de Isabel Cañas
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.
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.
Critiques-
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December 1, 2021
During the Mexican War of Independence, Beatriz's father was executed and her home burnt to the ground, so she's relieved to have found some measure of safety by marrying Don Rodolfo Sol�rzano. But his home, Hacienda San Isidro, evokes terror; the cook burns copal to ward off demons, Don Rodolfo's sister won't visit at night, awful visions taint Beatriz's dreams, and soon Beatriz is wondering what happened to the first Do�a Sol�rzano. Can young priest Padre Andr�s help her survive? Debut gothic thrills appropriately billed for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic and Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer.
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from December 20, 2021
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. Agent: Kari Sutherland, Bradford Literary. -
April 15, 2022
Ca�as' debut evokes the socioeconomic, racial, and religious differences of 1820s Mexico. Poverty-stricken Beatriz, daughter of an influential but recently executed general, chooses security over love, eagerly accepting the proposal of a wealthy landowner. Her new husband, Rodolfo, managed to maintain his wealth during the war for independence, but there are conflicting stories regarding his first wife's death. When they arrive at his estate in the country, Beatriz senses a hostile, feral feeling from the hacienda that is now her home. A few days later, Rodolfo goes away, leaving Beatriz alone among wary servants and a sister-in-law of whom she had been unaware. She begins experiencing hallucinations--a feeling of being watched, strong, bone-chilling winds, and invisible hands that shove her--and seeks solace from the local church. The senior priest scorns her exorcism request, and the terrified Beatriz's only defense from increasingly violent apparitions comes from a young padre who hides an unusual secret of his own. Reminiscent of both Jane Eyre and Carol Goodman's The Widow's House (2017), this can be offered to fans of Gothic suspense.COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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April 1, 2022
DEBUT Set in the 1820s, in the tumultuous years surrounding the Mexican War of Independence, Ca�as's debut introduces readers to recently disgraced Beatriz, who jumps at the chance for a new start when rich, handsome, and widowed Don Sol�rzano proposes marriage and moves her to Hacienda San Isidro. But this beautiful home is anything but a safe haven. The servants won't enter the house at night, there are secrets about the first Do�a Sol�rzano, and Beatriz spends sleepless nights under attack. Desperate, she seeks out help from Andres, a local priest with ties to San Isidro. Together they fight to save the house and those who call it home, while finding their true selves along the way. With strong dual narration by Beatriz and Andres, great pacing, well-placed flashbacks that effortlessly offer up the necessary details, and a strong, foreboding sense of place, this is a thought-provoking ghost story with monsters that are at once human, systemic, and supernatural. While the plot may seem to mirror Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, don't be mistaken--the ghost here is real, and the havoc it causes is nightmare-inducing. VERDICT For fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic; but also V. Castro's focus on colonialism, menacing old-world forces, sexism, class struggle, and vengeance; and Alma Katsu's mastery of historical horror.--Becky Spratford
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
