July 15, 2024
A fashion writer tangles with sinister secrets in this harrowing haute couture thriller from Rivera (We Light Up the Sky). When Samara Martín leaves New Jersey and her tight-knit Cuban American family to take a dream job in California with designer Antonio Mota, she’s determined to shine. But Mota proves an irascible boss, and making matters worse, his company headquarters is adjacent to a possibly haunted slaughterhouse. As Samara tries to win favor with the head seamstress, strange things happen: a mysterious embroidered name appears on outfits; hoglike grunting noises fill her apartment at night; she sees an apparition of a young woman in a bloodied gown; and a one-night stand with the charming son of Mota’s investors (whose family owned the local sewing mill where Samara’s late grandmother worked as a seamstress) leaves her covered in scratches. Overwhelmed by paranoia, Samara leans into her spiraling alcohol addiction. As danger ramps up, she’s forced to confront an ugly family secret and a historical cycle of privileged white men taking advantage of young Latina seamstresses. Though this weird-Cinderella tale has too many tragic threads hastily interwoven, there’s enough masterful detailing and vividly imagined scares to keep readers on pins and needles. Horror fans shouldn’t miss it.
November 1, 2024
Samara is flying across the country from a staid life in New Jersey to glitzy, sunshiny California to start her dream job in the fashion industry with legendary designer Antonio Mota. Samara's ideas help her win favor in her new position, but soon she is plagued by unexplained happenings, including troubling visions, nightmares, and awful sounds in the night. As the pressure at work ramps up ahead of a critically important fashion show, Samara becomes unsure of her reality. She soon discovers cracks in the foundation of the House of Mota and realizes that behind the glamour is a history built on abuse and tragedy. Frankie Corzo narrates YA author Rivera's (Barely Floating) adult debut with impeccably paced urgency, capturing Samara's increasingly fraught psyche and horror when she comprehends the abuses wrought by the fashion industry. VERDICT A slow-burn horror that deftly explores class, race, politics, power, and gender. Recommended for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate and Zakiya Dalila Harris's The Other Black Girl.--Elyssa Everling
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