The Queen of the Valley: A Spellbinding Historical Novel Based on True History

by Lorena Hughes

Overview

“An engrossing, suspenseful family saga.” —Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana on The Spanish Daughter

Against the backdrop of Colombia’s lush, yet wounded beauty in the wake of the 1925 Cali earthquake, this riveting novel by the award-winning Ecuadorian American author of The Spanish Daughter plunges three strangers – a photographer, a young Spanish chocolatier in disguise, and a Palestinian-Colombian nun – into a perilous search for the missing owner of a coveted hacienda amidst an emerging cholera epidemic.

“Engaging. For fans of historical fiction and works by Christina Baker Kline and Lisa Wingate.” —Booklist

Driven and recklessly daring, Martin Sabater follows his lifelong dream of owning a cacao plantation in Valle del Cauca. But on the night of a spectacular gala, he disappears—and is never seen again. Now his hacienda is a budding Catholic hospital saving lives during an emerging epidemic. And novice nun “Sor Puri” is there to uncover the truth behind Martin’s disappearance. But her real identity—and her past with the heartbreakingly charismatic Martin—will put far more than her perilous search at risk.

A professional photographer, Lucas Ferreira is Martin’s best friend since boyhood. He has his own reasons for helping the determined, alluring nun. But what this reserved man won’t reveal about his thwarted dreams and unrequited passion could prove key to the past—or a lethal trap. Martin was head nurse Sor Camila's only love—until an unfortunate mistake changed the course of her life forever. Now, Martin's home is an unexpected chance for her, Lucas, and Puri to set the past right. But with their secrets unearthing explosive memories and wrenching lies, can they survive the truth about Martin—and the consequences that will forever alter their destinies?

“Vivid …This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family conflict, historical details, and the exploration of lost love.”— Library Journal

“A tale as rich and complex as the finest chocolate.” —Marisel Vera, author of The Taste of Sugar

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496736284
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	08/22/2023
Series:	Puri's Travels , #2
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	518,095
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Lorena Hughes is an award-winning author of historical fiction, including The Queen of the Valley, The Spanish Daughter and The Sisters of Alameda Street. Born and raised in Ecuador, she moved to the United States when she was eighteen. Her novels have earned acclaim from outlets including The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and PopSugar, and The Spanish Daughter was an Amazon Editors' Pick, a Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books selection, and a Reading Group Choices Most Popular Books of the Year. Lorena lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and can be found online at Lorena-Hughes.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/17/2023

Hughes revisits Spanish-born chocolatier Puri in the kinetic sequel to The Spanish Daughter. In 1925, Puri, whose full name is María Purificación de Lafont y Toledo, travels from her adopted Ecuador to Colombia to try to find her cacao supplier and onetime lover, Martin Sabater, after his shipments of cacao beans unaccountably cease. Soon after Puri steps off the train, ruffians rip her dress, and the nun who had been her seatmate lends her a habit to wear. Puri arrives at Martin’s hacienda and learns it has been turned into a hospital by Farid Manzur, a haughty, ambitious doctor and old boarding-school chum of Martin’s, who claims Martin was killed by a jaguar. As a cholera outbreak rages, Puri pitches in to treat the afflicted, despite her lack of medical training. She also keeps up her disguise as a nun, which puts those around her in a confessional mood as she tries to uncover what really happened to Martin. Meanwhile, romance blooms between Puri and one of her patients, who is another close friend of Martin’s, and their forbidden love adds more tension to the suspenseful story. Hughes’s fans will devour this delectable confection. Agent: Rachel Brooks, BookEnds Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Queen of the Valley

“Told in the alternating viewpoints of three protagonists, this novel by Ecuador-born-and-raised Hughes paints a vivid picture of 1920s Ecuador and Colombia…This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family conflict, historical details, and the exploration of lost love.” —Library Journal
 
“A juicy potboiler with a palpable sense of history.” —Kirkus Reviews


Praise for Lorena Hughes:

“A tale as rich and complex as the finest chocolate.” —Marisel Vera, author of The Taste of Sugar on The Queen of the Valley

“The many story lines connect the past and the present, and all converge to create a satisfying conclusion while cultural and historical facts reflecting this time and place are both clues and red herrings in Puri’s search. But it’s the wide range of engaging characters that will pull in most readers. For fans of historical fiction and works by Christina Baker Kline and Lisa Wingate.” —Booklist on The Queen of the Valley
 
“A lush Ecuadoran cacao plantation is the setting for this imaginative historical drama filled with sibling rivalry and betrayals. Threaded throughout this dramatic family saga are descriptions of cocoa-making that will leave your mouth watering for chocolate.” —The Washington Post on The Spanish Daughter
 
“An engrossing, suspenseful family saga filled with unpredictable twists and turns.” —Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana on The Spanish Daughter
 
“A sweepingly elegant historical novel.” —Ms. Magazine on The Spanish Daughter
 
“Passionate and suspenseful, The Spanish Daughter is a satisfying historical mystery set in a lush tropical land.” —Foreword Reviews, STARRED REVIEW on The Spanish Daughter
 
“Betrayal, secrets, and chocolate fuel this transporting page turner from Lorena Hughes. Set amid the early 20th-century cacao boom, the novel gently comments on the confines of gender, while asking if goodness is innate or learned.” —Christian Science Monitor on The Spanish Daughter

“Richly captivating.” —Woman’s World on The Spanish Daughter
 
“Riveting…filled with rich imagery (and rich chocolate!), this story about a woman who never gives up on her dreams had me hooked from the start.” —First for Women on The Spanish Daughter

“A fascinating historical mystery.” —PopSugar on The Spanish Daughter

“An engrossing mystery/romance set in early 20th-century Ecuador and Spain… Fans of historicals will appreciate the descriptions of dress, local foods and customs, social stratification, and the cacao industry, a source of an economic boom and bust in early 20th-century Ecuador… As addictive as chocolate, this ends on a modern and satisfying note.” —Publishers Weekly on The Spanish Daughter
 
“Hughes portrays a small cast of characters while providing whodunit suspense and lots of background information on cacao plantations and insights into the way social classes are embodied in the production of chocolate. With an equal mix of historical fiction, dramatic family conflict, and mystery, this tale should please fans of Christina Baker Kline, Lisa Wingate, and Kate Quinn. Beginning with a map and ending with a reader’s group guide, Hughes' tale of secrets, treachery, and chocolate will be appreciated by fiction readers looking for an extra level of engagement.” —Booklist on The Spanish Daughter

From the Publisher

07/01/2023

Told in the alternating viewpoints of three protagonists, this novel by Ecuador-born-and-raised Hughes paints a vivid picture of 1920s Ecuador and Colombia. When Ecuadorian chocolatier Puri learns that Martin, her cacao-supplier and father of her son, has disappeared in neighboring Colombia, she decides it is up to her to find him. It is 1925 and dangerous for a woman to be traveling alone, so she dresses as a nun in hopes of protecting herself. When she reaches Martin's plantation, however, she discovers that it has been turned into a hospital by Martin's friend Farid. Hoping to investigate without revealing her connection to Martin, Puri maintains her disguise and is subsequently put to work by Sister Camila. Nursing first Martin's friend Lucas, who was injured in an earthquake, and then the cholera patients who follow, Puri begins to suspect that she is not the only one at the hacienda who is harboring secrets. VERDICT While familiarity with Hughes's previous novel, The Spanish Daughter, is not essential, it can offer helpful context to alleviate potential confusion. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family conflict, historical details, and the exploration of lost love.—Lucinda Ward

Library Journal

2023-06-08
Buried secrets, personal tragedies, and natural disasters unfold on a Colombian hacienda.

On April 7, 1925, a gala organized by Dr. Farid Manzur and Martin Sabater at Martin's Colombian cacao plantation turns dark when Martin rides off on horseback to give some guests a tour of the estate and never returns. Months later, María “Puri” Purificación arrives from Ecuador with her young assistant, Paco, her “guardian angel,” to visit Martin, an old friend and, unknown to him, the father of her young son. Tragedy strikes on two fronts. While riding in a landau to their destination, Puri and Paco are attacked by bandits who kill Paco. Shortly after, an earthquake temporarily puts Puri’s journey to see Martin—she still doesn’t know he’s missing—on hold. Though Hughes’ floridly written tale is grounded in history, she heightens anticipation by jumbling the narrative timeline and presenting the story in short chapters from the perspectives of three different first-person narrators. Puri, the resourceful heroine of Hughes’ novel The Spanish Daughter (2021), is joined by Farid’s sister Camila, a loving and compassionate nun but far from a submissive helpmeet, and Lucas, a womanizing outsider and old friend of Martin’s who reconnected with him shortly before the disappearance. Flashbacks illuminate Martin’s checkered past and his relationships to the three narrators, while the present-day plot follows Farid’s attempt to gain control of Martin’s estate and folds in a handful of other backstories against the backdrop of a cholera epidemic that sweeps through the region following the earthquake.

A juicy potboiler with a palpable sense of history.

Kirkus Reviews