'm feeling invested in Silvia Moreno-Garcia, especially as an author who pays such loving homage to tried-and-true genres like noir and Gothic horror. Yet she uproots these genres, setting them in places unexpected but ripe for focus. In Certain Dark Things, she succeeds in creating a post-colonial vampire novel set in Mexico City. She subverts the tropey gender roles, making Atl, her lead vampire, a fierce, yet barely fledged young woman, and Atl's human companion/emissary a tender and vulnerable young man who lives an obscure existence collecting garbage. The author develops an alternate-reality world where ten different species of vampire coexist (not easily) with humans. Not only does she deftly develop this world, but she finetunes her characters as well. I devoured this novel in two sittings and highly recommend reading it at whatever pace you can muster, including the book's back matter, complete with Encyclopedia Vampirica describing the vampire subspecies mentioned in the book; a seriously illuminating interview with Silvia Moreno-Garcia about the origins of the book and her mindset in writing it; and a couple cocktail/mocktail recipes, because of course vampires imbibe.
[Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge (Tor Nightfire) and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my opinion.]

Certain Dark Things by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is a fast paced neo-noir vampire story set in an alternate Mexico City. The story centers on Atl, who is a Tlahuijpoxhti vampire and Domingo, a 17 year old street junk collector. Atl and her awesome dog Cualli, are on the run from another group of vampires who killed Atl’s family. She is alone and needs help escaping from Mexico so that she doesn’t suffer the same fate as the rest of her family. Will she be able to escape or will she be savagely killed by the enemy vampires?

This is definitely not some romance novel. It is full of violence, gore, and the very ugliness of human and vampire society. Although I would definitely not want to live in the gritty world Moreno-Garcia masterfully created, I enjoyed being able to read about modern vampires who are descended from vampires who were warriors among the mighty Aztecs. I love that Moreno-Garcia created a world with a variety of different vampire sub species complete with their own mythology. I found that I was sad when the book ended and that I would actually read an entire book series which explored each sub species of vampires. This is definitely another 5 star read from the goddess, Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

2 stars, an interesting premise but failed to hold my interest.

Certain Dark Things starts off strong with with an interesting take on vampires who have been largely shoveled off to Mexico from around the world after the world learned of their existence and where they now form various drug cartels. It's a unique idea, especially because the vampires vary wildly in ability and weakness by the regions they come from, but unfortunately the novel feels rather chaotic and unfocused for far too much of the book to deliver on that premise to my satisfaction. At 300 or so pages, it reads quickly but the story has barely any room to breathe especially with several recurring and major characters who are around just often enough to feel important but not around often enough to really be memorable.

At the center of the book is Atl, a vampire whose older sister was apparently killed by gang violence, and Domingo, a human who is forced to be her lackey to help her find revenge. From here the plot goes in largely expected noir ways: drug deals gone wrong, gangs of criminals searching for similar things, corrupt police looking the other way except for one good-hearted cop who wants to make a difference. Frankly it's all a bit cliche despite the fantastical premise and I was hoping for more from Silvia Moreno-Garcia whose work I tend to enjoy quite a bit. The ending does shake things up quite a bit more but by then I had already largely grown bored of the story and was just ready for it to end. I think part of my issue with this book is that it is a republish as it was originally published in 2016 which would make it one of SMG's older works and maybe she just hadn't found her footing at this point. I wish there had been some editing of this republish to help smooth out the frantic pacing and maybe modernize some of the dialogue because there were some jokes in there that felt dated even for 2016 (an example that really jarred me: a character makes a joke along the lines of "homo sapien? You mean he's gay?"). So all in all, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. It certainly is unique so if you like interesting takes on vampires you might still get a lot out of this and there are some clever bits of social critique but overall I much preferred both Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow to this.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book for me to read and review.

Certain Dark Things...wow! How to even classify this one? Vampire noir-esque is perhaps the best description I can come up with. And based on this book it’s a genre I’d like to see more of.
Certain Dark Things takes place in a slightly altered world where not only are vampires real but the world is well aware of them. Taking place in Mexico City, a supposed vampire-free zone, the story centers around Atl, a young (23yr old) vampire and Domingo, a teenage street urchin who makes his living scavenging garbage until he crosses paths with Atl and ends up becoming her “Renfield” (aka her human servant, though really they are becoming friends). Atl’s family is dead and she is now on the run from a rival gang of vampires, the Necros, who freely embrace their nature and aren’t afraid to leave a trail of bodies, which of course attracts the attention the police.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia has crafted a story that oozes style and atmosphere. It’s dark, gritty, fast paced with tons of action, and Silvia doesn’t shy away from showing the us brutal violent nature of some of the vampires. The world building has layers of depth and rich lore, such as the fact that there aren’t just vampires, but ten different types of vampires, each with their own distinct characteristics and abilities. As soon as she began discussing the various vampire gangs I instantly thought of the short-lived show Kindred: the embraced, which itself was based on the Vampire: The Masquerade RPG.
If I have any complaints it would be that the story stumbles just a bit toward the end. That being said I enjoyed the heck out of the book and would love a return trip to this gritty world again some day.
I’d like to thank Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review and eARC of Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

While this book was originally published in 2016, it's now back in print and available in paperback thanks to Tor Nightfire, which is an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, that "will publish across the breadth of the horror genre­—from short story collections to novellas and novels, from standalone works to series, from dark fantasy to the supernatural, from originals to reprints of lost modern classics." (source: https://tornightfire.com/nightfire-bo...)

Certain Dark Things is one of the first novels to be published under the Nightfire imprint, and I'm glad this republish brought the book to my attention! The timing was perfect as well, because I'm always on the lookout for new horror books for spooky season. The novel is set in Mexico City and centers around Atl, a vampire on the run. The chapters switch between POVs, including Atl, Domingo (a human she befriends), and a few others (including the ones hunting her).

I love that the author created such a rich world with so many different vampire sub-species, all with different backgrounds and powers. We only touch on a few in the novel, but there is an entire "Encyclopaedia Vampirica" in the appendix! I love the inclusion of "Renfields", because that has always been an aspect of vampire tales that has fascinated me since I read Dracula. I would love a sequel or spin-off with more stories of the different vampire species.

I knocked it down a star because I felt the human crime groups and the cop chapters were a little slow, and I wanted to get back to the vampire action.

Certain Dark Things was a refreshing take on the vampire genre. Set in a futuristic alternate timeline, the novel takes place in a neo-noir Mexico City. The world building itself was absolutely amazing and breathtaking and the violence definitely takes this far out of the YA genre it seems to be in for some reason. Seeing the different takes on types of vampires from other folklore was an incredibly unique experience as it's hard to find a vampire novel with even one different type than the standard let alone all of these.

While the setting, world-building, and diversity made this a gripping story for me, the plot fell short. The angst was heavy on every single character and the ending of the novel blindsided me completely.

It's weird how Silvia Moreno-Garcia is so hit or miss for me. Perhaps it's because I didn't start with the books which made her famous, and which I still really want to read. Instead, I've hopped around her timeline somewhat, based on what was available to me, and can safely say that her <a href="https://www.criminalelement.com/book-review-velvet-was-the-night-by-silvia-moreno-garcia/">newer works</a> kick ass but her <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/04/30/the-beautiful-ones-by-silvia-moreno-garcia/">older ones</a> kick only rocks.

Alas, Certain Dark Things falls firmly into that latter category despite being reissued with some extra stuff at the end, including a book club guide and a fun section of drink recipes inspired by the novel. CDT is set in a parallel future, in a world where vampires have been out since the 1960s, to varying but mostly negative receptions. There are at least ten distinct bloodlines, and as restrictions have clamped down in Europe, the native vampires there have spread out to other parts of the world, including Mexico. Now the Necros, who are very much like the traditional Dracula-types common in Western pop culture, are making big plays against the local Tlahuelpuchi. Atl, the last daughter of one of the latter clans, is on the run and hiding in the allegedly vampire-free zone of Mexico City.

Domingo is a young trash picker who lives in the sewers. When he catches the eye of beautiful, mysterious Atl on the subway one night, he thinks his life is about to change. And change it does, but not for the better, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a war between vampire clans, drug dealers and corrupt cops in this bloody, savage neon-noir.

First, I love that name "neon-noir", which strikes me as a pretty awesome subgenre description, even if there isn't a whole lot of mystery going on in this novel, just a bunch of brooding criminals circling each other till the final confrontation. But plot is not, seemingly, the point of this book. The greatest strength of CDT lies in the entirely fresh world-building, which reconsiders and reworks your typical urban fantasy scenarios into something vividly new. The different species of vampire are intriguing, and the depiction of an alternate universe Mexico City compelling.

Otherwise and unfortunately, this felt a lot like reading Christopher Moore's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/256537989">Bloodsucking Fiends</a> sans humor or suspense. Atl is deeply annoying and Domingo reminds me of Elite's Samu only dumber. And I can appreciate what Ms Moreno-Garcia is doing with Domingo: poverty and loneliness are hard things, and falling in with a vampire who's rich, sexy and powerful is a a hell of an aphrodisiac, but that ending was so stupid as to beggar belief in this being anywhere near a love story. Have I mentioned that Atl is deeply annoying? It helps that she freely admits that she's a spoiled dumbass but frankly, it's only the traditions of her upbringing that make her a better person than Nick, the Necro with such a hard-on to kill her, who's also a viewpoint character here.

As with Domingo, I felt for the other human viewpoint characters, Rodrigo and Ana, who did what they felt they needed to in order to survive. But that didn't mean that I had to like any of these people or think anything more than "oh well" when they reaped what they sowed. If I wanted to read about five self-sabotaging dummies, I'd just doomscroll through Twitter. The only character I did enjoy was Bernardino, who provides some of the few moments of suspense in the narrative despite not being deemed worthy enough to have his own chapters.

There are no heroes in this novel, and while I don't need to like or even relate to characters in order to appreciate a story, I found this one just too drearily angsty to enjoy for more than its world-building. Hopefully, the next book I read by this author will be less of a slog. Oh, and I must say that the new cover for this reprint totally slaps, so that's another thing it has going for it!

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was published today September 7 2021 by Tor Nightfire and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781250785589">Bookshop!</a>.

Atl is on the run. Her family slaughtered. Her life in chaos. Her hunger ... imminent. She needs to feed and she needs to get out of Mexico City.

Domingo was in the wrong place at seemingly the right time ... right for Atl at least. She tells him she is looking for a friend and he goes with her. Domingo is not what she expects and just the same vampires (which Atl is) are not what Domingo has been led to believe.

Can this unlikely pair escape the vampire clan coming after Atl and make it out of Mexico City? Or will they fail and end up on a slab instead?

Set in a futuristic world where vampires are driven out in some places and overtaking in others, we are given a slow burning suspense. I say suspense as we are following the storyline of Atl and Domingo as they try to find a way to get out of Mexico City. They are on the run from humans and vampires both.

While it's not fast-paced or overly thrilling, it is atmospheric and dark. I LOVE this.

This author is amazing as they can write across genres. So far I have read 3 of their books, and loved them all. This one is an adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy and one I wholly recommend.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

I enjoyed the whole concept of different kinds of vampires with unique powers and weaknesses and how they coexist as well as treat the humans in this alternate version of Mexico City. I thought the female MC was pretty cool and badass. The author’s signature writing style also works very well in describing this mysterious city as well as its inhabitants. But the overall story didn’t wow me much.

I am not surprised to find this is a reprint of an older work. It's not bad (this is like the worst thing to start a review on) but it definitely feels like something that was written half a decade ago, if that makes sense.

The world building is impeccable and like everything else I've read from Moreno-Garcia, it's quick. I finished this book in an evening read, practically in one sitting. But it's a bit too bleak without recourse and all the world building in the world can't get me there if I don't love any of the characters. And with as disjointed a perspective as this had -- four or five characters, I think - we don't really get a chance to spend time with any of our characters to get a perspective on them.

It's certainly not a bad book, and in particular if you're a fan of vampire books, urban fantasy, etc it's worth checking out.

After finding her mother's decapitated head at the entrance to their compound, Atl takes deadly revenge on a neighboring vampire gang. In retribution, they murder her entire family and she barely escapes with her life, fleeing to Mexico City—the one place in Mexico that is supposedly vampire-free. Holed up in an apartment, refraining from food so not to draw attention to herself, Atl desperately tries to make arrangements to flee the country, and then meets an unlikely friend: Domingo, a street kid who collects garbage.

Originally published in 2016, *Certain Dark Things* by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is getting a fresh paint job this year as Tor Nightfire's first publication (alongside *The Living Dead* by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus). Atl and Domingo's story has a lot of Moreno-Garcia's trademarks: a passion for noir fiction, the slow build to the finale, and a Mexican setting complete with Aztec folklore. For readers fresh off last year's *Mexican Gothic*, it may not be quite what you're expecting—it's much grittier and with more fantasy elements.

*Certain Dark Things* does struggle to get off the ground; the beginning is highly specific factoids about the various species of vampires living in Mexico and the rest of the world, as well as how they kill their victims or what they look like. Although this serves mainly to flesh out the world and set the scene, the information is clumsily inserted, making the reader feel like they have to keep notes because there'll be a test at the end of the book (there's not, so don't stress yourself out). Perhaps Moreno-Garcia is setting herself up to write more books in this universe, but even then I prefer information to be spread out as needed.

Once it gets going, though, *Certain Dark Things* is worth the ride. I liked all of the characters, but I especially loved Domingo—I have a soft spot for soft characters. I liked watching him grow and change even in the short timeline of the book, and I liked seeing how other characters interacted with him. It really felt like a crime novel or a noir novel with fantasy elements, and that's something I've been really enjoying. Plus, I think Moreno-Garcia pulled that concept off better than a lot of other examples that I've read.

If you've tried Silvia Moreno-Garcia before, I do think this book is worth picking up, but definitely go in with an open mind. Although Moreno-Garcia has a very distinct style, all of her books are different and will appeal to different readers. That being said, I thought this was a fun book and I'm glad I read it.

***Review will be posted at provided link on Sept 7 2021 at 7am EST

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing is amazing, her style is unique and always leaves me wanting more! Certain Dark Things is a neo-noir fantasy novel taking place in Mexico CIty, this novel is rich in Mexican/Aztec mythology and lores. Moreno-Garcia has a real knack for world-building and this novel was full of action. A few chapters in and this book becomes 100% unputdownable.

Certain Dark Things is a re-released 2016 novel by best-selling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Part noir and part horror story, this vampire tale takes place in an alternate reality Mexico City where two lonely souls try to survive the dangerous streets of a town riddled with trouble.

Domingo doesn’t mean to start a conversation with the beautiful young woman sitting across from him on the subway, but when she catches him staring at her, he says something just to make the situation less awkward. He’s surprised when she doesn’t blow him off but instead invites him home with her. She’s clearly wealthy, far above a lonely garbage-collecting street kid like himself, but he follows her anyway, wary but hopeful.

Atl shouldn’t risk it, but she is too hungry not to. Mexico City is meant to be a vampire-free zone, but she has to be there in order to make contact with a mysterious former friend of her mother’s. Domingo is clean, drug free, and young enough to provide the kind of meal she needs. As a Tlahuihpochtin she does not have to kill him, she just has to take one long drink of his precious, life-giving blood. Domingo is surprisingly open minded about the issue, agreeing to her using him as a snack, and curious rather than horrified as they discuss it. When it’s over, she sends him home with an admonishment to never speak of their encounter.

But Domingo can’t forget her. Using some of the money Atl gave him in payment for his cooperation, he buys her a gift and returns to her apartment the next night. Atl initially tries to send him away, but he is stubborn, refusing to leave, and it occurs to her that she needs a Renfield (a servant/emissary). In that position, Domingo can get the supplies and papers she needs to make her escape. When he eagerly agrees to take on the job, Atl sends him to her mother’s cryptic contact, and plans for her departure begin in earnest.

But Atl is not the only vampire in Mexico City. Nick is a Necro, the vampires of whom most Western legends are made, and a member of the cartel who killed Atl’s family and is looking to kill her. While trying to locate Atl in this very vampire unfriendly town, he kills a girl, thus alerting the authorities – and the human crime syndicates - to his presence. And since the gangs are just as eager to keep the mean streets of Mexico City free of vampires as the police are, both groups go on the hunt for the blood suckers stalking their community.

The world building here is extraordinary.  The author manages to capture the reality of Mexico City – the brutality of life on the streets, where one has to pay for “luxuries” like a weekly bath, and where finding an abandoned sewer space to call home is near affluence, where disease runs rampant, where gangs roam and people get beaten or killed on a regular basis, and where drugs flow more freely than clean water - and give it beauty, a richly diverse population and a dark, seductive magic.

In this universe, vampires have numerous subspecies: The Tlahuihpochtin, native to Mexico, beautiful and bird-like and once worshiped as gods by the Aztecs. The Revenants, terrifying and misshapen and powerful. And the Necros, a Western European breed that resemble the non “vegetarian” vampires of Twilight. The world has known of their existence since the 1970s, and nations have responded to their presence with varying degrees of horror and violence.   Many (most) European countries have forcibly deported their vampire populations, which has compelled the varying breeds to share territories in the Americas. This hasn’t worked out well. A lot of them turned to the drug trade to obtain power and wealth, and Mexico is all but overrun by feuding vampire gangs. Mexico City where human gangs, with help from the authorities, have built a walled metropolis where the bloodsuckers are not allowed, is the exception.

I have to say I loved this analogy between the cartels that exist in our world and the monsters of lore. From the start it helps balance the story between fantasy and reality, reminding us that the methods of killing might not be the same but the horrific violence surrounding the drug trade is similar to that of the horror stories of old.

And that’s what the story is really about.  While the vampires have some magical powers, the rampaging destructiveness of the tale doesn’t come from that but has a true to life, ripped from the headlines feel. Atl’s family was slaughtered as Nick’s Necro family took over their territory in the drug wars. Her family had been small time and had fallen to the much larger cartel rather easily. She is the last of them and Nick’s gang wants to make an example of Atl, to torture her to remind others that no one is safe and that it doesn’t pay to even try to stand against them.

Enter Domingo, the unexpected wild card. A seveteen-year-old human who has lived on the streets on his own for years, he’s been fascinated by and reading comics about vampires for years. But those stories did not prepare him for the real thing, for the gorgeous, alluring Atl and the dangerous men chasing her. He should be outclassed in this battle, easy prey for all the bloodsuckers he encounters but Domingo has learned to live by his wits, he is tenacious, familiar with the area, and becomes a genuine asset to Atl.

Atl is more than simply what her family did for a living. There is an underlying kindness and gentleness to her that is unexpected in a drug dealer and vampire. She can kill when she needs to, but it is clear she is weary of bloodshed and violence and would rather lead a quiet life. Her relationship with Domingo highlights the warmer, compassionate side of her nature and the tender vulnerability that lies at the heart of her.

Ana Aguirre is the police officer determined to stop Nick by killing both him and the vampire he chased into Mexico City. Ana moved there from a far more violent, vampire ridden province and has no intention of seeing this area become an equally dangerous, crime ridden ghetto.  Like all the characters, Ana’s storyline is complex and reveals the many layers that are at play in the endless war on drugs.

There is a romance (with a sexual component) in the story, but it does not reach an HEA and is far from central to the plot line of the novel. It underscores how in this world joy can be fleeting and must be grasped with both hands when it becomes available

Certain Dark Things is an unexpectedly moving, penetrating look at the violence and the terror the drug trade brings into the lives of Mexican citizens cleverly disguised as an alternate reality horror story. If you enjoy TV shows like Narcos or if you are a fan of clever takes on the vampire legend this beautifully written novel about imperfect people trying to make the best of terrible circumstances will be perfect for you.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent retailer
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Certain Dark Things is the third book I’ve read by Silva Moreno-Garcia. As with Mexican Gothic (read in February) and Velvet Was the Night (read in August) this book starts simple and builds the pace right up to the end. The best way I can describe the feeling is a locomotive working its way to top speed. The author uses shifting POVs to reveal the action and particular plot points.

Vampires are no longer a secret in this world and everyone deals with that reality differently. Some countries expel the vampires, the UK forms a special police unit to deal with them (the Van Helsings!), while Mexico tolerates them to a point. Mexico City is a no-vamp zone but is infested with gangs that seem even worse. Domingo (our main human hero) puts it best: “Maybe vampires were bad, but other things were just as bad.”

The mythology and world-building in this novel is spectacular. It’s bolstered by an “Encyclopedia Vampirica” at the end, detailing the 10 different flavors of vampires and giving a nice overview of the world.

Domingo meets Atl, a vampire princess on the run from other factions. Her story is interwoven with Aztec mythology and shows the ritual of taking on a Renfield (or Blood Lackey if you prefer). The book could easily be renamed “We Are Our Hunger” repeated a few times in the story. Ironically, this could have been applied to the humans more aptly than the vampires.

As with the other two books I’ve read, the ending begs for a sequel. It does not disappoint on action or details. All the characters are crisp and engaging. There were a few times where the scenes brought stark visuals images to mind like paintings on the page.

Read this if you like Vampire stories and well-drawn mythologies. Skip it if your idea of a good Vampire novel rhymes with the word “skylight.”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this novel before its re-release.

I really enjoyed this "neon noir" vampire story. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has once against hit it out of the ballpark with an amazingly captivating, fast-paced story of survival and vampire warfare. There's great world building using different cultures for the basis of the different vampire clans. The characters were a lot of fun as well, with points of view ranging from the homeless boy to the vampire characters, a human servant, and even a vampire-hunting detective. There's also a really interesting dog acting as a bodyguard for the female vampire protagonist of the story.

I highly recommend this novel to fans of fantasy and horror, and especially fans of vampire stories with some romantic tension built into them.

Certain Dark Things is a re-released 2016 novel by best-selling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Part noir and part horror story, this vampire tale takes place in an alternate reality Mexico City where two lonely souls try to survive the dangerous streets of a town riddled with trouble.

Domingo doesn’t mean to start a conversation with the beautiful young woman sitting across from him on the subway, but when she catches him staring at her, he says something just to make the situation less awkward. He’s surprised when she doesn’t blow him off but instead invites him home with her. She’s clearly wealthy, far above a lonely garbage-collecting street kid like himself, but he follows her anyway, wary but hopeful.

Atl shouldn’t risk it, but she is too hungry not to. Mexico City is meant to be a vampire-free zone, but she has to be there in order to make contact with a mysterious former friend of her mother’s. Domingo is clean, drug free, and young enough to provide the kind of meal she needs. As a Tlahuihpochtin she does not have to kill him, she just has to take one long drink of his precious, life-giving blood. Domingo is surprisingly open minded about the issue, agreeing to her using him as a snack, and curious rather than horrified as they discuss it. When it’s over, she sends him home with an admonishment to never speak of their encounter.

But Domingo can’t forget her. Using some of the money Atl gave him in payment for his cooperation, he buys her a gift and returns to her apartment the next night. Atl initially tries to send him away, but he is stubborn, refusing to leave, and it occurs to her that she needs a Renfield (a servant/emissary). In that position, Domingo can get the supplies and papers she needs to make her escape. When he eagerly agrees to take on the job, Atl sends him to her mother’s cryptic contact, and plans for her departure begin in earnest.

But Atl is not the only vampire in Mexico City. Nick is a Necro, the vampires of whom most Western legends are made, and a member of the cartel who killed Atl’s family and is looking to kill her. While trying to locate Atl in this very vampire unfriendly town, he kills a girl, thus alerting the authorities – and the human crime syndicates – to his presence. And since the gangs are just as eager to keep the mean streets of Mexico City free of vampires as the police are, both groups go on the hunt for the blood suckers stalking their community.

The world building here is extraordinary. The author manages to capture the reality of Mexico City – the brutality of life on the streets, where one has to pay for “luxuries” like a weekly bath, and where finding an abandoned sewer space to call home is near affluence, where disease runs rampant, where gangs roam and people get beaten or killed on a regular basis, and where drugs flow more freely than clean water – and give it beauty, a richly diverse population and a dark, seductive magic.

In this universe, vampires have numerous subspecies: The Tlahuihpochtin, native to Mexico, beautiful and bird-like and once worshiped as gods by the Aztecs. The Revenants, terrifying and misshapen and powerful. And the Necros, a Western European breed that resemble the non “vegetarian” vampires of Twilight. The world has known of their existence since the 1970s, and nations have responded to their presence with varying degrees of horror and violence. Many (most) European countries have forcibly deported their vampire populations, which has compelled the varying breeds to share territories in the Americas. This hasn’t worked out well. A lot of them turned to the drug trade to obtain power and wealth, and Mexico is all but overrun by feuding vampire gangs. Mexico City where human gangs, with help from the authorities, have built a walled metropolis where the bloodsuckers are not allowed, is the exception.

I have to say I loved this analogy between the cartels that exist in our world and the monsters of lore. From the start it helps balance the story between fantasy and reality, reminding us that the methods of killing might not be the same but the horrific violence surrounding the drug trade is similar to that of the horror stories of old.

And that’s what the story is really about. While the vampires have some magical powers, the rampaging destructiveness of the tale doesn’t come from that but has a true to life, ripped from the headlines feel. Atl’s family was slaughtered as Nick’s Necro family took over their territory in the drug wars. Her family had been small time and had fallen to the much larger cartel rather easily. She is the last of them and Nick’s gang wants to make an example of Atl, to torture her to remind others that no one is safe and that it doesn’t pay to even try to stand against them.

Enter Domingo, the unexpected wild card. A seveteen-year-old human who has lived on the streets on his own for years, he’s been fascinated by and reading comics about vampires for years. But those stories did not prepare him for the real thing, for the gorgeous, alluring Atl and the dangerous men chasing her. He should be outclassed in this battle, easy prey for all the bloodsuckers he encounters but Domingo has learned to live by his wits, he is tenacious, familiar with the area, and becomes a genuine asset to Atl.

Atl is more than simply what her family did for a living. There is an underlying kindness and gentleness to her that is unexpected in a drug dealer and vampire. She can kill when she needs to, but it is clear she is weary of bloodshed and violence and would rather lead a quiet life. Her relationship with Domingo highlights the warmer, compassionate side of her nature and the tender vulnerability that lies at the heart of her.

Ana Aguirre is the police officer determined to stop Nick by killing both him and the vampire he chased into Mexico City. Ana moved there from a far more violent, vampire ridden province and has no intention of seeing this area become an equally dangerous, crime ridden ghetto. Like all the characters, Ana’s storyline is complex and reveals the many layers that are at play in the endless war on drugs.

There is a romance (with a sexual component) in the story, but it does not reach an HEA and is far from central to the plot line of the novel. It underscores how in this world joy can be fleeting and must be grasped with both hands when it becomes available

Certain Dark Things is an unexpectedly moving, penetrating look at the violence and the terror the drug trade brings into the lives of Mexican citizens cleverly disguised as an alternate reality horror story. If you enjoy TV shows like Narcos or if you are a fan of clever takes on the vampire legend this beautifully written novel about imperfect people trying to make the best of terrible circumstances will be perfect for you.

I struggled a bit with this one, but will never get over how beautifully Garcia brings to life a setting. Her ability to make you feel like you’re there is unmatched.

I will read almost any book set in Mexico City, especially when it's fantasy and dark and written by someone who has actually been to Mexico City - we can all tell when authors just spend a touristy weekend somewhere or every worse google for street names and images. As always, SMG does the city justice with all it's beauty and rough edges. There are a variety of narrators that really capture the story from a wide angle and give a full picture of what's happening in a messy city trying to remain free of vampires. The story is dark and twisty and Silvia Moreno Garcia includes an interesting variety of vampire lore. I really appreciated that she manages to work in criticism of colonialism and the ongoing destruction of indigenous culture in Mexico.

That said, I wanted to love this a little more than I did and it read a bit clunky and awkward at time. The further along so got in the book the more I enjoyed it. Certain Dark Things is creepy and well worth reading but I think Gods of Jade and Shadow remains my favorite SMG book.