The Hacienda
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...
During the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father was executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security that his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.
But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.
When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark the doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?
Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will save her.
Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.
Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Isabel Cañas’ smart and sexy gothic horror novel offers an immersive new take on the ghost story. Like many in 1820s Mexico, Beatriz lost nearly everything in the War of Independence, so when she marries the rich Don Rodolfo and moves into his sprawling Hacienda San Isidro, it feels like a dream. But soon, terrifying visions convince her that the estate is haunted. We were enthralled with Beatriz’s supernatural suspicions, especially when the local priest Padre Andrés proves to be the only one who believes her. (Also, they kind of have the forbidden hots for each other, which doesn’t hurt!) Cañas blends horror, romance, and history into one irresistible tale that deftly shifts from scary to sensual. The Hacienda will frighten you—and sweep you away.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in Cañas's stunning debut. After Beatriz's mestizo father, General Hernandez, is betrayed and murdered in Mexico's War of Independence, Beatriz marries mysterious widower Don Rodolfo Solórzano, as his estate, the Hacienda San Isidro, seems the perfect escape for Beatriz and her mother. Beatriz's first sign that something's off is the housekeeper, who refuses to work without burning copal incense and chalking glyphs on the kitchen door. Then Beatriz is plagued by bad dreams and mysterious, bloody visions. Her sister-in-law, Juana, who shares the estate, insists these are signs that Beatriz is going mad. Beatriz, however, comes to believe that her husband's first wife was murdered and is haunting the house, and she finds an ally in Mestizo priest Padre Andrés, who's torn between the folk beliefs of his childhood and his Catholic teachings. To exorcise the house, the pair digs into a past deliberately obscured by those who would kill them if the truth comes out. Cañas clearly knows the genre, alternately deploying and subverting haunted house tropes. The result is a brilliant contribution to the new wave of postcolonial Gothics. Readers won't want to miss this.
