Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of several novels, including Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. She has also edited a number of anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu's Daughters). Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination.

Publisher:  Del Rey (July 15, 2025) Length: 368 pages Formats: audiobook, paperback, ebook

The Bewitching is a creepy, slow-burning horror novel that follows three women in three different time periods (1908, 1934, and 1998) as they face strange disappearances, eerie signs, and possible witchcraft. Each timeline centers on a different woman, but all are connected through blood, books, and something dark lurking in the shadows.

In 1998, Minerva is a grad student researching an obscure horror writer, Beatrice Tremblay, whose only novel, The Vanishing, might not be entirely fictional. As she digs deeper into the mystery of Beatrice’s vanished college roommate, she starts noticing strange things happening around her. Interestingly, some of them echo the ghost stories her great-grandmother Alba used to tell. Alba’s story from 1908 is another key piece of this puzzle, where curses, disappearances, and eerie nighttime happenings plague her family’s Mexican farm.

If that sounds like a lot to juggle, well, it is. Happily, Moreno-Garcia handles it with ease. Each storyline has a different mood: Gothic academia in the 1990s New England, haunted romance in the 1930s college life, and Mexican folklore-laced horror in the early 20th century. The three timelines work as separate (but connected) stories, even though similar events take place in each. 

Minerva is an enjoyable lead - bookish, guarded, and determined. Beatrice’s chapters are bittersweet and melancholic, filled with old-school spiritualism and unrequited love. And Alba’s storyline explains the roots of the curse and brings in elements of Mexican folklore - teyolloquani witches, protective amulets, and more.

That said, not every timeline is equally gripping. Minerva’s story has the most momentum, while Alba’s is quieter and more atmospheric. Beatrice’s voice is beautifully written, but since we already know how parts of her story end, the suspense there is a little muted. The final reveal also wasn’t jaw-dropping after all the buildup. Honestly, you’ll probably guess the villain a few chapters early, but the payoff is still satisfying. It ties the timelines together well.

A few pacing hiccups pop up, especially in the middle when the story slows down to repeat a few clues one too many times. And some of the side characters, particularly in Minerva’s timeline, felt like they were there to serve the plot more than to truly matter. Still, these are minor issues in a book that’s otherwise smart, spooky, and immersive. The Bewitching is an atmospheric novel that takes elements of Gothic horror, Mexican folklore, and academic mystery and turns them into one eerie, intergenerational story.