Kept me awake most of the night as I just had to finish it. A great read… grabbed my attention from the first page… with each new revelation, I just kept wanting to turn the pages… I highly recommend this book

It was 1979 in a sleepy fisherman town in Baja California. Viridiana, a local girl, had big dreams beyond what was expected of her, which was to marry and have children. So when three wealthy American tourists arrived for the summer and offered a job for her as a translator, she jumped at the chance. Little did she know that she was signing up for more than she bargained for when one of them died and she got entangled in the proceedings.

When I saw this on NetGalley, I didn’t realise that this was a re-publication of Moreno-Garcia’s debut crime fiction. What a deliciously crafted story, this was! It had the unique genre mash-up elements that were Moreno-Garcia’s specialty, this time combining crime fiction with coming-of-age.

I loved Viridiana’s journey from innocence to wisdom. The plot wasn’t overly twisty, and we could (somewhat) tell what was going to happen, but I still enjoyed Viridiana’s line of thoughts and responses to the situation she was in.

I could go on and on about how I loved Moreno-Garcia’s writing, but I better be on the lookout for her next book!

Moreno-Garcia never fails to deliver. Every book I’ve read of hers hits a different feel and genre whilst each one is well crafted and enjoyable to read. Viridiana is a wonderful character with all her youthfulness, flaws and dreams out on show. I loved the 70s thriller vibe as well as the snapshots of Baja California. I could easily see this as a coming of age film. Another great read.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Another great book by this author with a focus on Mexican culture and characters. Veridiana is 18 and her mother wants her to marry a “well to do” boy from her town and work in his mothers shop however her and the boy are no longer together and Viridiana has not interest in picking up where they left off. When Viridiana accepts a job as a translator and guide for an author, his wife and the wife’s brother she is caught up in a world of lies, deceit and murder.
As Viridiana struggles with going against her her own morals, falling in love and being true to herself she also understands that nothing can be taken at face value and she has to make some tough decisions that will change her life forever.
I loved Viridiana’s character and although you could feel her naïveté when it came to men and being manipulated by them you also felt her maturity when it came to how the world worked not only in her town but also in others and where her place was expected to be there.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- There are seemingly 50 different covers for this book! 😂

Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a coming-of-age story set in Baja California, Mexico, in the year 1979. The protagonist, Viridiana, spends her days watching dead sharks and dreaming of a life beyond her small town. Her chance for escape arrives when three wealthy American tourists arrive for the summer, and she becomes entwined in their glamorous lives. However, when one of them dies, Viridiana lies to protect her newfound friends and becomes tangled in a web of deceit.

This book was phenomenal. The author's writing style is outstanding with an atmospheric setting that is rich in details and heavily evocative. Her ability to capture the essence of 1970s Baja and its culture is truly remarkable. And the seaside setting with the sharks adds to the eerie atmosphere. Although the plot was slow and meandering, it worked well with the overall feel of the story. And the characters themselves were captivating and well developed. You will find yourself enthralled by Viridiana's journey, as she becomes entwined in the lives of these wealthy foreigners.

Overall, Untamed Shore is an outstanding read for anyone who enjoys crime fiction or coming-of-age stories. With its engaging plot, vivid setting, and complex characters. Truly one of the best books I have read so far this year.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Viridiana is a young woman in a small shark fishing town in Baja California. She works as a translator for tourists, loves old movies (often quoting from them) and longs to travel(escape) after turning down a marriage proposal arranged by her mother. She is hired to be a personal assistant to a rich American man, Ambrose renting a house on the edge of town. He has a much younger wife, Daisy and her brother Gregory also is there. Viridiana is young and naive and is kinda taken in by the glamour of the younger pair.
It took a while for me to get in to this, I’m not really big on coming of age stories but Viridiana’s journey to finding the reality of the situation she found herself in and then getting what she really wanted, was really enjoyable. It also is a bit of a noir that fits in with the old movies and actors. The setting is also dramatic, the shark fishing, the beaches and the small pettymindedness of the locals contrasting with the cynical Americans.

I'm glad this book was republished. i read it again and i can confirm my first review:
An excellent story with an interesting setting and a cast of well thought characters.
I like Silvia Moreno's style of writing and I loved this book.
An engrossing and entertaining story, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Noir in any form lives and dies with the ability of the writer - the limited scope of possible narratives means there is no room for mistakes in execution.

Avoiding the usual hard boiled pitfalls Moreno-Garcia’s command of the flow paired with the deep personal ties to the backdrop location make Untamed Shore incredibly tangible.

A lead character trapped between small town living and religious familial expectations we see Viridiana unfurl - her story is written beautifully and we see the unresting soul pulled by the many anchors that keep her weighed down.

When her new employers open her eyes to the world beyond her horizon we see through her eyes the steps you take aren’t always the nicest or cleanest but can be necessary to grow.

There’s a lot to love here and my only niggling issue would be that one or two of the plot points are spoon fed to you which removes the charm of discovery when certain events come to light.

A fantastic read rich in atmosphere and tension. I couldn't put it down, everything this writer does turns to gold

4.5 stars

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my auto-buy author, whatever she writes I’ll read. And once again I was not disappointed. After loving Velvet Was the Night, I was excited to read another crime novel by Moreno-Garcia.
I adore the way she writes, the atmosphere she creates. Even though I knew the story took place at the end of the 70s, with all the allusions to old Hollywood I started picturing a noir film, black and white, 40s/50s fashion, and then I was transported back to the actual story. And I loved that duality because it’s a little how Viridiana saw things as well, imagining herself in one of her favourite movies.
And I loved how this book tied together coming of age and crime story. It’s both a character driven book, with Viridiana getting to know herself and what she wants, and a proper murder and suspense book. Moreno-Garcia ties both genre so beautifully and skilfully.
And that ending was so satisfying! It was exactly what I was hoping for which made it all the more satisfying.

I loved this!
This was my tenth book by this author so clearly I’m a huge fan of their writing
I loved the noir vibes, this book was filled with mystery and full of intrigue. I was so looking forward to finding out what happened next
Everyone felt a little bit suspicious and I enjoyed waiting to find out what was going to be revealed
I just felt so tense reading this and I just didn’t know what direction the book was going to take
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Untamed Shore is a Mexican noir thriller coming-of-age story set in the 1970's, written by the author of Mexican Gothic. It's not a new novel, but it's being republished now in light of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's other recent successes.

Viridiana is a young woman who earns extra money by interpreting and acting as a tourist guide for foreign visitors to her remote seaside town, Baja California. She's feeling very stuck until a wealthy family arrive and hire her as a live-in secretary. Viridiana loses her innocence that summer and becomes embroiled in deception and murderous plots which challenge everything she thinks she knows.

Something quite different from my usual book selection, but I enjoyed it. A recommended read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus books for this ARC! This is a reprint of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s historical thriller Untamed Shore!

This is one of those books where I think it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible but I will give a brief synopsis so you can get a feel for it. As I said, this is a historical thriller set in 1979 in Baja California. We’re following Viridiana who lives in a small seaside town making a living giving tours during the summer. She is absolutely desperate to get out of the town and to Mexico City to truly start her life, not wanting to get married and settle down as is expected. Three American tourists arrive in town and ask offer her live in job with them, taking notes for a book one of them is writing. However, one of them ends up dead and Viridiana is left questioning who these tourists really are.

You could cut the atmosphere and tension in this book with a knife. The author effortlessly sets the scene of a small Mexican town in the 70’s and I could almost smell and taste the salt in the air. Viridiana is a really interesting character to follow and although at times she seems naive, her overall motivations and reasons for going along with what happens in the book is because of her determination and strong will to create a better life for herself. It definitely has good for her vibes and I was rooting for her the whole way through.

The writing style is exquisite, settings are described beautifully and I could picture the characters clearly. There is an overall air of yearning and longing throughout the book and the writing is melancholic in that sense but also full of hope. That probably makes no sense but that’s how I felt reading it. Also for some reason this book gave me The Great Gatsby vibes.

There is a lot of really interesting cultural and historical information regarding Mexico throughout as well which I found really interesting. I always love reading about different cultures and the lore, myths and beliefs associated with different areas of the world. I would also recommend reading the authors note as it was really interesting seeing where the inspiration for the story came from.

I am really excited to read more of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work and would definitely recommend checking this out! It was released on the 16th February so you can get your hands on it now!

“The beach smelled of death. Half a dozen sharks lay under the sun, waiting to be salted. Whenever Viridiana saw them, glistening bellyup in the midday heat, they reminded her of dominoes set upon a table before the game begins.”

My thanks to Quercus Books Jo Fletcher Books for a review copy of ‘Untamed Shore’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I was also invited to take part in their publication day blog tour.

This work of crime noir had been independently published in 2020. While out of print for a while, it had received good reviews and is now being republished.

It is at heart a coming-of-age story set in 1979. Its lead is Viridiana, who dreams of romance, travel, and of a future beyond the drab town of Desengaño in Baja California where her only option is to marry and have children.

Her life changes when wealthy American writer, Ambrose P. Allerton, arrives with his wife, Daisy, and brother-in-law, Gregory. Ambrose hires Viridiana as his assistant for the summer,though it’s not long until she becomes entangled in their lives. Then there is a death…. no further details to avoid spoilers.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a skilled storyteller and I found Viridiana a very appealing lead, torn between loyalty to her family and her desire to step into a wider world. It’s the kind of coming-of-age journey that was easy to relate to and is written in a mature literary style. I felt completely transported in time and place, again one of the author’s strengths in whatever genre she’s writing in.

I found this a very cinematic novel, easily imagining it as a brooding film noir with the coastline, the fishing community including the slaughtered sharks that serve as a powerful and poignant symbol. The theme of an outsider becoming part of a small privileged circle and unfortunate events following on from these relationships also had resonances with Patricia Highsmith’s work.

In her Notes Silvia Moreno-Garcia shares how she had dreamt of Baja California, where she was born and lived as a child. In the dream a young woman was watching fishermen dragging sharks from the ocean and slicing into them on the beach. From this powerful, though somewhat disturbing, image she built up the story of Viridiana and the tight knit Mexican community of her fictional Desengaño.

She writes of seeking to recapture the vistas of her childhood in Baja California. I feel that she accomplished this as there is within the narrative that sense of a lost past found once more through literature.

Overall, I found the aptly named ‘Untamed Shore’ an atmospheric novel that proved a very satisfying read. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written that of all her novels it is the only one that she is tempted to write a sequel to. After travelling with Viridiana this far, I really hope so!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has the unique gift of making even the simplest of sentences feel profound and this is never more evident than in Untamed Shore. Viridiana and her small town in Baja California are written with such care that it's not hard at all to see them clearly while reading. Similarly, the subtle suspicion and unease of Viridiana's employers builds so silently and perfectly to a satisfying ending. Moreno-Garcia continues to prove that she can write seamlessly in multiple genres.

Set in the small coastal town of Desengaño in Baja California in 1979, Viridiana spends her days watching the fishermen pile dead sharks on the beach. Completely bored of small town life and all that comes with it, she dreams of a life like a Hollywood film. When three rich tourists arrive for the summer, she starts working for them and life becomes a lot less boring. Desengaño means disillusion in English and is the perfect setting for this story.

Untamed Shore is a noir with a little coming of age mixed in. It starts off pretty slow with most of the action happening in the last third, but I enjoyed the slow build and you get drawn into the atmospheric setting very quickly. Viridiana is very naive at times, but extremely smart at the same time and I adored her journey and growth.

There wasn't a lot of mystery surrounding the events and I did guess the twists, but that wasn’t really the point of the novel and I was still on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all played out. The ending was so satisfying too - especially for Viridiana! The author said this is the only book she’s considered writing a sequel for and I don’t know if she ever actually will, but I’m so ready to find out what happens after the epilogue!

Untamed Shored was originally published in 2020, in a small press with promotion stopped in its tracks by the pandemic. It's being re-released on 16 February, which I'm really glad about or I don't think it would have made it onto my radar otherwise. It's not my favourite by Moreno-Garcia but one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I think I've decided to read all the books Silvia Moreno-Garcia as written, and I was over the moon when I was selected to receive an ARC of the new edition of Untamed Shore.
It's a very atmospheric book, the coastal town of Desengaño (what a name! "Disillusion"...) felt real to me, with the paradoxical effect that I understood Viridiana's (loved her name as well!) hope to escape, and wanted to stay in a bit more to absorb the writing style and the effective descriptions.
The "action" was a bit slow to start but it made sense - the suspense was well built. I did guess a few things before they were revealed, but I still enjoyed the tension that was well built. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is definitely a versatile author!
I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Desengano is a small town in Baja California and the scene is set in the 1970's with Viridiana as the main character. She is a naive 18 year old who dares to dream big, but is bound by family, faith and traditions. The first half of the book is the development of her character and the dreamlike landscape and seashores where she lives and where she passes time with dreams of old black and white movies and her fascination with shark butchering. Her palpable ennui melts away when she is introduced to three Americans who come to live in a house on the far edge of a cliff, away from the village and where she starts to work as an assistant, earning some money that will possibly contribute to her running away to university in Mexico City. It is at that point, that the reverie turns into a noir.

One of them gets killed and Viridiana is to make decisions that will affect all of them, but of course most of all herself. She is forced to grow up quickly, to choose between love and morals, security and drifting. Her character is very complex and extremely well rendered; with a stark emphasis on metamorphosis that is present in herself but also on the shark-beach, in the town, in the world around her.

It is my first book of this author, and I was enthralled! It has a strong story, a dreamy yet palpable atmosphere and a fantastic protagonist. I can only truly recommend it.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books, Jo Fletcher Books and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! It is beautifully written and I loved the weaving of the cinematic themes, the old superstitions of Viridiana's grandmother and the intrigue of the Noir genre. Viridiana's character reminds me of the narrator in Rebecca which I loved. The naïvity that she displays initially and what she becomes when forced into different situations is fantastic to watch and I found myself routing for her more and more. Some of the plot points were a bit obvious but I didn't see the ending coming at all. The journey to the ending was intriguing and mixed mystery and crime with the claustrophobia of a small town so well. Always love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing and ability to transcend genre in such a brilliant way!

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eCopy of this book!

Ever since I finished Mexican Gothic, I knew SMG is gonna be an author I'll read more from. From what I understood, this title is a re-release of a book that has been published right when Covid hit, and it's coming out on February 16th.

It tells a story of Viridiana, a young girl stuck in a small seaside town, where shark hunting and being nosy gossips is the main business. Viridiana doesn't want to marry her high-school boyfriend, raise kids, take over her mother's job and live a small-town life. She loves movies and dreams of big cities. When rich Americans come into town for the summer: a writer, his much younger wife and her very handsome brother, Viridiana finds herself as their translator, assistant and protégé. Soon enough, Viridiana gets more than she bargained for and gets herself into playing a very dangerous game.

I liked how well the author pictured the little town and the life in it and how claustrophobic it could be for people who want more from life. The stickiness of the summer heat was so well described that I could feel it. It painted a perfect picture of what life is like in Baja California (or was in the 70s) which was very interesting to me.

Viridiana as a character wants to be a grown up, wants to be a better and smarter person, but she's still full of naiveté that both stems from her youth and her upbringing. It did feel frustrating at times but I rationalized that she's yet to grow as a character.

The mystery wasn't anything novel, but it was fun and it kept me turning the pages. In the end, I ended up liking the book just fine. It was a little trip outside of my usual genres but the one I liked very much and that made me wish it was summer again.

I recommend this book if you feel like you need a little getaway from your life or this seemingly neverending winter. It's a perfect little escape to the sea 🌊