I will admit straight out that it's the cover of Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that had me pick up the book. That. Art. Though I'm somewhat fatigued by vampires in standard urban fantasy settings, what had me keen to dip into Moreno-Garcia's writing was the setting, as well as a dip into a culture vastly different from my own. I will also admit that I played an inordinate amount of Vampire: The Masquerade as a young adult, so everything about the book's premise tickled me.

The story itself isn't all that complex – a vampire on the run, Atl, meets up with an unhoused young man, Domingo, and together the two of them form an unlikely alliance as she does her best to get out of Mexico City. For Reasons. I'm not going to get spoilery.

The two couldn't be more different from each other, and yet somehow Domingo in his naïveté creeps past Atl's defences. With them, we explore a dark, gritty urban setting that feels almost dystopian, drawing on Mexico's complicated history and social discourses. I like also that Moreno-Garcia has given a fresh spin to the vampire mythos, drawing on deeply rooted Meso-American mythology but blending in transplanted European notes to create a heady mix of cultures.

The pacing balances moments of quieter introspection with bursts of action, so I'd probably put this novel in the category of supernatural thriller. Overall, a wonderful read that has placed Moreno-Garcia firmly on a "yes, I'll pick up her other books when I see them in the wild" list.