My turn on the BlogTour The Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro.
Violet Castro is a Mexican American writer originally from Texas now residing in the UK with her family. When not caring for her three children, she dedicates her time to writing. Follow @vlatinalondon on Twitter, @vlatinalondon on Instagram
About the book
2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas.
In 1950s south Texas a farm worker - Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship. Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.
Folklore, mysticism, myth and magical realism are combined with this undercurrent of horror, of evil lurking in the shadows. A presence always listening, sometimes reacting and always knowing. Seeping under through the slits in the doors and hovering in the corner.
The murder scene is particularly gruesome, perhaps because the visualisation and description of the event is so exact that is conjures up the kind of mental images you aren't likely to forget. You can feel it burn, hear her mental screams of anguish and you can even feel her meld into her surroundings. The pain summons the ancient power that flows through her veins.
Belinda is almost obsessed with the story of Milagros. She is determined to lay her and the legend to rest. A murder that has become a myth unto itself, but Belinda as no idea what she is really dealing with. She is stirring the waters and doesn't realise how much truth and horror is connected to the tragedy of the young farm worker.
I would love to read something by Castro with strong political, historical, feminism or cultural vibes. Those elements are already partly there but are drowned out by the fear, the chaos and the darkness. That doesn't mean it is any less of a good read, but there is so much more waiting to be heard beyond the genre of horror.
It's an engrossing read with its gruesome moments and it certainly manages to raise the hairs on the back of one's neck.
Buy The Queen of the Cicadas at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Flame Tree Press pub date 22 Jun. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.
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