V. Castro – Queen Of The Cicadas

‘Queen of the Cicadas’ by V. Castro is a horror story built from myth and folklore that leaves dark shadows and a dark foreboding that no one can shake free of. A book published by Flame Tree Press who is one of my go-to publishers for dark, creepy and brilliantly written horrors, I was so looking forward to this!

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 farmworker- 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.

A story that has its gruesome parts, the author has such a way with her writing that the murder scene is so exquisitely described you really can visualise it. The sounds are ingrained in your mind, the screams the anguish. It almost felt like it was touching the core of my being. I have never read a book that affected me so deeply.

Belinda is a character that I enjoyed, a flawed woman who knows her flaws and wears them with pride. She decides she is going to right the wrongs from the past, due to her own heritage and her new friend Hector, the farm’s owner. What she is unaware of is the horrors that she will witness. The story is told in the present day with flashbacks of the history of Milagros and her murder.

The legend of La Reina de las Chicharras was so interesting to learn about and it made for a riveting read that I want to recommend to everyone!

Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Flame Tree Press for the copy of the book.