The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

[gilda_elise]

Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.

Morena-Garcia has become one of my favorite authors, in a large part due to her ability to write women who come into their own, who have a hidden strength brought out by perilous situations. Carlota is such a woman.

Though her secret is likely guess at by any reader who has read The Island of Doctor Moreau, from where this book takes its base, how that secret is brought forward, and how the inhabitants of the estate take that information, is what makes the book so captivating.

There is Montgomery Laughton, who has made the estate his home, and who cares for Carlota, and the other hybrids. Among those hybrids are Lupe and Cachito, who are almost like siblings to Carlota. And there is Dr. Moreau himself, who has blinded himself to the knife edge on which they all live.

Inevitably, the truth must come out and all their lives are changed. The ending is bittersweet, yet there is room for hope.






Mount TBR 2024 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

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By BIPOC author
1. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
3. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia