Certain Dark Things: A Novel

Are you looking for a soft, sweet vampire love story? Well, look elsewhere. Certain Dark Things is a gritty and gruesome reimagining of vampire lore. Atl, the heir to the Iztac vampire cartel, is on the run in Mexico City. She's starving, aimless, and hiding from her past. When she meets Domingo, a teen living in the streets, she takes advantage of such easy prey. On the other side of the city, beat-cop Ana Aguirre finds a grisly murder scene that points to a vampire infestation. With both the police and a vicious, unhinged rival on her tail, Atl drags Domingo into the underbelly of vampire hierarchies and drug cartels.

In Silvia Moreno-Garcia's (Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night) modern twist on vampirism, there are vampire subspecies, each with its own strengths, methods for feeding, and hierarchies. Between the factions, they even have codes of conduct and alliances. She takes the legends we've all known for years and turns them on their heads, creating more compelling and intricate characters. While the novel itself is in the third person, we still get to have a peek into each character's inner monologue. Each person has a unique voice, so to speak, so you can tell whose thoughts are being depicted. It fuels the tension because you get to see the collision course they're all on from each perspective. 

Another great detail of Certain Dark Things is the allegories of the realities of poverty and colonization. Domingo is the perfect victim because he has almost no choice but to go along, even knowing the inevitable danger. And while Atl's ancestors had lived in Mexico since the time of the Aztecs, when the new factions were born in Europe and migrated, they took by force what the Iztac family had built for generations. 

Because it is inner monologue-driven, sometimes the amount of introspection slows down the pacing of the story. Combined with the monotony of the sentence structure, it makes for moments when the writing doesn't flow in a way that feels natural. 

With all this said, I rate Certain Dark Things four out of five stars. The storyline was unique, with high tension and beautiful imagery. Silvia's use of monsters to paint a picture of the cruelties in our world makes for an entertaining read that'll stay with you long after you finish.

There are casual discussions of sex throughout, nothing too graphic. But the violence entailed is gruesome, so I would only recommend this for readers who aren't afraid of a little blood. (haha, get it? Vampires? Blood? Okay.) If you like your fantasy macabre and your protagonist morally gray, Certain Dark Things is a must-read.