Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

I received a complimentary audiobook of this title from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

This was my first book by this author, and overall, I really enjoyed it. I’ve heard people rave about her for years, and now I get why. Her writing is very elegant and layered.

This story is part Gothic mystery, part historical horror, and part feminist study. I especially liked how the stories of Nana Alba, Beatrice Tremblay, and Minerva connected. Each woman’s story stands on its own but also builds on the others in increasingly haunting ways. The multigenerational thread is handled beautifully.

The witch lore was my favorite part. Moreno-Garcia doesn’t rely on familiar broomstick-and-cauldron tropes. Instead, she creates something that feels darker, more dangerous, and distinctly cultural. The magic here is rooted in folklore. The witches aren’t shiny or glamorous—they’re mysterious, terrifying, and powerful in ways that blur the lines between faith and myth. That said, I did find the pacing uneven. The writing itself flows well, but the story drags in spots, especially in the middle section. I found myself wishing the narrative would tighten up and lean harder into the horror elements.

Still, the payoff is worth it. The final reveal genuinely caught me off guard. Surprisingly, I didn’t see it coming until much later than I probably should have. When everything finally connected it did so in a very satisfying way.

The atmosphere is another major strength. You can practically feel the chill of the Massachusetts campus, the humid tension of early 1900s Mexico, and the dusty, paper-strewn halls where academia and superstition collide. The sensory detail pulls you in even when the pacing falters. And the characters—particularly Minerva—feel real in their contradictions. She’s curious, skeptical, ambitious, and increasingly haunted, both literally and figuratively.

What I also appreciated is how the book plays with themes of knowledge and inheritance. Each woman is, in her own way, seeking truth about forces that have shaped her life. But the deeper they dig, the more dangerous it becomes. It’s a story about women reaching for power and paying the price for it, yet refusing to stop reaching.

So while it didn’t completely blow me away, it absolutely impressed me. The pacing might have been off for my taste, but the writing and imagination carried it. It’s eerie without being over-the-top and layered enough that I’m still thinking about parts of it days later. If you like multigenerational stories with Gothic flair, witchcraft that feels ancient and unsettling, and slow-burn mysteries, this one’s worth picking up.