The Queen of the Cicadas

by V. Castro

Overview

NOMINATED FOR A BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

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.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787586031
Publisher:	Flame Tree Publishing
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Series:	Fiction Without Frontiers
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/15/2021

Writing in breathtaking, atmospheric prose, Castro (Hairspray and Switchblades) merges brutal realism and supernatural terror to create a fierce, memorable tale of Mexican folklore and horror. In 2018, Belinda Montoya, a divorced mother in her 40s who sees herself as a monster and a failure, attends her childhood best friend’s wedding at an imposing Victorian farmhouse in Alice, Tex. There, she meets Hector, the property’s owner, who recalls the tale of La Reina de Las Chicharras, an urban legend about a hate crime that occurred on the farm decades before. The narrative alternates between the present-day wedding and the truth of what happened all those years ago. In 1952, Milagros Santos, an undocumented immigrant worker from Mexico, is subjected to racist harassment from the white women on the farm that escalates until Milagros is lynched. The farm then “falls into the clutches of a curse” as one by one those responsible for the murder meet their end at the hands of Mictecacíhuatl, the Aztec Queen of the Dead, who appears as a woman without skin. Castro uses this well-constructed narrative of supernatural retribution to tell an urgent story of the plight of migrant workers. Visceral and disturbing in the best of ways, this is sure to impress. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"In The Queen of the Cicadas, there's a thin, bloody veil between worlds, the past isn't past at all, and you can feel your heart beating in the pages, the words pulsing with life. Touch them if you dare, and don't be surprised if they quiver into flight all around you."

Stephen Graham Jones

"V Castro builds her own heritage into the mirror mythos, creating a raging revenge novel seeping with vengeance. It's a story of rebirth from the seeds of hate, and how despite that there is still the potential for hope. Oh and it's obviously a horror novel so it's brutal and bloody and buzzing.

Only The Dark Reads

"Castro delivers an unflinching, honest, raw, and thought-provoking horror tale that is both serious in its social commentary and fun to read. For fans of gruesome, vengeance-themed horror that is deeply tied to its place and the marginalized identities of its protagonists"

Becky Spratford

"A keenly written work of suspense that also reflects upon humanity's capacity for good and evil, The Queen of the Cicadas is a compelling page-turner for connoisseurs of the genre. Highly recommended."

Midwest Book Review

"In the age of phony fiction, V. Castro is the voice of authenticity; una voz que lucha por la igualdad. Dark, atmospheric, sexy, and dangerous, her fiction brings readers her unfiltered Latinx essence and a unique pulpy flavor. Her work matters. Read it."

Gabino Iglesias

Layered and complex, this story takes a creepy urban legend, adds some supernatural horror and a healthy portion of feminist rage and serves it up as a satisfying dish of dark horror and vengeance."

Reading Odyssey Stephen King and Beyond

Queen of the Cicadas is an unnerving story that often blends the line between fiction and nonfiction. You get the horror of reality coupled seamlessly with the horror of a campfire tale. You’ll fidget and feel uncomfortable. You’ll hold your breath and feel electricity. V. Castro has a vivid imagination and a wonderful way with words, so you can bet this reader will be paying attention to anything with her name attached."

Aiden Merchant

''Mexican-American author Violet Castro delivers a powerhouse horror novel with The Queen of the Cicadas [...]"

Rue Morgue

"The Queen of the Cicadas is a supremely creepy story that feels like it is creeping into the real world as it is being read."

A Reviewer Darkly

"A riveting #ownvoices novel exploring Mexican folk tales and legends mingled with the history of Texas [...] Castro does not pull any punches. Readers seeking originality and a fresh take on well-worn horror tropes should pick up this novel by a dynamic and innovative voice in horror.

Booklist Starred Review

"A truly original and surprising work of fiction [...] plot descriptions don't do this debut novel justice as Castro weaves several familiar tropes from the slasher and ghost story sub-genres into a blood-drenched (literally) story of both personal and cultural reclamation."

Toronto Star

"Castro’s expert storytelling upends classic horror tropes to make 'The Queen of the Cicadas' an exhilarating and frightening literary ride."

Los Angeles Review of Books

V. Castro writes like her blood is in the ink. Queen of the Cicadas is the best urban legend story since Candyman, layered and dark and hideously beautiful. It will get way under your skin. If Castro’s not already on your radar, she should be.

Christopher Golden

"A deliciously sinister story"

Harper's Bazaar

★ 06/01/2021

DEBUT In her engrossing, violent, and exultant debut novel, Castro boldly crafts a brutal revenge horror story, one that belatedly but firmly delivers justice to forgotten women from all over the world. In 1952, on a Texas farm, Milagros, a farm worker from Mexico, is brutally murdered. The Aztec Goddess of Death pledges herself to Milagros as the woman dies, tied to a tree and suffocating on the cicada shells stuffed down her throat. The farmland is now cursed and haunted, and the legend of Milagros, Queen of the Cicadas, grows until 2019, when Belinda, facing a midlife crisis, returns to her hometown for a childhood friend's wedding on the now renovated farm. Belinda and the new owner of the property, Hector, are both lost souls who on the outside seem to have succeeded in a world set against them. They connect with the spirits and help bring their awesome and terrifying power back into the world, giving voice to the voiceless and punishing oppressors everywhere. VERDICT Castro delivers an unflinching, honest, raw, and thought-provoking horror tale that is both serious in its social commentary and fun to read. For fans of gruesome, vengeance-themed horror that is deeply tied to its place and the marginalized identities of its protagonists, such as The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones, and Frankenstein in Baghdad, by Ahmed Saadawi.

Library Journal

★ 2021-03-31
A brutal murder becomes the catalyst for an Indigenous redemption that brings believers together to revive a nearly forgotten religion.

Belinda and Hector know the story of La Reina de Las Chicharras all too well. Belinda first heard it during a childhood sleepover: Milagros Santos, an undocumented Mexican farmworker who was lynched by a group of White women in Texas in 1952, now answers to anyone who speaks her new name into a mirror, Bloody Mary–style. Hector bought the property on which the officially unsolved murder took place, and he now feels compelled to return to his curandero heritage after a lifetime spent scorning it. As Belinda and Hector dig deeper into the story, clues point toward a much more intricate tale, one in which Indigenous Mexican religious beliefs survived into the 20th century. Milagros and her twin sister, Concepcion, worshiped Santa Muerte—also known as Mictecacíhuatl, the Queen of the Dead. The ancient deity now answers to the dead woman's new name, harvesting mortal sacrifices to help revive Milagros as her daughter. When Mictecacíhuatl reveals herself in a viral video, the foundations of individual and institutional faith are tested worldwide, and an unexpected religious revival emerges. The White women responsible for Milagros' death become the first targets of Mictecacíhuatl's revenge, sandwiched chronologically between conquistadors and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who prey upon her people. Castro's novel shifts seamlessly from deliciously gory horror narrative to family saga to a tale of righteous vengeance, all while maintaining its unflinching condemnation of colonialism on both sides of the Mexican-American border.

A tightly paced story of anti-colonial resistance and shared history that begs to be read in one sitting.

Kirkus Reviews