A sedated telling of something extraordinary, Silver Nitrate has a lot of positives going for it: appealing protagonist(s), a layered mystery surrounding a lost film and its makers, and immersive, evidently researched details regarding Mexican cinema history. The only thing missing is a sense of urgency to the core narrative.

Trying to pinpoint exactly why I wasn't more enthusiastic about Silver Nitrate; I loved the concept of connecting aspects of cinema to cultish practice, the protagonists duo was extremely relatable and likeable (perhaps a little too culturally progressive considering the setting was the 90s), and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing painted vivid scenes and was extremely emotive. Ultimately I come to this conclusion: the presentation overall is very 'told, not shown', and heavy on exposition. As a reader, the constant secondhand (sometimes thirdhand) account of critical events makes for a very distant and removed experience. Particularly in the middle stretch of the novel, where it is scenes after scenes of characters receiving information (reading book, listening to story, etc.); the pattern gets monotonous quickly, no matter how polished it is written.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia clearly has put a lot of effort into Silver Nitrate, especially on building the groundwork for the more fantastical elements; but I was desperate for a flashback, an epistolary format change, or an unexpected POVs, beyond yet another scene of character reading text, or listening to long-winded speech. Overall, Silver Nitrate is handsomely written and has its moments (the finale does become more action-packed), but overall it's oddly placid than what one would expect from its premise.

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**