"The Hacienda" by Isabel Canas

"The Hacienda," the first novel by Isabel Canas, is the July selection for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club.

Beatriz's father was killed during the Mexican War of Independence (1810-21), and she and her mother had to flee their home as it was being torched.  Dependent on the begrudging charity of relatives since then, Beatriz marries Rodolfo, whose family's hacienda, San Isidro, offers the kind of security she craves. 

But Rodolfo is away for long stretches of time -- and San Isidro is not the haven Beatriz imagined.  Someone -- or something -- does not want her there. Desperate for help, she turns to a sympathetic young priest -- who is not quite what he seems either...   

A few Goodreads reviews described this one as " "Rebecca" meets Mexican Gothic."  I've never read any "Mexican Gothic," and horror/supernatural themes are generally not my kind of reading fare.  I will admit I found some of the "haunted house" elements a bit over the top, and the "forbidden romance" trope pretty predictable. 

On the plus side, I did find the historical/cultural context interesting. There's not a very large Latino presence in Canada (although it's been growing in recent years, certainly in the Toronto area), and I don't know as much about the culture as I would if I grew up in, say, Texas or California. (I suspect that what I do know has been absorbed mostly from Hollywood...!)  And despite my reservations about the plot, I did keep turning the pages...!  

If you like this sort of book, and enjoy a good scare, you will probably enjoy this one (its current average rating on Goodreads is a solid 3.84 stars out of 5, and 3.91 on StoryGraph).  As I said, however, not really my thing.   

3 stars. 

Content warning:  Abortion subplot involving a minor character. 

This was Book #11 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in June), bringing me to 28% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 6 books behind pace to meet my goal.  :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."