I was hoping to like The Hacienda more than I did, especially because Isabel Cañas is a talented writer. Unfortunately, The Hacienda was a miss after its strong atmospheric start because the author's meticulous, metered prose and contemplative evenly paced first-person perspectives drag the story down, hindering any sense of suspense.

It's almost a shame too, because the strength of the book isn't the promise of its spookiness but the lingering pain caused by colonialism in Mexico, specifically a post-racial caste system era — where the caste has been abolished in any official way, but not the pysche of its people. This fact, which all the characters struggle with, is more sinister than any spook Cañas has conjured for the house.

The Hacienda is mostly told by Beatriz, a mestiza who married for position over love, and her struggle to be accepted by the family, staff, and the haunted hacienda she has inherited while her husband is away. Her voice is the strongest in the story, even if the more interesting character is a priest that she develops romantic feelings toward. Andrés is interesting because he is even more divided. In addition to being a priest, he secretly possesses the innate dark powers of a witch, a practice taught to him by his grandmother.

The downside to Andrés is that his voice doesn't feel as fully developed as Beatriz's voice. And, it seems to me that the romance is a bit happenstance. Specifically, it happens but never develops. And I'm not even sure why it's needed because it has absolutely no bearing on the story.

Overall, plenty of people will like The Hacienda, especially for its historical aspects and the exploration of a culture's psyche when the structures of power in post-colonial Mexico face of transition. Those elements were all very fascinating, and stronger the author's sense of suspense and splash of romance.