If you like horror movies, history, mystery, and relatable characters, try reading Silver Nitrate. It is a dark suspense novel, which blends Mexican horror movies, additional horror movie references, and Nazi occultism in with a bit of romance. The main character, Montserrat is a sound editor, a woman in a career of mostly men, in 1990s Mexico City. Monstserrat’s best friend since childhood, Tristan, is a used-to be famous soap opera star and he often takes advantage of Monstserrat and her love for him. However, Monstserrat proactively stands up for herself and makes healthier choices in her reactions to Tristan, which is creating positive changes in their relationship.
Interestingly, it turns out that Tristan’s neighbor, Abel Urueta, is a director of cult horror films. Eventually after getting to know Abel better, Tristan and Monstserrat learn that he was involved in the making of a magical movie on silver nitrate film that was never finished. Abel believes he is cursed from the lack of completing the Nazi occultist story. So, Abel seeks the help of Tristan and Montserrat to finish the movie in hopes to lift the curse from his life, but Montserrat and Tristan start to experience ominous occurrences and want to get out of this dark magical development, but the magic and wanting to help along with seeing things through keep driving them to stay involved. Along the way, they learn about themselves and each other, as they try to solve the mysteries at play.