Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Hacienda

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

186 reviews

jebrollier's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SO GOOD! I started this book at 2:30 pm and finished it at 11:15 pm the same day - just couldn't put it down. Beautifully written, suspenseful, and spooky. Captured the conplexity of Mexican folklore and spirituality, with the blend of traditional practices and Spanish colonial Catholicism. The characters were well-written and complex, and the "mystery" or suspense wasn't predictable.

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cassie7e's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

A reasonably enjoyable book, especially for a debut. Didn't really feel creeped out or drawn in for most of it but the storyline was fine. And what an illustration of how oppressive systems turn women against each other, hated for competing for what scraps of power it allows them to hold, when they could question why there's only one way out and they can't all have it.

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kassielovestoread's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Wow. I mean....just, Wow. This book was fantastic! The prose and tone of this novel was simply decadent. Despite the difficult topics explored in this story, I just loved Isabel Cañas writing style. The author's stylistic wording also perfectly depicted what 1860's Mexico would've been like and I pictured it quite well in my head. The pacing of the novel was at times slow, but you have to bear with it. When the mystery quickly unwinds itself, you will be wishing for the book to slow down so you can catch your breath! I was left on the edge of my seat the entire time, eagerly awaiting what will happen next. If you loved Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia just as much as I did, then you absolutely need to read this book!!!

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lorriss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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laaztecabella's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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fifteenthjessica's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beatriz is desperate to escape the household of her mother's cousin, where she is forced to work as a scullery maid due to her mestizo heritage, and she thinks marriage to Rodolfo Solorzano, a wealthy hacienda owner in the country, is the key to a life for her and her mother similar to the one they lost when her father was killed in the Mexican Revolution. However, the Hacienda is anything but a refuge. Servants and Rodolfo's sister avoid it at night, no one really knows what happened to Rodolfo's first wife, shadows move on their own, areas of the house are unnaturally cold, and Beatriz is haunted by visions of blood. Beatriz's only hope of rescue is Andres, a mestizo priest with ties to the hacienda and supernatural powers that he's suppressed out of fear of the Inquisition.

It's a horror and historic fiction hybrid, and while I don't read the former much and can't say how well it holds up to others (it's the best of the few I've read), but the historic fiction aspects are excellent. Isabel Canas shows an expertise of the era of history she has set this in, and I think she gets around the issue of delivering exposition about the setting to readers less familiar with life in the era by making its presence related to some of the emotional wounds of her primary characters and really most of the cast. Canas demonstrates an excellent knowledge of how social issues like sexism, racism, colorism, and classism impact people/characters, and I find it hard to completely hate most of the antagonists.

The prose is gorgeous and at times macabre. I (and a few members of the book club I read this for) quickly learned that reading it at night is not a good idea as we were quite jumpy afterwards.

It's not a flawless debut. While the book focuses heavily on the casta class system in Mexico, the few members of the servant class that get development is almost entirely Andres and his family, which I think slightly undercuts the theme. Rodolfo also feels more like a plot device than a character, which I'm not sure how I feel about it. His decision to leave the hacienda in Beatriz and Juana's hands while he rubs elbows with politicians in the capital is necessary for character motivation, it leaves him underdeveloped, and readers are left on their own to reconcile the Rodolfo who his first wife adores and the one who (sexual abuse mention and a spoiler)

rapes serving girls and hides Beatriz's letters from her mother.

There is also something about the ending that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Beatriz's mother inherits a small home from her husband's family and moves into it while Beatriz is surviving her husband's home and invites her to come. Something about the knowledge that if Beatriz waited she'd have a home that she didn't have to fight a malevolent spirit to survive in feels unsatisfactory. Returning to her mother fits with the other theme of home, and I don't know how else to do that in a way that isn't majorly depressing. Plus, Beatriz grows as a person and initiates healing for Andres and his extended family as well as the hacienda itself through her actions, so it's not a total let down.

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