The Hacienda

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.

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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.

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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

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