Paperback, 345 pages
English language
Published June 1, 2022 by Penguin Publishing Group.
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 …
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.
The Hacienda is the perfect mixture of crime drama, witchcraft, love and historic fiction. It reminds me a lot of Victorian times, but set in Mexico after the War of Independence. Great read.
Beatriz was willing to pay a high price to escape her detested aunt and uncle’s home in Mexico City. When the handsome landowner, Don Rodolfo Solórzano, sweeps into her life and proposes, she thought it was a miracle. But then she travels to his estate in Apan, in rural Hidalgo, Mexico, and encounters the Hacienda San Isidro. This place immediately shows Beatriz that she’s going to have to pay a hefty toll in exchange for, perhaps, finally becoming the mistress of her own home. The Hacienda, by Isabel Cañas, is a hair-raising, atmospheric tale of ghosts and terror in the wake of the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). I loved every page of this book. In fact, my only quibble is that I wanted more!
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Finalmente tirando um tempo para escrever uma pequena resenha sobre o livro. Eu achei The Hacienda bem mediano - enquanto a parte cultural, histórica do livro foi muito interessante e eu estava muito imersa na conversa entre os personagens (muitos pontos positivos para os narradores do audiobook), o mistério em si não foi interessante e a história apresenta apenas 2 possíveis personagens culpados pelo o que aconteceu com Maria Catalina (outra coisa que eu acho que não deveriam ter entregado na sinopse foi que aconteceu alguma coisa com ela). Qualquer um dos dois personagens que fosse revelado o culpado não teria me surpreendido. O outro twist que a autora também botou pra surpreender o leitor de que Maria Catalina não era uma pessoa boa também não teve efeito sobre mim, acho que por ter visto esse twist em tantos livros antes...
Considerando ser um livro de estréia acho que a …
Finalmente tirando um tempo para escrever uma pequena resenha sobre o livro. Eu achei The Hacienda bem mediano - enquanto a parte cultural, histórica do livro foi muito interessante e eu estava muito imersa na conversa entre os personagens (muitos pontos positivos para os narradores do audiobook), o mistério em si não foi interessante e a história apresenta apenas 2 possíveis personagens culpados pelo o que aconteceu com Maria Catalina (outra coisa que eu acho que não deveriam ter entregado na sinopse foi que aconteceu alguma coisa com ela). Qualquer um dos dois personagens que fosse revelado o culpado não teria me surpreendido. O outro twist que a autora também botou pra surpreender o leitor de que Maria Catalina não era uma pessoa boa também não teve efeito sobre mim, acho que por ter visto esse twist em tantos livros antes...
Considerando ser um livro de estréia acho que a autora tem muito potencial. Não é um livro que eu não recomende, mas não achei "wow" como as pessoas dizem que é.
Sometimes a book just works. Sometimes a book does exactly what it needs to and exactly what you want it to, and this was definitely one of those times for me.
Usually I like to be stingy with my five-star ratings and save them for truly special books that are unlike anything I've read before. The Hacienda doesn't really fall into that category, but at the same time I can't think of an argument against it. It had an interesting prompt and inciting incident, not one but two great protagonists, some good spooks, an interesting setting and time period I've never seen tackled in media before, and a variety of memorable moments. Every plot point can be worked back logically and explained in a context that makes sense; there's a good sense of cause-and-effect. And even the side characters were fleshed out enough that I could envision what they would …
Sometimes a book just works. Sometimes a book does exactly what it needs to and exactly what you want it to, and this was definitely one of those times for me.
Usually I like to be stingy with my five-star ratings and save them for truly special books that are unlike anything I've read before. The Hacienda doesn't really fall into that category, but at the same time I can't think of an argument against it. It had an interesting prompt and inciting incident, not one but two great protagonists, some good spooks, an interesting setting and time period I've never seen tackled in media before, and a variety of memorable moments. Every plot point can be worked back logically and explained in a context that makes sense; there's a good sense of cause-and-effect. And even the side characters were fleshed out enough that I could envision what they would do if placed in a given situation. As a whole, it felt like a very polished presentation of lots of little things I've seen in other books, but compiled into one satisfying work.
I especially liked the dynamic the main protagonist (Beatriz) experienced, which was basically, "yes, this house is haunted; yes, it's scaring the shit out of me; yes, I might die here, but goddamn it, I will tame this house if I have to because I literally have no other choice." Meanwhile the other protagonist (Andrés) is trying to walk the line of his job (a literal Catholic priest) while wrestling with the folklore/witch doctor remedies his grandmother taught him and that he knows will accomplish more than any rosary would.
It was just a refreshing take on the haunted house subgenre and a good example that even more obscure historical eras (at least I don't know of any books or movies taking place immediately after the Mexican War of Independence in 1822) can serve as viable settings for horror stories. I want more books like this.
