The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
SYNOPSIS
In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Dodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security 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 its 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 help her.
Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre 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.
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I will never not read an Isabel Cañas novel. I’m officially a fan and this is an auto-buy author for me. I absolutely loved Vampires of El Norte and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Hacienda next! This novel was the perfect murder mystery/haunted house horror to wrap up the end of October and spooky season for me and I absolutely devoured the audiobook that had fantastic dual narration. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat and some of the scenes were so frighteningly descriptive that they’d do so well in a horror film. I was creeped out and fascinated throughout. I also loved that, for the first time in my recent memory, we had a male witch as one of the main characters. A male witch who is ALSO a priest. WILD. I loved how this helped intertwine regional folklore with catholicism, adding ancient and terrifying history to the ongoings in this book. I couldn’t put it down.
We follow Beatriz from childhood into adulthood as she is traumatically ripped from her way of life with her parents when her father is killed as a betrayer. Her and her mother spend the next decade or so with family members who look down on them and treat them like dirt in a very Cinderella-esque upbringing for Beatriz. She’s so sick of being treated thusly that she jumps at the first chance she gets for status and independence by becoming the wife of Don Rodolfo. Despite being the second wife and not knowing much about the first, she is excited to start her new life. But as she reaches the Hacienda she learns things about her husband and his past that has her wondering if she acted to rashly and married to soon. As the house begins to act up, her path crosses with Andrés, a local priest who was hidden in the seminary so he would not be suspected of witchcraft. He is able to use his learnings of religion and his powers of witchcraft to help Beatriz in her time of need. And let me tell you, the slow burn… BURNS. It was such a good subtle romance alongside horrific supernatural events.
One thing Cañas does expertly in her novels is having her main female character grow from naive/privileged girls into very independent women. Beatriz didn’t grow up privileged, but she also believes that she has a right to the life she will get as the wife of Don Rodolfo. She believes it’s her repayment for years of hardship. And she believes this so deeply that she ignores every red flag and even ousts her own mother from her life in order to follow this belief in what is “deserved”. As horrors in her life begin to mount she grows out of this childish and selfish mindset and becomes more empathetic to people around her and her ego deflates a little. It’s great character growth even if it’s small.
The building of suspense, the house that felt so alive it was like an extra character, the political danger on top of the supernatural horrors, it all measured up into a perfect horror/mystery and I’m still in awe over how well-done this was. If you’re a fan of Starling House or Mexican Gothic, you’ll love this book. I gave it a solid 5 stars.